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How the 'Green Book' Cadillac DeVille got ready for its close-up
By Gary Gastelu
Published February 25, 2019
(Universal Pictures, Participant, Dreamworks)
The best picture Academy Award-winning film “Green Book” had three stars in it, but only two of them qualified for Oscar nominations.
The third is a turquoise 1962 Cadillac Sedan DeVille that is one of the most stunning cars to have ever appeared on screen.
In fact, three of them did.
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Dirty White Boy Picture Cars, the company that supplied the Caddies for the production, told Car and Driver that the identical triplets were needed for different stages of filming as camera and "hero" cars.
(Universal Pictures, Participant, Dreamworks)
They didn’t all start out the same. The New Orleans-based outfit acquired the cars individually, then painted and upholstered them in the same colors and materials. However, each still had its original 390 cubic-inch V8 engine. Surviving examples of the luxury ride typically sell for between $10,000 and $25,000.
The company’s owner, Jeff Hess, told the publication that the producers originally wanted coupes, but that the larger cabins of the sedans made it easier to film inside of them.
"Green Book" is based on true events, with Mahershala Ali depicting renowned black pianist Don Shirley being chauffeured across the segregated American South by Viggo Mortensen’s character, Tony Vallelonga, in a car provided by Shirley’s record company.
But while the sedan is period-correct, it may not be historically accurate. The late musician's brother, Maurice Shirley, told Black Enterprise magazine that Don “NEVER had a teal blue Cadillac, it was always a black limousine,” in a letter pointing out what he claims were several inaccuracies in the film.
https://www.foxnews.com/auto/how-the-green-book-cadillac-deville-got-ready-for-its-close-up