Music and songs wanted for a NASCAR film with George Clooney 'Chasing Ghosts'
We are looking for songs for a Motion Picture about a NASCAR driver and his son. Its based on a true story. George Clooney is set to star, and an Oscar winning director is almost signed up.
The songs can be of all genres as there will be car race scenes, but also tender moments and a variety of emotional scenes. I have been asked to compose the Score but also I will be the Music Supervisor so will be choosing the songs for the slots and scenes.
Chasing Ghosts:
Genre: Action/Drama Log Line: An old moonshiner teaches his son the ropes and ends up in the race of his life.
Theme: Some things in life are more important than winning.
Setting: A rural family compound somewhere in South Carolina...
Home of the Image Pomade Company, the family business owned by Nanna Mae Faires, a seventy-six year old matriarch, and run by her sixty-two year old son, Buck. That's right. If you do the math, Nanna Mae gave birth to Buck when she was just fourteen years old. The Factory/Warehouse complex is an L-shaped building adjacent to the town's railroad tracks. The administrative offices occupy the smaller wing. Across the street is the Volunteer Fire Department and a Honky-Tonk. Outside the warehouse, in the corner of the L-shaped building is a row of Coca-Cola, Dr. Pepper, NeHi, and Tom's Snacks vending machines. The NeHi machine houses Buck's supply of Colt 45 Malt Liquor pony cans, one of which is almost always in his hand. Nanna's three vintage MG-B Roadsters are parked next to Buck's two T-birds and two pristine Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Buck lives about a half a city block down the road. Nanna Mae's house is next to the warehouse and faces the tracks. A Tennesee Williams- like porch with a swinging love-seat invites visitors to the genteel entrance. Mariel Osborne, Buck's very old Grandmother, in her eighties, lives in a house just a stones throw beyond Nanna's. -- Go ahead, do the math. Mariel gave birth to Nanna Mae when she was fourteen, too. Bordering the complex on the eastside is JB's house and Trailer Park. JB, is a black man married to Sylvia, a white woman. JB runs the county's numbers racket and his trailer park is the local whore house.
His customers are the pillars of the community and they all stop by on occasion to avail themselves of JB'S services which are provided by the residents of the numerous trailers lined up behind JB's house and alongside the gravel roadway that ends at the woodline. The scene would be pure Norman Rockwell except for the arguin', drinkin', fightin', moonshinin', whorin', hard drivin', and hard livin' that goes on hereabouts.
Act One The final lap of the Daytona 500. A brand, spankin', new, red, 1969 Chevy Nova, with "BUCK" tattoed on the hood, speeds round the oval race track chasing the lead car driven by a young Richard Petty. The rest of the pack is far behind. Bobbing and weaving, the front runners play cat and mouse until Buck maneuvers and speeds into the lead on Turn Three. The path to Victory Lane is wide open as Buck accelerates hard through Turn Four and a smile crosses his lips. Suddenly, his tires are skidding and he is spinning out of control. He bounces off the wall. Petty takes advantage of the opening and barely slips through to take the checkered flag. Buck regains control of the Nova and crosses the finish line second. The vivid thirty year old memory of that day weighs heavily on sixty-two year old Buck Faire's mind as he stares at the Chevy Nova parked in a corner of the Image Pomade Company warehouse and country music blares from the radios scattered throughout the plant. He takes a swig of moonshine from the 'still' where corn gold slowly drips drop by drop into a copper vat that prominently occupies the northeast corner of the wood framed warehouse. Buck hands a Black Preacher an order of pomade and moonshine. The preacher enthusiastically recounts how fast he sold his last order of pomade and 'shine.
Buck appreciates knowing business is good for the reverend as he throws the tarp over the Nova and walks out of the Image Pomade warehouse. The spring-loaded screen door slams shut. Buck hates the sound of slamming doors, He loves the sound of a V8 engine. Buck always wanted to be a jock. As a child growing up, he played football, basketball, baseball, you name it . . . all terribly bad for he was never blessed with the outward graces. Course, when he became a teenager, he drank good and fought good. And that didn't stop, even after he found his calling behind the wheel of a car runnin' 'shine. A suped up stock car speeds to a fishtailing stop on the gravel road bed, knocking over empty pomade drums. Buck's eldest son and alter ego, Mitch, toots the horn, "Pa! Let's go!" Buck, grabs a Colt 45 pony and gets in the car. "Damn! That engine sure does purr pretty. What you do to it?" "Bored and stroked 'n ready to fly." "Let's see if you learned anything since yesterday." As they drive away, Brad, Buck's youngest son watches until his mother calls him to his gospel singing rehearsal. Mitch heads out on the county's backroads as he puts the car through the paces up and down narrow, curving and winding ribbons of asphalt. He passes cars dangerously on the left and right. They blow their horns in fear as Dare-devil Mitch comes close to colliding with some and running others off road, including himself. Buck never tenses; He's always cool as a cucumber. A Police car gives chase and is quickly put in the dust. Buck gives his son the thumbs up as they return to the compound.
