Whether it's for the quirky but ultimately flawed stainless-steel DeLorean DMC-12, his legacy as the developer of the Pontiac GTO, or his role behind the scenes at Packard and General Motors, John DeLorean will be remembered as one of the 20th Century's most influential automotive personalities. And that legacy will soon be captured on film, thanks to a trio of competing projects.
The front-runner is a movie by Time Studios and XYZ Films, announced Tuesday by The Daily Variety, reports AFP. It's the only one to get a pledge of cooperation from DeLorean's friends and family, making it the most likely to contain the authentic version of events.
XYZ Films is comparing the story line to that of Citizen Kane, which also tells the tragic story of an American entrepreneur.
DeLorean's story became mired in drug trafficking charges later in his life, and though he ultimately won that batle, the controversy remains. Bankruptcy and the failure of his own short-lived DeLorean Motor Company also complicate the telling of DeLorean's life epic.
As a sort of posthumous homage to DeLorean's DMC-12 design, a Texas company has taken over the DeLorean Motor Company name and is now building recreations of the iconic gullwing.