90 Fun Facts About Road Trip Movie

Which 1969 film has Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper riding choppers across the Southwest?

Its success helped launch the New Hollywood era, and Jack Nicholson's turn as a boozy lawyer made him a star.

Which 1934 Frank Capra screwball comedy puts a runaway heiress and a reporter on a long-distance bus?

It was based on a short story called 'Night Bus' and came out four months before the Hays Code was rigidly enforced.

Louise's convertible in Thelma & Louise is a 1966 model of what car?

Witnesses at the bar identify the car, which is how the FBI closes in; the film's theme music is also called 'Thunderbird'.

Which future star played the charming drifter J.D. in Thelma & Louise?

He said filming the love scenes with Geena Davis was awkward with everyone standing around.

In National Lampoon's Vacation, the Griswolds drive from Chicago to which amusement park?

It is billed as 'America's Favorite Family Fun Park', and of course it is closed when they arrive.

What is the name of the ugly, oversized car Clark Griswold is stuck with in National Lampoon's Vacation?

He is forced to take it after the car he traded in gets crushed; it was built on a Ford LTD Country Squire.

Who directed National Lampoon's Vacation from John Hughes's screenplay?

Hughes based the script on his own short story 'Vacation '58'; the film also marked Christie Brinkley's acting debut.

In Planes, Trains and Automobiles, what does John Candy's Del Griffith sell for a living?

He passes them off as earrings to raise train fare after the pair are robbed.

Neal Page is trying to get home to Chicago in time for which holiday in Planes, Trains and Automobiles?

John Hughes wrote, produced and directed it, and it has become a Thanksgiving-week TV staple.

The car Charlie and Raymond drive across the country in Rain Man is a 1949 model of what?

It is one of the only two things Charlie inherits, along with some rosebushes; two convertibles were used in filming.

Rain Man won four Oscars, including Best Actor for which star?

It was the highest-grossing film of 1988; writer Barry Morrow based Raymond partly on the real savant Kim Peek.

In Dumb and Dumber, Lloyd and Harry drive from Providence, Rhode Island, to which ski town?

They are returning a briefcase of money that was actually a ransom drop.

Which 2006 film's dysfunctional family drives a yellow VW bus 800 miles to a child beauty pageant?

Screenwriter Michael Arndt chose the Volkswagen T2 Microbus partly because it was practical to film inside.

Green Book takes its title from what?

Victor Hugo Green founded the guide in 1936 and it was published until 1966.

Mahershala Ali won an Oscar in Green Book playing which real-life pianist?

His driver and bodyguard was Frank 'Tony Lip' Vallelonga, whose son co-wrote the film.

In which black-and-white 2013 film does Bruce Dern set out to collect a sweepstakes prize he has not won?

Dern won Best Actor at Cannes and Will Forte plays the son who drives him.

Jack Nicholson plays a retired Omaha actuary touring the Midwest in a motor home in which 2002 film?

His wife dies just after they buy the motor home, and he narrates his trip in letters to a sponsored child named Ndugu.

In Sideways, which wine does Miles famously refuse to drink?

He praises Pinot noir instead, and Pinot sales rose after the film while sales of the maligned grape dipped.

In Zombieland, Woody Harrelson's character spends much of the film hunting for what snack?

The four survivors are all named after their home cities rather than by their real names.

Zombieland's survivors go by city names. What is Woody Harrelson's character called?

Jesse Eisenberg is Columbus, Emma Stone is Wichita and Abigail Breslin is Little Rock.

In which 1988 film does bounty hunter De Niro escort mob accountant Grodin across the country?

De Niro took the part specifically to play against type in a comedy; Grodin's character had given $15 million of mob money to charity.

Which 1973 film cast Ryan and Tatum O'Neal as Depression-era con artists in Kansas?

Tatum became the youngest competitive Oscar winner ever for playing Addie.

The Motorcycle Diaries recounts the 1952 South American journey of which future revolutionary?

Gael García Bernal played him, alongside Rodrigo de la Serna as travelling companion Alberto Granado.

Y tu mamá también was directed by which Mexican filmmaker, who co-wrote it with his brother Carlos?

It is set in 1999, as seven decades of PRI presidents were coming to an end.

Which 1994 Australian film follows two drag queens and a trans woman across the Outback in a tour bus?

The bus itself is named Priscilla; the three leads were Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce and Terence Stamp.

How many Academy Awards did Mad Max: Fury Road win?

It was nominated for ten and swept the craft categories, from editing to costume design.

Who played Imperator Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road?

Anya Taylor-Joy took over the role for the 2024 prequel.

Which David Lynch film, the only one of his rated G, follows an old man crossing Iowa on a lawn mower?

It is based on Alvin Straight's real 1994 journey to visit his estranged brother after a stroke.

In Lynch's 1999 lawn-mower road film, the used 1966 tractor the old man buys is what brand?

His first mower breaks down almost immediately, so he buys the used one and keeps going.

The teenage journalist in Almost Famous tours with which fictional rock band?

Cameron Crowe based it on his own teenage years writing for Rolling Stone.