The police car speeds onto the scene. The Sheriff jumps out and grabs ahold of Mitch. "What do you think you're doin'?" "I"m arresting Mitch, here." "For what?" "For reckless drivin' out on the road." "You didn't catch 'im out on the road." "Don't make no difference. I saw 'im breakin' the law." "The hell it doesn't. You don't get to come over here and arrest him after the fact." "Course I can. Yes, I can." "No, you can't. You can't go changin' the rules in the middle of the game. If we outrun ya', we outrun ya' fair and square. You want to arrest my boy or me, you gotta' do it at the scene of the crime. That's how we've always done it. You can't go changin', unh ungh. That ain't right." "One of these days I'm gonna' gitcha'. You or him, either one, don't make no difference. Both a'ya'll would be even better yet, but I'm gonna' gitcha'. I promise ya. One of these days I'm gonna' gitcha' if'n it kills me." "One day you just might, but today ain't the day. You have a nice day, Sheriff." Mitch enters the Outlaw Dirt Circuit. He rules the tracks and the competition until one day, Mitch crashes and dies.
In church, Buck stands solemn, drunk, and uneasy in his trademark overalls next to his sobbing ex-wife, Helen. They listen as their youngest son, Brad, a great gospel singer, sings a memorial hymn for his brother. Brad stands apart from his father at the cemetery and shoulders his unconsolable mother. In the kitchen later that evening, Helen blames Buck for Mitch's death. Buck lauds his late son's manliness and daring. "He was a man! He died a man! Doin what he loved. At least he weren't no sissy choir boy!" Brad runs out of the house and into his car. He races away into the night. Helen demands Buck chase after him! Buck jumps into one of his T-Birds. As Buck approaches, Brad appears to handle the car with even greater instincts than his brother. Buck takes notice of Brad's inherent racing skill and decides to test him. His youngest son displays masterful skills that leave him in the dust. Brad is self-satisfied when, all of a sudden, he is blinded by a FLASH OF LIGHT appearing in his rear-view mirror. The flash surges forward until it pulls alongside and morphs into a car occupied by his late brother, Mitch. Mitch yells a challenge. They race down the road with Brad giving as good as he gets. Coming to a sharp turn Mitch's car swerves and careens out of control. In the blink of an eye, Mitch's car dissolves into thin air and is gone. Brad is headed for a similar fate, but manages to maneuver safely through the turn when he slams on the brakes, then skids to a halt. Stopped, he tries to collect himself. When Brad returns to the house, Buck tries apologizing and tries to reconcile with Brad. The speech ends with him asking Brad to race the circuit in place of his brother . . . "He's dead, Pa! Mitch is dead. I can't be Mitch!" "Damn right, you can't. You can't be Mitch because you're a better driver than he ever dreamed of being."
"You don't believe that." "The hell I don't. I saw you, boy. I don't know if it was just you were mad or what, but I saw you. What you were doing on that road can't be taught." Helen is dead set against the prospect of her youngest son also tempting fate. She tries to dissuade him. Brad decides he owes it to himself and Mitch to try. Buck backs Brad's decision. "If anything happens to him, I swear Buck . . . " The thought of his gospel singing son being a race car driver tickles him. "What do you think of The Preacher for a handle? Or maybe you could call yourself The Singer."
