A SPECIAL film made
to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the classic film The Italian Job movie and 60
years of the Mini has been produced at Stowe School near Buckingham.
The centre piece is
a Mini sourced by classic car insurers and valuation specialists Hagerty for
the science department at Stowe School which has since been completely rebuilt
by Stowe students.
The film is also a
homage to Michael Deeley, producer of The
Italian Job, Blade Runner andThe
Deer Hunter. he is a former Stowe student and was the guest speaker
at the school’s Speech Day last weekend.
The young
engineering team at Stowe contacted Hagerty last year asking for advice about
rebuilding a classic car. After discussion, this quickly esculated into a
desire for a major restoration project and Hagerty located a suitable Mini and
arranged for the school to acquire the car for students to work on.
The film,
capturing the escape of students who break into the school to steal exam
papers, was shot entirely on the Stowe School grounds during a school holiday
and was premiered at the school’s Speech Day. Mr Deeley had no idea a film has
been created and saw it for the first time on Speech Day along with students,
staff and parents.
In addition to the
film, Hagerty sourced and curated 100 classic cars, which were displayed on the
Stowe lawns during the event. The line-up includes stars of the film, faithful
recreations, 50 iconic and classic Minis and classic cars driven to the event
by parents and former students.
Each year, Hagerty
presents the Steady Barker Trophy to the car and driver with the most
interesting story displayed at Speech Day & The OS Classic Car Display. The
inaugural winner of the trophy in 2018 went to King George’s prized Daimler, a
car that has now been invited to the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours
d’Elegance.
Stowe has long
been associated with classic cars. Ten years ago, the school’s head encouraged
families who owned a classic car to bring it to Speech Day, an event to
celebrate the end of the academic year. A total 35 cars arrived and classic
cars have since became a staple part of Speech Day & The OS Classic Car
Display.
Today, more than
100 cars are displayed. The school grounds have also been the home for the
Hagerty Festival of the Unexceptional event for the last two years.
“Stowe School likes to do things differently
and what better way to celebrate the hard work the students have put into their
Mini than to highlight their car on Speech Day in the most dramatic of fashions,”
said Hagerty’s marketing director Marcus Atkinson.
“Having Michael
Deeley in attendance is really the icing on the cake given the Mini anniversary
and the fact that Michael’s much-loved film hits 50 years old in a few weeks’
time. The effort in concepting, planning and filming this film in secret has
been a huge challenge but when we watched a trio of Minis in cahoots with the
students and their Mini, it was well worth it.
“Hagerty is committed to promoting classic
cars and the lifestyle to children and young people of all ages, this being
just the latest in a long line of activities designed to appeal to young
drivers and classic car owners of the future.
“It is the younger
generation who will protect our passion of classic cars for generations to come
and their involvement and immersion into the sector is vitally important to
us.”
Watch the film
here: https://youtu.be/KPlWucEzl3E
Film: Petroleum
Photo: Amy Shore
