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Promotional poster |
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| Directed by | Andy Cheng |
| Produced by | Daniel Sadek |
| Written by | Robert Foreman Daniel Sadek |
| Narrated by | Nadia Bjorlin |
| Starring | Nathan Phillips Nadia Bjorlin Eddie Griffin Angus Macfadyen Denyce Lawton Tim Matheson |
| Music by | Klaus Badelt ("Redline Theme") Ian Honeyman Andrew Raiher |
| Cinematography | Bill Butler |
| Editing by | Dallas Puett |
| Distributed by | Chicago Pictures |
| Release date(s) | April 13, 2007 |
| Running time | 95 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $26 million |
| Box office | $8,267,379 |
Redline is a 2007 American action film starring an ensemble cast. The film's plot is centered on a street racing circle funded by a group of multi-millionaires in order to test their high-powered supercars. It was written and produced by Daniel Sadek, who also used his own automobile collection in the film.[1] The film title was borrowed from the original working title of the 2001 movie, The Fast and the Furious. A critical and financial failure at the box office, the film is most notable for being funded by subprime loans issued by Sadek's company, Quick Loan Funding, which closed its doors in the wake of the subprime meltdown. It was featured on the CNBC special, House of Cards, as an example of the excess of the pre-meltdown mortgage market in the United States.
Redline was released in North America on April 13, 2007, and has been given a PG-13 rating by the MPAA.
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Natasha Martin (Nadia Bjorlin) is a beautiful auto mechanic and aspiring musician who is invited to join music producer Infamous (Eddie Griffin) aboard his private jet en route to Las Vegas in appreciation of her services on his Ford GT. She is also a highly-skilled race car driver, but is sometimes haunted by memories of her father's death at a NASCAR race many years ago. Meanwhile, on another side of town, Carlo (Nathan Phillips) has just returned from a tour of duty in Iraq. He meets up with his brother Jason (Jesse Johnson) before heading to Vegas themselves. Carlo is not happy that Jason is living with their mob boss uncle Michael D'Orazio (Angus Macfadyen), whom he always sees as the cause of their family's destruction. Little do they know that Michael has been running an unsuccessful counterfeiting ring and owes another crime organization millions of dollars.
On the outskirts of Las Vegas, a high-stakes race event is being held, with Michael, Infamous, Hollywood producer Jerry Brecken (Tim Matheson) and Chinese businessman Marcus Cheng (Michael Hagiwara) placing their bets over who has the better car. When Infamous' driver fakes an ankle injury, Infamous gives Natasha an offer to drive his car. Natasha is reluctant at first, but agrees to drive in exchange for $300,000 and a recording contract. Little does she know that Infamous has to place her on his wager, as Michael - who has been obsessed with her since watching her band perform on stage earlier - has placed four platinum bars at stake.
Natasha (driving a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren) takes on Jason (driving a Lamborghini Diablo). As they approach the finish line, Natasha is several car lengths ahead of Jason, but Jason quickly zips past her by engaging the onboard nitrous system. Unfortunately, because of the excessive speed, the Diablo loses downforce, flies off the ground and flips in mid-air before crashing upside down at the finish line. Attempting to avoid the falling Diablo, Natasha crashes on a barrier and is knocked unconscious. Before Carlo can reach Jason to rescue him, the Diablo bursts into flames, killing Jason instantly. Michael's henchmen, dressed as paramedics, place Natasha in an ambulance and speed off.
Natasha wakes up in Michael's mansion, realizing that she is now his property. Meanwhile, Carlo meets up with an old military friend and picks up some ammunition and gear before riding a Ducati 999 with the intent to kill Michael. After breaking into Michael's mansion, Carlo and Natasha bump into each other and leave the complex. This prompts Michael to have his henchmen kidnap her mother and convince her to drive for him at the next race at the Red Rock Canyon in Nevada.
In the final race, Michael, Brecken, Infamous and Cheng place their bets for a combined purse of $100 million. Infamous and Cheng are eliminated from the race after their cars (an SLR and a Porsche Carrera GT, respectively) are involved in separate crashes. Natasha and Brecken's driver are still in the race. As both cars reach the finish line, Natasha (driving Michael's Enzo Ferrari) is several car lengths ahead of Brecken's Saleen S7 Twin Turbo when she receives a phone call from Carlo notifying her that he has rescued her mother. The good news prompts her to slam the brakes hard, stopping the Enzo an inch away from the finish line and giving the S7 the win, costing Michael the race.
With no money left, Michael is given a last ride from the crime organization he owes money to. As a way of thanking Natasha for handing his driver the victory, Brecken gives her a recording contract (which shortly lands her on the cover of Variety), an Enzo and a Koenigsegg CCX. The film ends with Natasha (in the Koenigsegg) and Carlo (in the Enzo) racing each other before being chased by the police on the freeway.
On March 2007, Eddie Griffin participated in a charity race at Irwindale Speedway to promote the film, using an Enzo owned by Sadek. During a practice run, Griffin lost control of the Enzo and crashed into a concrete barrier. He walked away unharmed, but the $1.5 million supercar was badly damaged.[2] Griffin went on to lash at reporters who claimed the crash was a publicity stunt.[3]
Redline was a failure at the box office and with critics. The film opened at #11 at the U.S. box office, grossing $3.9 million in 1,607 theaters in its opening weekend.[4] The budget of the film was $26 million and after six weeks in theaters, the film grossed $6.8 million in North America.[5]
The film was not screened for critics before it opened, and those who reviewed it after it premiered were almost universally unfavorable. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 0% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 26 reviews.[6] On Metacritic, the film had an average score of 24 out of 100, based on 12 reviews.[7]
Funding for the film came from Sadek's subprime mortgage company, Quick Loan Funding.[8] In the CNBC special House of Cards, the crashing of two $500,000 cars for a single scene is cited as a direct example of the excess of the pre-crash subprime loan market in the mid-2000s. Sadek's company had long crumbled by the film's release, and the expected profits from the film were heavily borrowed against. The film's failure further worsened the situation.[9]