Act Two Buck and Brad overcome obstacles as they work their way up to the Grand Nationals. Along the way, Buck tutors Brad. We see Buck's pride, nostalgia, and the emotional investment he has in his son's success. After many failed attempts they finally get a corporate sponsor. Many at the tracks disparage Buck as an old time moonshine runner and all 'round drunk who has no business on the track. Old timers like Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, etc. respect Buck as a hard driving competitor who should not be discounted. Ultimately, Brad, qualifies for the Daytona 500 speed trials. During the trials Brad smashes against the wall and the accident leaves him hospitalized. Track rules allow him to name a substitute driver. He names his father. Buck balks. Brad convinces him to try with, "What you can do behind the wheel of a car can't be taught. If it's true about me, it's true about you. Besides, finally you have a chance to put to rest all those ghosts from the past."
Act Three The rules committee mediates the substitute driver issue. The drivers caucus. They are unanimous in their opposition to Buck being allowed to race. "The whole idea is crazy. Insane! He's bound to get somebody killed." "Who here in their right mind wants to race with him out on the track? Anybody?" "If he races, I'm out." "I'd race him," says Richard Petty "So would I," says Parnelli Jones. "Me, too," chimes Cale Yarborough. "Look, you don't even know if he's going to qualify. He probably won't. For old time sake, for his sons' sake, I say, at least, let him try. It's not like he has much of a chance. What's it gonna' hurt?" asks Richard Petty.
Track officials inspect Buck's car. They dismantle the car and remove the gas tank. They list eleven items that Buck must adjust to bring the car into compliance with track rules before he will be allowed to race. With the gas tank still sitting on the ground, Buck replies, "Make that twelve." He starts the car and drives away. The gas tank sits on the ground. Track officials are red-faced and dumbfounded. Buck runs well, but fights with his pit crew. He is late, difficult and hung over. His pit crew quits. Buck, all alone, runs the time trials. He sits on the bubble with one car left to qualify. The last car on its last attempt at qualification blows an engine! Buck backs into qualifying for the last position in the last row. To the utter dismay of all the other drivers, the rules committee decides nothing in the rules prevent Buck from racing, except that he has no pit crew. Buck is laying on top of the hood of his car, a Colt 45-Malt Liquor can sits on his chest. Richard Petty enters the garage. "Understand you're in need of a pit crew." Behind him walks in Cale Yarborough, Parnelli Jones, and a bunch of other legends of the track. "We'll be your pit crew." Buck breaks out in laughter. The old timers rehearse tire changes, gas fillups, etc., until they have the pit stops timed down to twenty-two seconds. "We can keep you runnin' in the race, but this pit crew can't win it for ya'." "I just want to finish and not come in last." Race Day: Brad arrives on cruthces. Buck and his pit crew are the focus of media attention. Many of the legends working his crew have abandoned their posts as leaders of their teams.
The Broadcast Helicopter flying over the infield relays signals from inside car interiors to the ESPN/TNN/ABC (pick one) Broadcast Control Trailers. During the course of the race, two huge accidents decimate much of the field. With Buck riding last, he avoids any involvement in both of the massive crashes and pile-ups. As the race nears its end, Buck is in second place. The rest of the pack is far behind. Bobbing and weaving, the front runners play cat and mouse until Buck manoeuvres and speeds into the lead on Turn Three. As they head for Turn Four, Buck's challenger claims the inside track. They are side-by-side, neck-'n-neck, when the helicopter flying over the infield sputters and crashes onto the track. The crowd, aghast, rises to its collective feet. The two lead cars enter the black smoke. Buck sees his son, Mitch, wounded and struggling to get out of the helicopter. Both cars zoom out of the shroud. As Buck's challenger heads for the Chequered Flag, Buck slams on his breaks and heads across the infield back toward the crash. As his challenger heads down the last straight-a-way, Buck jumps out of his car and runs for the burning helicopter. The challenger takes the chequered flag. The crowd rises to its collective feet, yelling and cheering and applauding as Buck pulls crash victims to safety. The roar of the crowd gets Buck's attention as he lays a casualty on the infield. It takes him a moment or two for him to realize the sustained applause and standing ovation is for him and his heroics. The driver who crossed the finish line realizes he has a hollow victory. Buck may have lost the race, but he's won the day and the hearts of racing fans. Life's lessons educate even the most ignorant of men.
In a twist of fate, the ruling committee announces the yellow caution should have been in force the moment of the helicopter crash, but Buck refuses to race the final lap. "Let him have the win. I don't need to be chasing ghosts no more. Some things in life are more important than winning." Buck searches for and finds Brad. They embrace. "Mitch is here, Pa. Mitch is here." "I know." The End