A feature documentary narrated by Ewan McGregor and written and directed by David Lancaster, Senior Lecturer in the Westminster School of Media and Communications, has been selected for the International Motor Film Awards 2022.
Speed is Expensive: Philip Vincent and the Million Dollar Motorcycle, premiered at the Barnes Film Festival in June 2022, winning the event’s Audience Award.
It tells the story of Philip Vincent, the man who designed the world’s most expensive motorcycle but ended his days in poverty.
After dropping out of the University of Cambridge, Vincent produced bikes that were years ahead of their time, pioneering ‘guerrilla marketing’ by sponsoring Los Angeles racers to compete in illegal back-street duels to promote his motorcycles.
Some models now sell for over $1 million, and owners include actors Brad Pitt and Ryan Reynolds. Yet when Philip Vincent passed away in 1979, he was largely unrecognised, penniless and living in council housing in West London.
Speed is Expensive brings together hours of unearthed personal films and audio interviews with Vincent himself, plus accounts from his family and the men and women who worked with him, to provide an intimate portrait of the enigmatic motorcycle designer.
As well the narration from actor and motorcyclist Ewan McGregor, it also features contributions from Vincent fans such as former Tonight Show host Jay Leno and artist, musician, and motorcyclist Paul Simonon. The trailer for Speed is Expensive has been viewed over 250,000 times online in just two weeks since its release.
Speaking about the film, David Lancaster said: "The film was about seven years [in the making] from initial plans to our screening at the Barnes Film Festival. We began, due to simple demographics, by tracking down the remaining men and women who built the Vincent motorcycle, aiming to bring in the wisdom of the shop floor alongside the stories of the company's founder, Philip Vincent.
"The project grew from there. We filmed US talk show host Jay Leno and his Vincent collection; the world's most expensive motorcycle, back on its record-setting road in Australia; and then finally we recorded Ewan McGregor's narration during lockdown.
"I should like to thank everyone on the project, and the help and encouragement from colleagues Jim McClellan, Petsa Kaffens, Eleanor Roseblade, Jane Thorburn, Simon Westgate...and most particularly retired Senior Lecturer Patrick Stoddart and Photography Technician Moacir Lopes."
David has worked in both television and print media, and briefly in radio. In broadcast, he worked as a researcher on the Channel 4 programme Ride-On before joining BBC2’s Top Gear as a researcher and director.
Watch the official trailer on the Speed is Expensive YouTube channel.
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