Earlier this week, the world learned of the unfortunate news that Tony Scott, director of movies such as Beverly Hills Cop II, Days of Thunder, The Last Boy Scout, & True Romance, committed suicide in Los Angeles.
To be honest, I never was into Tony Scott’s work like I was David Fincher or the Cohen Brothers, but I was still a fan and his style of directing was dope and influential. True Romance is probably one of my favorite movies of all time. But it’s one movie (short film to be exact) that I think of when I do think of Tony Scott’s film. It’s called Beat The Devil and it was part of the BMW film series The Hire. These short films were made for the internet back in 2001-2002 and everyone of them was directed by a popular filmmakers (Ang Lee did one, so did Guy Ritchie & John Woo). The films revolved around a nameless driver played by Clive Owen (Which now that I think about, was way before Ryan Gosling). I think you could actually get a DVD of these movies if you test drove a BMW or something but I got one for a yard sale a year or so after the last one was release.
I really liked Beat The Devil. The cast was great and featured Gary Owen, Danny Trejo, & even the godfather of soul James Brown (with a cameo from Marilyn Manson). But from the Las Vegas drag racing scene to flashbacks of young James Brown making a deal with the devil (Not a metaphor; that really happens), Tony Scott’s style shines through. And thanks to the magic of the Internets & YouTube, you can watch the 10 minute short up above. R.I.P. Tony Scott.