Which 1971 film cast musicians James Taylor and Dennis Wilson as street racers in a cross-country race?

Universal commissioned it to cash in on the biker-movie boom; Warren Oates plays the rival driver known only as GTO.

In which 1971 cult film does a driver named Kowalski race a white Dodge Challenger toward San Francisco?

Studio boss Richard Zanuck reportedly picked the brand-new Challenger R/T himself.

The Bandit's black 1977 car in Smokey and the Bandit is what model?

He drives it as a 'blocker' to draw the police away from Snowman's truck.

What are the Bandit and Snowman hauling from Texarkana to Atlanta in Smokey and the Bandit?

Coors was not legally sold east of the Mississippi at the time, which is the whole point of the bet.

Smokey and the Bandit was the second-highest-grossing US film of 1977. Which film beat it?

It was stuntman Hal Needham's directorial debut.

The Bluesmobile in The Blues Brothers is a retired police car of what make and model?

Thirteen ex-California Highway Patrol cars were bought at auction to play it.

In The Blues Brothers, Jake and Elwood are on a 'mission from God' to save what?

The film was shot in and around Chicago and features James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and Cab Calloway.

The Cannonball Run was based on a real outlaw road race that began in which state?

The Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash ran to California; the film was 1981's sixth-biggest hit.

Which Hong Kong star appears in The Cannonball Run's ensemble alongside Burt Reynolds and Roger Moore?

Hong Kong's Golden Harvest produced the film, which explains the casting.

In The Muppet Movie, Doc Hopper wants Kermit to become the spokesfrog for what?

Kermit and Fozzie set out in a 1951 Studebaker, collecting the rest of the Muppets on the way to Hollywood.

What was Spielberg's feature debut, about a salesman menaced by a semi-truck on rural California roads?

Richard Matheson's story was inspired by a trucker cutting him off on the day President Kennedy was shot.

Which 2020 film, winner of the Golden Lion at Venice, has Frances McDormand living out of a van?

Real-life nomads Linda May, Swankie and Bob Wells appear as versions of themselves.

In which 1993 film does David Duchovny's writer researching serial killers unwittingly carpool with one?

The parolee and his childlike waitress girlfriend turn out to be exactly what the writer has been researching.

Which 1957 Bergman road film features Victor Sjöström's final performance?

Bergman wrote the screenplay while he was in hospital.

Which 1954 Fellini film has Anthony Quinn as the strongman Zampanò taking Gelsomina on the road?

Fellini called it 'a complete catalogue of my entire mythological world'; the title simply means 'The Road'.

Kings of the Road completed the 'Road Movie trilogy' of which German director?

It followed Alice in the Cities and The Wrong Move and won the critics' prize at Cannes.

Felicity Huffman starred as Bree, a trans woman on a road trip with her long-lost son, in which film?

It premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and was released by IFC and the Weinstein Company.

Which 1985 Rob Reiner road comedy gave John Cusack his first major starring role?

It was Reiner's second film after This Is Spinal Tap; Cusack and Daphne Zuniga travel from New England to LA over Christmas break.

In Due Date, why is Robert Downey Jr.'s character so desperate to reach Los Angeles?

He ends up sharing the trip with Zach Galifianakis's aspiring actor; the film was shot partly in Las Cruces and Tuscaloosa.

In We're the Millers, Jason Sudeikis assembles a fake family to smuggle what across the border?

Jennifer Aniston, Emma Roberts and Will Poulter play the rented wife and kids.

Which 2017 film has an aged Wolverine driving an ailing Charles Xavier and a young mutant toward safety?

It drew on Mark Millar's 'Old Man Logan' comics and was Hugh Jackman's send-off in the role.

The brothers Ian and Barley Lightfoot in Pixar's Onward are what kind of creature?

They have 24 hours to finish a spell that brings back the lower half of their late father.

In The Mitchells vs. the Machines, the family road trip is meant to deliver daughter Katie where?

Dad Rick cancels her flight for one last bonding trip, right as the robot uprising begins.

In Pixar's Cars, Lightning McQueen gets stranded in Radiator Springs, a forgotten town on which highway?

The town was inspired by real Route 66 stops bypassed when the interstates arrived.

Who voices Lightning McQueen in Cars?

Paul Newman voiced Doc Hudson in one of his final roles.

In RV, Robin Williams's family rents a motorhome for a trip from Los Angeles to where?

They end up tangling with a relentlessly cheerful family of full-time campers.

In Queen & Slim, what sends the couple on the run?

It was music-video director Melina Matsoukas's feature debut, written by Lena Waithe.

In The Peanut Butter Falcon, Zack Gottsagen's character escapes from what?

He teams up with Shia LaBeouf's fugitive fisherman while chasing his dream of wrestling school.

In Sullivan's Travels, a Hollywood director sets out to live as what to research a film?

The title nods to Gulliver's Travels; the Coens borrowed his dream project's title for O Brother, Where Art Thou?

In The Grapes of Wrath, the Joad family leaves which state for California?

John Ford's film came out just a year after Steinbeck's Pulitzer-winning novel.

