King of the Muscle Cars
By Middagh Goodwin
The world may soon know about Modesto’s legends of the cruise and classic car culture.
Modesto is classic cars and cruising. This, of course, stems from George Lucas’s 1973 film American Graffiti that focused on the stories of four young men with the backdrop of one last night of cruising 10th Street in Modesto, USA. The story was based on real-life experiences and people and it resonated with all of us then just as much it does now. Our love for American steel has never faded and Modesto has many legends of the cruise and classic car scene.
Larry Neville is one such legend. Neville whose family opened Neville Brothers Garage in 1947, who in the early ’60s at age 8 was washing windows and checking air at the family gas station. A graduate of Downey High in 1973 he was part of the resurgence of cruising in America and continued to work at the shop. Eventually becoming the go-to mechanic and car restorationist for those in the know, not just in Modesto but from around the region. The Neville Brothers shop is in the same location since ’47 and Modesto’s best hot rods have seen the inside of the Neville shop.
The cars, the stories and the legends are fascinating and are perfect for TV and TV will be coming soon to Modesto to showcase Larry Neville, his hotrods, his shop and Modesto. Shows about antique picking, custom motorcycles, rural veterinarians and many others are very successful, so this hot rod themed show will be a great fit.
Larry Neville has been signed to a three-season contract by Allied Film Productions, Ltd. Allied is represented by Crown North Talent Management. They have already received an offer from a soon to be announced network. The production has considerable shooting and production already in the can. Many of you may have seen filming taking place during Graffiti weekend at Neville Brothers. Executive Producer Richard Lipton commented that “Larry Neville on tape looks like a true star” and “he(Neville) has a unique, authentic and legitimate story and we are going to help tell it.”
Lipton and Allied Film Productions, Ltd. is committed to spending the majority of their budget right here in Modesto. They have contracted Final Cut Media for principle shooting and Never Boring for post-production. John Harrison, a local award-winning writer is a co-producer on the project. They are contracting locally for security, the crew and catering and using local music.
Lipton a native of New York said he loves Modesto and “dealing with the City has been amazing and Margaret James is phenomenal to work with.” Lipton continues “There are tens of thousands of “Gear Heads” that are going to relate to Neville and millions of NASCAR and auto fans in general that are going to love this show”.
We will continue to update you as new information comes our way.
