In 1987, Toby Halicki had wanted to make a true sequel to his car chase classic Gone in 60 Seconds. Denice Shakarian, who was an executive for New World Pictures and was also dating Halicki at the time, helped him develop the script, along with Toby's brother Ronald and Ronald Moore (who would gain critical acclaim for penning the later Star Trek movies for Paramount). The basic premise is that Halicki's character Colt, a master car thief, must steal 60 exotic cars from around the world, as well as avenge his friend's death, who was also a car thief.
Filming began in Halicki's hometown of Dunkirk, NY in 1988, but it was very evident that problems immediately began. First, Moore's constant fighting with Halicki over the script caused him to be fired from the movie. Second, the city of Dunkirk (Halicki's real hometown) reneged on their cooperation and made him take out an insurance policy, which in his case, was the ultimate stab in the back. When a local news crew came to interview him during the shoot. He, at the point of insanity, screamed at the camera and vowed to sue the entire city after the movie was finished.
The big chase scene with the semi-truck is the major highlight. Halicki had bought 400 cars to wreck for this one setpiece alone. However, something major went wrong as the telephone pole that was holding up the water tower at the abandoned warehouse snapped and everybody ran for cover. Sadly, Halicki never got of the way in time and the water tower collapsed on him, killing him instantly. A smarmy Moore later stated in an interview that his death was karma for him, due to his unpleasant working relationship with Halicki.
In 2003, a 33-minute excerpt of the incomplete film was released as an extra on the DVD of Halicki's third movie, Deadline Auto Theft (see my review for that). In terms of entertainment, the footage is spectacular. In terms of editing, it's a complete mess, as stock footage featuring shots of police cars from 60 and The Junkman are added to think every single police department in the United States is out to get Halicki. The extra also includes another chase scene that was shot by Denice several years after his death featuring a custom-built wedge car appropriately named Slicer that can flip and destroy any vehicle in its path.
