Trivia for
Two-Lane Blacktop (1971) More at IMDbPro »

• Bruce Dern declined the role of "The Driver", later accepted by James Taylor.
  
  
• This would be Laurie Bird's (as the girl/hitchhiker) film debut. She would only star in two more films including Cockfighter (1974) and Annie Hall (1977) before taking her own life in New York in 1979.
  
  
• Floyd Mutrux, wrote much of the screenplay, but lost credit in a Writers Guild arbitration hearing due to the fact he was not a member of the Guild. Director Monte Hellman appeared in Mutrux's film The Christian Licorice Store (1971) the same year this film was made.
  
  
• A drummer for the rock band The Beach Boys, Dennis Wilson gave his only acting performance in this film.
  
  
• Dennis Wilson's watch used to time the race is a Rolex Daytona.
  
  
• Three 1955 Chevrolets were used as the street racer in the film; both vehicles were built by Richard Ruth. One of the cars used in the film, with the twin carburetors, was driven by Harrison Ford in American Graffiti (1973), and the car that was seen at the gas station in the film--the 210 coupe, aka the #2 vehicle--was recently located in Canada, intact and untouched. The #3 car had a full rollcage installed and was to be used in a rollover scene that was not filmed. It was later used in the rollover scene in "American Graffiti".
  
  
• According to the director’s commentary on the first DVD release, the reason the movie took so long to release on DVD was Jim Morrison. Two Lane Blacktop's sound track has scenes in the movie where Doors music is playing in the background. Monte Hellman and the producers had trouble initially securing permission from Morrison's estate to release the film with its original content of Doors music on to the medium of DVD. For obvious reasons, such DVD permission was not part of the original agreement with the Doors in 1972. Eventually, the studio got permission to use the Doors music again and the DVD was released.
  
  
• Kris Kristofferson was the first choice for the role of "The Driver".
  
  
• This is the only time that James Taylor ever acted in a movie. He is the only one of the main actors in the film still alive today (2009).
  
  
• As of the 2007 Criterion DVD release, James Taylor had never seen the film. He says he would now like to see it.
  
  

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