A Conversation With the Producer of Redline: The Movi
04-16-07, 04:39 PM
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A Conversation With the Producer of Redline: The Movi
Today, the film Redline opens at theaters around the country. With the media frenzy caused when actor Eddie Griffin wrecked a Ferrari Enzo featured in the film during a promotional event at the Irwindale Speedway, it's become almost impossible to completely avoid Redline. But no matter how compelling the story up on the screen might be, the tale of the man who made the movie is even more incredible.
Meet the owner of that Enzo and the executive producer of Redline, 38-year-old Daniel Sadek. Though he was born in Lebanon and raised in France, he's been in the United States for the last 20 years and his story is wholly American. Even before Sadek got here, he was already steeped in our popular culture and already in love with cars. Leaving behind his first car (a Fiat 850 sport coupe) in France, Sadek's first job in this country was in a Unocal 76 station in Cypress, California. From there he moved into the glamorous world of 7-Eleven.
In 1991, Sadek eventually got a job selling new Dodges. He took to sales immediately and ran quickly up through the ladder of brands — Honda, Toyota and Mercedes. But his fortune comes from the mortgage business he founded, Quick Loan Funding, based in Costa Mesa, California.
And that fortune is big enough so that Sadek acquired a collection of 22 or 23 (depending on whether you count the wrecks) exotic cars and a 15 percent ownership stake in Swedish exotic maker Koenigsegg. (Sadek promises to soon open America's first Koenigsegg dealership in Newport Beach, California.) All his cars — including the Enzo, a Saleen S7 and a Porsche Carrera GT that's wrecked in the film — are in Redline. His fortune is also big enough so that he personally covered the movie's reportedly $26 million production budget and all the marketing expenses entirely out of his own pocket.
Inside Line caught up with Sadek for a telephone interview just two days before his film debuted. He still speaks with a French accent, but it's far less noticeable than the enthusiasm and excitement in his voice.
What was your first exotic car?
Well, for me at the time, it was a 1994 BMW 325 Convertible. I didn't have enough credit to finance it. So I asked my boss to call the bank and have them finance a new BMW for me. Because I had been doing well selling cars.
So you were selling Toyotas and bought a BMW?
Correct. I sold it a year later and bought a Mercedes SL500. Then from there I bought my first Ferrari in late 1995 or early 1996. It was a Mondial convertible..
And you're still driving Ferraris today?
Since I was a kid it's always been a dream for me to drive a Ferrari. My favorite Ferrari today is the 599 GTB Fiorano. I haven't been driving much lately, but every time I want to go anywhere, that's the car I drive. I'm so impressed with the 599 — it has the same engine as the Enzo but it's got the power windows. It's got the nice sound system. It's got the response but it's easier to get in and out of.
Owning all these cars, are there any you'd like to get, but haven't yet?
There's not a car right now that, quite honestly, I can think of that I want. The only one I don't have in exotics is the Bugatti Veyron. And, you know, I'm not necessarily a fan of French cars. It doesn't look sporty enough. It looks like a Supra to me. That's my opinion.
Were you always interested in the movies?
Yeah. When you grow up watching television you naturally have a dream and excitement. But I don't have the looks or the talent to be an actor. That was my first choice, but my best choice was to produce movies.
Were there any car movies in particular that you've liked?
You know, actually there weren't any car movies I liked growing up. But I used to watch Starsky & Hutch and CHiPs with Erik Estrada. But I'm 38 years old. So there were not a lot of car movies being made when I was growing up.
So you weren't impressed by movies like Vanishing Point?
I never got a chance to see them. You know what? I'm going to write them down after we get off this and go rent them.
Where did the idea of putting all your cars together and putting them into a movie come from?
I let almost anybody drive my cars or sit in them. I'm not so fanatical about them. Cars are beautiful and if it puts a smile on somebody's face, you know, to have them sit in a car, take pictures of it, or even drive it around the block, OK. And that's my attitude. When I worked at a gas station, and all these exotic cars stopped by, I was too embarrassed to ask somebody if I can sit in the car. Redline is about all these cars and how beautiful they are. Cars a lot of people don't get to see even on the streets.
How did you decide to wreck a Porsche Carrera GT in the film?
The way it went down is, I had two Porsche GTs. And quite honestly, that car's spun out on me a couple of times. It's a very, very scary car... I thought if any of my friends borrow it, my friends or myself, could easily get killed in it, number one. Number two is that a computer graphics shot would never be the same. So out of all my cars, it was my least favorite car.
But you did take the engine out of it before you wrecked it, right?
It was the only way we could get it to flip. I think we did, like, six or seven trials before that, using different cars.
Last week Eddie Griffin wrecked your Enzo at Irwindale Speedway. A lot of people have speculated that that was planned in order to get more publicity for the movie. How do you respond to that?
You know what? The great thing about where we live is that people are entitled to their opinion. And I would never fight that because they have every reason to think whatever they want to think. But at the end of the day, what matters is that had I known that that was going to get that kind of publicity I would have done a much better job of wrecking it.
Meet the owner of that Enzo and the executive producer of Redline, 38-year-old Daniel Sadek. Though he was born in Lebanon and raised in France, he's been in the United States for the last 20 years and his story is wholly American. Even before Sadek got here, he was already steeped in our popular culture and already in love with cars. Leaving behind his first car (a Fiat 850 sport coupe) in France, Sadek's first job in this country was in a Unocal 76 station in Cypress, California. From there he moved into the glamorous world of 7-Eleven.
