If the Hollywood rumors are true, it appears that “Back To the Future” won’t be the only film to immortalize John DeLorean’s contribution to the automobile as a feature biopic film on his life is in the works. There are actually three different parties competing for the project out there, but the one that appears to have the most steam has apparently initiated talks with George Clooney to play the lead role of DeLorean. Nothing has been confirmed or denied thus far, which in Hollywood speak is about as big of a commitment as we can hope to get.
John DeLorean was famous in the automotive industry long before he founded the company that bore his name. He began his career at Packard and then moved to Pontiac where he became the father figure of muscle cars in heading up the GTO. His contributions to Pontiac led him into prominence at Chevrolet where he turned around financial and organization troubles, and by 1971, Chevy was selling more vehicles alone than the entirety of the Ford Motor Company.
He left GM in the early 1970’s to form DeLorean Motor Company (DMC). DMC had countless troubles with financing and labor, and the company only produced his car, the DMC-12, for just a few years. In 1982 DeLorean was charges with trafficking cocaine by the U.S. Government, but won the case against him after proving the crime was committed by entrapment. A former drug smuggler turned FBI informant had sold DeLorean on the deal, promising the required dollars to keep his fledgling company rolling.
Though DeLorean won, the company did not survive. Today the DMC-12 is most widely known as the time machine in the “Back to the Future” trilogy of movies, starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd. After release of the first movie in 1985, John DeLorean personally wrote film producer Bob Gale a letter thanking him for immortalizing his car.
The DeLorean Motor Company is now in business under new ownership and is based in Texas. They specialize in restoring, building, and selling DeLoreans all across the country and hold the rights to the car and name.