PRE PILOT DON/FERRARI PHOTOS!


COOPER&BURNETT

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Eingefügtes BildThe following are photos taken at the 1984 MIAMI GRAND PRIX.DON JOHNSON was sent out in the FERRARI DAYTONA at the Grand Prix for publicity for MIAMI VICE.The pilot episode had not aired yet, so when these photos were taken, DON was an unknown.The show aired one week later.
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Eingefügtes BildJurrassic Narc thinks that this photo (which is from a different Miami Grand Prix) may have been taken around the time that the Grand Prix was in MIAMI when they filmed Florence Italy.It sounds logical to me.
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Wow man...you are my hero!Where do you dig up these gems??? :)Thanks for posting ... again. I love these surprises...

Your too cool Stinger! :thumbsup:I'm betting Jurrassic Narc will like this thread too!
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Very cool. Like so may things in the C&B scrapbook, you just have to think that no other copy of this exists anymore. Notice the Braman plate on the front of the Rolls Royce. Braman is the BMW dealership in downtown Miami on Biscayne, perhaps even directly on the old Miami Grand Prix course when it went through the city streets. We briefly catch a glimpse of a Braman sign in Phil the Shill when they're tailing the black Mercedes at night. I wonder if this is the Rolls we see in the MV intro, or if at least some other Braman Rolls was used?

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I just do not know what to say.How do you get such pictures! :eek:One day I am gonna clear my desk of all my cases and I am going to investigate your secret;)Thanks for posting!!!:flowers:

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Wow Coop, the pictures are great. It is fun to go back in time and think about how the show was about to air and redefine t.v. I agree that Don looks very happy to be there. Once again, I tip my hat to you. Awesome find!

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You did it again. Great job Coop. One question, I'm wondering if all the pictures are from the same event. In one picture (third one posted) the Ferrari logo is between the headlights, not up high like in Season 1. And the outfit (which is more your area than mine) looks different. Could that pic be from the filming of Florence Italy in Season 2?

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You did it again. Great job Coop. One question' date=' I'm wondering if all the pictures are from the same event. In one picture (third one posted) the Ferrari logo is between the headlights, not up high like in Season 1. And the outfit (which is more your area than mine) looks different. Could that pic be from the filming of Florence Italy in Season 2?[/quote']Good question Jurassic. I don't know the answer, but I do know that the third photo DOES appear to be at a different Miami Grand Prix event. It appears that there is also another person in the passenger seat, and Don's clothes are different.I don't know the answer, but your suggestion of the event during the time of Florence Italy (his hair is correct for that season, and his clothes are more refined like those from season 2, and the Ferrari badge placement is correct for season 2.)I'd say your sugestion sounds correct to me. Your Awesome Jurrassic Narc!
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awesome!!i saw those pics on ebay, but didn't bid. if you were the buyer, now i'm glad i didnt ;)i thought they were from the "florence italy" era. cool to know they were from before the pilot.

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I have a slightly different take on the origin of the photos. As Jurrasicnarc states, the Ferrari emblem is between the headlights on the 3rd picture and above the headlights on pictures 1 & 2. However, the only Daytona that was leased by Universal for the pilot movie was the "camera car" (based on 1981 Corvette) which I believe had the Ferrari emblem between the headlights. The second car (or stunt car) was not leased until the decision to continue the series was made after the pilot was aired. So, that would mean that it is likely that the 3rd photo was taken before the pilot movie - and photos 1, 2 and 3 were taken at the later Grand Prix. (Also, where is the Rolls in the fourth photo?)

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Actually the pilot aired on September 16, 1984, but by that time NBC had already shot 5 other episodes. So the car could have been the 76 Vette based car and still have been used prior to the airing of the pilot episode.Heart of Darkness was filmed from July 12-24, 1984. The pilot was shot from March 5 to April 5, 1984. Don't know when the Miami Grand Prix was in that period, but Florence Italy was shot in January 1986. Anybody know when the Miaim Grand Prix was in 1984?JN

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I couldn't wait, so I looked up what I could about the Miami Grand Prix. In 1984, the year MIAMI VICE was introduced, the Grand Prix was run in February. The pilot was not filmed until March 1984. And the 1976 Vette based car was not on the scene at that time.The 1985 Miami Grand Prix was run in February 1985. It was the Lowenbrau Miami Grand Prix (there was a question in another thread about why MV used the Lowenbrau logo when the brand of whiskey Crockett prefered was obscured, this might explain why. You show our brand logo, we let you film around our event).The next Lowenbrau Miami Grand Prix was in March of 1986. Principal Photography for Florence Italy took place in early January 1986, and the show aired in February 1986. That would be a pretty good indication that someone thought to shoot some footage (or buy some film shot for another reason) to use to flesh out that episode and get it on the air at about the time of the event in 1986.So, as to the question of which shot is from when---Really hard to say with the information on hand. I would guess the shots of Don on the 1976 Vette based Daytona were done at the 1985 Grand Prix in February. The show would have been on the air, but not as high in the ratings as it would be the next year. The shots of Don on what is probably the Camera Car were most likely to promote the show, and as payback for the series being allowed to shoot in and around the Grand Prix. They probably occured in March 1986 when MV was at the top of it's game ratings wise.Since C&B didn't take the pictures, and has to base his information on a third party, I would say that the word that the photos were taken at the Miami Grand Prix just prior to the pilot airing is just someone getting their dates confused. Which really doesn't change the fact that the photos are great, and a wonderful addition to the volumes of information we are building on the show.What it DOES mean is that I have far too much time on my hands!! But the research was fun, anyway!

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EXCELLENT research JURRASSIC!I also have another slant that nobody has thought of.The pilot episode was shown 3 times in the original run.Perhaps after the photos were taken, the photographer tuned in to watch the show, and they broadcast the second, or third airing of the pilot.What about THAT idea?

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