In 1991, Sadek eventually got a job selling new Dodges. He took to sales immediately and ran quickly up through the ladder of brands — Honda, Toyota and Mercedes. But his fortune comes from the mortgage business he founded, Quick Loan Funding, based in Costa Mesa, California.
And that fortune is big enough so that Sadek acquired a collection of 22 or 23 (depending on whether you count the wrecks) exotic cars and a 15 percent ownership stake in Swedish exotic maker Koenigsegg. (Sadek promises to soon open America's first Koenigsegg dealership in Newport Beach, California.) All his cars — including the Enzo, a Saleen S7 and a Porsche Carrera GT that's wrecked in the film — are in Redline. His fortune is also big enough so that he personally covered the movie's reportedly $26 million production budget and all the marketing expenses entirely out of his own pocket.
Inside Line caught up with Sadek for a telephone interview just two days before his film debuted. He still speaks with a French accent, but it's far less noticeable than the enthusiasm and excitement in his voice.
What was your first exotic car?
Well, for me at the time, it was a 1994 BMW 325 Convertible. I didn't have enough credit to finance it. So I asked my boss to call the bank and have them finance a new BMW for me. Because I had been doing well selling cars.
So you were selling Toyotas and bought a BMW?
Correct. I sold it a year later and bought a Mercedes SL500. Then from there I bought my first Ferrari in late 1995 or early 1996. It was a Mondial convertible..
And you're still driving Ferraris today?
Since I was a kid it's always been a dream for me to drive a Ferrari. My favorite Ferrari today is the 599 GTB Fiorano. I haven't been driving much lately, but every time I want to go anywhere, that's the car I drive. I'm so impressed with the 599 — it has the same engine as the Enzo but it's got the power windows. It's got the nice sound system. It's got the response but it's easier to get in and out of.
Owning all these cars, are there any you'd like to get, but haven't yet?
There's not a car right now that, quite honestly, I can think of that I want. The only one I don't have in exotics is the Bugatti Veyron. And, you know, I'm not necessarily a fan of French cars. It doesn't look sporty enough. It looks like a Supra to me. That's my opinion.
Were you always interested in the movies?
Yeah. When you grow up watching television you naturally have a dream and excitement. But I don't have the looks or the talent to be an actor. That was my first choice, but my best choice was to produce movies.
Were there any car movies in particular that you've liked?
You know, actually there weren't any car movies I liked growing up. But I used to watch Starsky & Hutch and CHiPs with Erik Estrada. But I'm 38 years old. So there were not a lot of car movies being made when I was growing up.
So you weren't impressed by movies like Vanishing Point?
I never got a chance to see them. You know what? I'm going to write them down after we get off this and go rent them.
Where did the idea of putting all your cars together and putting them into a movie come from?
I let almost anybody drive my cars or sit in them. I'm not so fanatical about them. Cars are beautiful and if it puts a smile on somebody's face, you know, to have them sit in a car, take pictures of it, or even drive it around the block, OK. And that's my attitude. When I worked at a gas station, and all these exotic cars stopped by, I was too embarrassed to ask somebody if I can sit in the car. Redline is about all these cars and how beautiful they are. Cars a lot of people don't get to see even on the streets.
How did you decide to wreck a Porsche Carrera GT in the film?
The way it went down is, I had two Porsche GTs. And quite honestly, that car's spun out on me a couple of times. It's a very, very scary car... I thought if any of my friends borrow it, my friends or myself, could easily get killed in it, number one. Number two is that a computer graphics shot would never be the same. So out of all my cars, it was my least favorite car.
But you did take the engine out of it before you wrecked it, right?
It was the only way we could get it to flip. I think we did, like, six or seven trials before that, using different cars.
Last week Eddie Griffin wrecked your Enzo at Irwindale Speedway. A lot of people have speculated that that was planned in order to get more publicity for the movie. How do you respond to that?
You know what? The great thing about where we live is that people are entitled to their opinion. And I would never fight that because they have every reason to think whatever they want to think. But at the end of the day, what matters is that had I known that that was going to get that kind of publicity I would have done a much better job of wrecking it.
04-16-07, 05:40 PM
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04-17-07, 07:23 AM
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I suppose if I have the money I can be anything and everything I ever wanted....
04-17-07, 07:51 AM
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Today, the film Redline opens at theaters around the country. With the media frenzy caused when actor Eddie Griffin wrecked a Ferrari Enzo featured in the film during a promotional event at the Irwindale Speedway, it's become almost impossible to completely avoid Redline.
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04-17-07, 08:01 AM
#8
EV ftw!!!
This is the first time that I am aware of personally where a movie opened in the US but not in Canada.....
04-17-07, 09:04 AM
#9
Lexus Test Driver
I was just in Vegas a week ago and I went to the Penske-Wynn dealership. The sales guy said Sadek is a good customer of both theirs and Ferrari in general. Part of the reason Sadek seems so laid back about his Enzo being wrecked is that apparently its being shipped back to Maranello to be fixed for FREE! He also mentioned that they thought it was publicity, but who knows.
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