BEHOLD THE BLACK BEAUTY CAR IN “THE GREEN HORNET”

For Batman, it's the Batmobile. But for the ultimate in advanced auto weaponry, The Green Hornet depends on The Black Beauty, an indestructible car equal parts firepower and horsepower – a veritable mobile fortress on wheels!

“As far as I’m concerned,” says Neal H. Moritz, producer of Columbia Pictures' 3D action-comedy “The Green Hornet,” “Black Beauty is the superhero of the movie.”

Just like the rest of the characters in The Green Hornet, the Black Beauty had to be cast. In the casting process, several cars auditioned, and the filmmakers were not sentimental during the process.

“We didn’t want it to be too futuristic,” says director Michel Gondry. “There was very little CG that would work for the car. We wanted it to feel real – a real car, with a real solid engine.”

When at last the Chrysler Imperial was suggested and agreed upon, it seemed like the natural choice. “The Imperial was definitely my preference from the beginning when I first got on the project,” says picture car captain Dennis McCarthy, who had worked with Moritz on the “Fast and Furious” films.

Of course, in its time, the Chrysler Imperial was the top of the line, but some 40 years have passed. During the run of “The Green Hornet” television series, the Black Beauty had custom details, including shaved-off bumpers and chrome. “We went for a little more classic look,” says McCarthy. “We left the chrome bumpers on the car, we left the chrome trim. It’s still a classic Imperial, but it has the theme of the original.”

Of course, working with a car that has been out of production for nearly fifty years can be quite a challenge – especially a car that is fully loaded with innovations and inventions that show off Kato’s bold imagination. “We definitely brought the weaponry up to date,” enthuses McCarthy. “We’ve got cool stuff, no comparison. There’s all kind of technical information and websites that show everything the car on the TV show had, and we really wanted to outdo them.”

Guns in the hood – check. Guns in the trunk – check. Guns in the doors? “That was something that was not in the TV series and was one of our biggest challenges on the whole show: the suicide doors.” McCarthy laughs. “One of the cars that was under consideration early on was a Lincoln Continental, which had suicide doors. Michel really liked those, so he asked if we could make the doors open in reverse on the front doors of the Imperial, and I said, ‘Yeah, that’s no problem at all.’ Well, it turned out to be a tremendous engineering feat to make that happen.”

But they did make it happen. Throughout the story, Kato tinkers with the Black Beauty, converting her from a classic car that perhaps made it out for the occasional Sunday spin to a fully loaded and quite suitable vehicle for the Green Hornet and his late night escapades with criminals.

BLACK BEAUTY WEAPONS

·         Two .30-Caliber M1919 Browning Machine Guns – cartridge-fed, hood-mounted, retractable

·         Eight FIM-92A Stinger Missiles – front bumper loaded

·         Four FIM-92A Stinger Missiles – rear bumper loaded

·         One M2 Grill mounted Flamethrower – modified

·         Two Benelli M2 20 Gauge Shotguns loaded with non-lethal, kinetic impact munitions rifles (rubber bullets / beanbags) – mounted in the light bezels

·         Six AR-15 12-Gauge modified door guns – inset 3 per front suicide door

·         Two Retractable front wheel anti-riot spikes

·         One .30-Caliber M1919A6 Browning Machine Gun on tripod mount – trunk

·         Passenger glove box weapons control with vector graphics

·         Steering wheel d-pad targeting and fire controls

BLACK BEAUTY ACCESSORIES

·         Front-end suicide doors

·         Front facing Green HID lamps with Somatosensory Amplification – 6,000,000 candlepower

·         Cataclysmic event front ejector seat system

·         Sony NV-U94T GPS receiver

·         Possio Greta GSM Mobile Fax Machine

·         Sony PS-LX250H belt-driven turntable

·         Danby DIM1524W Ice Maker

·         Rear door child safety locks

BLACK BEAUTY ARMOR

·         Threat level NIJ III A Armoring

·         Windscreen and Side Windows in Transparent Ballistic-Certified Multilayer Industrial Polycarbonate Glass

·         Roof, Floor, Front & Rear Panels, Side Panels & Doors Protected with 4.6mm ARMOX Ballistic Steel, Plasma Cut and Welded to Avoid Rust and Penetration

·         Hood & Rear Upper Panel Protected with 12mm KEVLAR plates

·         Overlap Protection on Windows Upper Perimeter and Critical Areas Against Angle Shot

·         Run Flat Inserts on Wheels with Tire Pressure Defensive Regulation System

“The Green Hornet” is now showing across the Philippines , and is available on IMAX 3D in SM North EDSA and SM City Cebu, and in Digital 3D and regular format. The film is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit http://www.columbiapictures.com.ph for trailers, exclusive content and free downloads. Like us at www.Facebook.com/ColumbiaPicturesPH and join our fan contests.