AAA Has a Lot in Common with Dreamworks' Cinematic Snail
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atch a movie from DreamWorks Animation and there’s a good chance you’ll be caught up in the tale of an ordinary character with extraordinary dreams. In the case of Turbo, due in theaters July 17, it’s a lowly garden snail with visions of racing in the Indianapolis 500. The story in a shell: He gets his wish AAA has a lot in common with after a freak accident empowers DreamWorks’ cinematic snail him with superspeed. BY PAUL ZIEKE For their movie, the makers of Turbo wanted the Indy 500 racetrack scenes to look as authentic as 60 Westways | July/August 2013 0713_WLA_60-61TURBO.indd 60 5/23/13 8:19 AM possible, so they featured racecars inspired by vehicles that actually compete— The Man Behind including AAA’s No. 3 car, driven in real life by Helio Castroneves. Attentive the Mollusk moviegoers might also spot AAA tow Westways talked with Turbo Director David Soren trucks in cameo roles. about his latest project. AAA’s involvement with auto racing goes back more than 100 years: AAA was the sanctioning body for the fi rst Indy 500 held in 1911. AAA also sanctioned national open-wheel racing championships in 1905, and again between 1916 and 1955. Turbo viewers can impress their movie dates by pointing out AAA’s connection with the star snail—and by rattling off these quick IndyCar racing tidbits. Q: Tell us what Turbo is about. Q: Did your team go to A: Turbo is an ordinary garden Indianapolis to do research? snail who dreams of racing A: We did. It was important to glory. It is a mash-up of ground this insane dream in superhero and racing genres. a believable reality. That’s At its heart, it’s an underdog why we picked the Indy story. 500; it’s the gold standard of racing. Our crew went Q: How did you come up with to the Indy 500 a couple of the story? times and to several other A: It’s actually inspired by two IndyCar races and really things in my life. The fi rst is studied the environment. We my now 6-year-old son, who took thousands of photos. has been obsessed with cars Dario Franchitti, the Indy and racing since before he champion, was our creative could even talk. The second consultant, talking to us about is my front yard, which has a how to make the movie feel bit of a snail problem. So it’s authentic. this combination of one of the slowest creatures on earth Q: Did you have an Indy-size mixed with the racing element dream when you were that was constantly in my house. growing up? A: When I was very young, I Q: What challenges did you became aware that I could face in animating a snail? draw better than other kids. A: Many. For starters, how they From the time I was a child, move, since they don’t have I told my dad that I wanted arms or legs or eyebrows. But to come to California (I grew sometimes, if you embrace up in Toronto) and work in the limitations, you can animation. I started here 16 actually come up with things years ago as a storyboard that are a lot more creative. artist and came up through Our artists used what little is the ranks, working on the fi rst there to maximum effect, like Shrek movie and Chicken Run. snails applauding by clapping So I am doing my dream. W their eyeballs together. 0713_WLA_60-61TURBO.indd 61 5/23/13 8:19 AM.