Vespa Spotting: Riding soon to a theater near you!

There has been a lot of movies in the past where the Vespa scooter figured prominently in the storyline. Some of these flicks you’ll see in my previous post here. And now, on its way to the cinemas are are a couple of upcoming Hollywood releases which got big stars & lead characters riding on Vespas. Watching the trailer and reading the plot summaries, these three films seem to be an interesting watch. See for yourself.

First of the list is Michael Bay’s (Armageddon) much-anticipated, summer blockbuster movie — Transformers. The image above is actually a collateral for the tie-up between Vespa USA and DreamWorks/Paramount Pictures where the former will be giving away a brand-new Vespa in their Vespaweeps promo. But don’t get too excited. There would be no transforming scooter joining Optimus Prime and the Autobots nor will there be one joining the evil forces of the Decepticons.

So what’s the Transformers-Vespa connection then? Here’s what Paolo Timoni, president/CEO of Piaggio Group Americas, has to say…

[from mediapost.com] In the movie, the hero — played by Shia LaBeouf — escapes from one of the protean mechanical horrors on a Vespa, which turns out to be the perfect escape vehicle because it is able to weave in and out of the apocalyptic wreckage of burning cars and rubble. The scooter’s role in “Transformers” will be about Vespa as an American brand. It’s not about Italian good living.

Sounds exciting. I’m actually curious to see how does that translate in the actual movie. Guess we all have to wait for this year’s 4th of July to find out. In the mean time, you can visit the official site at www.transformersmovie.com and see the trailer.

The next two movies are topbilled by Reese Witherspoon; and the other one, by Brad Pitt. Check them out riding their Vespas here.

The chick in that black leather get-up is actually Reese Witherspoon and the pig-nosed girl who’s about to hitch a ride is Christina Ricci. The movie is called “Penelope” and it’s gonna be shown sometime August 2007. Here’s a synopsis:

[from fandango.com] Born with the snout of a pig, young Penelope Wilhern spends her life a virtual prisoner in her home. Believing that the only way to break the curse is to marry one of her own kind, she meets a number of suitors, but all reject her. Two devious men, one with a grudge against the family, hire a man to pose as a suitor, but complications arise when he begins to fall in love with Penelope, and she makes a bid for freedom.

Check out more pictures of the above Vespa scene from the set here. Visit www.penelopethemovie.com — the movie’s official website — to view the trailer.

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And here’s the Brad Pitt flick. I wasn’t even aware of this film until I saw his picture riding a Vespa posted in the Vespinoy forum (thanks for the heads-up, Edmund!). Here’s more info about the movie.

The movie is called “Curious Case of Benjamin Button” — a fantasy drama which has a November 2008 playdate. No official website yet but here’s a short plot summary:

[from comingsoon.net] The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” is a 1922 short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The protagonist ‘Benjamin Button’ is born as a feeble old man, and ages in reverse until he becomes a baby at the end of his life.

A couple more photos of Brad on scoot posted here. Now Brad & I have something in common! bwahahaha!

Kapaaal!

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J0HNRANA

john[dot]rana[at]gmail[dot]com