The Coen brothers' O Brother, Where Art Thou? is loosely based on which epic poem?

George Clooney's Ulysses Everett McGill meets Sirens and a one-eyed Bible salesman along the way.

Who directed the 1998 film of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas?

Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro played Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo; the film flopped on release.

Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern go on the run as Sailor and Lula in which 1990 David Lynch film?

Lynch had only planned to produce it until he read Barry Gifford's novel; it won the Palme d'Or.

Who directed The Darjeeling Limited, in which three estranged brothers cross India by train?

The brothers meet in India a year after their father's funeral for a self-declared spiritual journey.

Who played Bonnie Parker opposite Warren Beatty in Bonnie and Clyde?

The 1967 film is seen as a turning point toward the New Hollywood.

Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat travels across the United States as a journalist from which country?

Most of the encounters were unscripted with real Americans who believed he was a foreigner.

Wild Hogs was the last film from which Disney label to be distributed under the Buena Vista name?

It got terrible reviews and still made over $253 million.

In The Guilt Trip, which actress plays Seth Rogen's mother on a cross-country sales trip?

He secretly wants her to reunite with an old flame; the two stars were also executive producers.

The 2002 Britney Spears road movie Crossroads was written by which future Grey's Anatomy creator?

Spears came up with the concept herself, and Zoe Saldaña and Kim Cattrall were in the cast.

Central Station, a 1998 road drama about a boy and a jaded letter-writer, is set in which country?

Fernanda Montenegro was Oscar-nominated for it, and director Walter Salles went on to make The Motorcycle Diaries.

In Joy Ride (2001), the brothers provoke a killer trucker by pranking him over what?

The screenplay was co-written by a pre-Lost J. J. Abrams and stars Steve Zahn and Paul Walker.

Who played the murderous hitchhiker stalking C. Thomas Howell across West Texas in The Hitcher (1986)?

It flopped at first, grossing $5.8 million on a $7.9 million budget, before becoming a cult classic.

Which rapper-turned-actor drives two troublesome kids across country in Are We There Yet?

It was panned but grossed nearly $98 million and spawned a sequel and a TV series.

Tommy Boy paired Chris Farley with which fellow Saturday Night Live alum on a desperate sales trip?

Lorne Michaels produced, and it was the first of several films director Peter Segal made with SNL castmates.

Terrence Malick's Badlands was loosely based on the 1958 killing spree of whom?

Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek play the fictionalised couple, Kit and Holly, in Malick's directorial debut.

Sean Penn's Into the Wild follows Christopher McCandless to the wilderness of which state?

It was adapted from Jon Krakauer's book and opened in a cinema outside Fairbanks.

In Elizabethtown, Drew flies to Kentucky to bring his father's body home to which state?

He had just cost his shoe company nearly a billion dollars and was planning to kill himself when the call came.

The 1985 road comedy Fandango grew from a student film by which future Waterworld director?

Steven Spielberg saw the student film and helped fund the feature; Kevin Costner starred.

In which 1995 film do Whoopi Goldberg, Mary-Louise Parker and Drew Barrymore share a cross-country drive?

It was Herbert Ross's final film as a director.

In Lost in America, Albert Brooks and Julie Hagerty drop out of yuppie life to see the country in what?

They lose their entire nest egg at a Las Vegas roulette table almost immediately.

Road Trip (2000) was the directorial debut of which future Hangover director?

A direct-to-video sequel, Road Trip: Beer Pong, followed in 2009.

Pee-wee's Big Adventure was the feature directorial debut of which filmmaker?

It was also Danny Elfman's first score for Burton, the start of a decades-long partnership.

How many vintage-style Schwinn DX bikes were built for Pee-wee's Big Adventure?

They dated from 1946 to 1953; in 2025 the Alamo acquired a screen-used stunt bike for permanent display in its visitor center.

Where was Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle mainly filmed, despite being set in New Jersey?

Canada has no White Castle restaurants, so the production team had to build a franchise especially for the shoot.

Which German director won the Palme d'Or in 1984 for the road film Paris, Texas?

The jury's decision was unanimous, and the film also took the FIPRESCI Prize and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at Cannes.

Who composed the slide-guitar score for Paris, Texas?

The score draws on Blind Willie Johnson's 'Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground', which he called 'the most transcendent piece in all American music'.

In Little Miss Sunshine, the family sets out from Albuquerque for a pageant in which California city?

Olive's striptease routine, set to Rick James's 'Super Freak', gets the family banned from pageants in California.

The Grand Canyon finale of Thelma & Louise was actually filmed near which Utah state park?

Though the story runs from Arkansas to the canyon, almost all filming took place around Bakersfield, California, and Moab, Utah.

In Easy Rider, Wyatt and Billy ride east hoping to reach New Orleans in time for what?

The film was shot in the first half of 1968, roughly between Mardi Gras and the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.

Apart from a nude beach in Rostock, EuroTrip was filmed entirely in which city?

Matt Damon was already there shooting The Brothers Grimm and agreed to play the punk singer since he could shave his head for his Grimm wig.