PORT ANGELES — The teal Volvo caught Victor De Leon Jr.’s eye immediately.
Now, it has the eye of HBO studios for a new movie.
De Leon purchased the 1972 Volvo station wagon about a year and a half ago as a “weekend car” for him and his wife, Mimi, who live in Port Angeles.
But when he was accepted to the Northwest Renewable Energy Institute, De Leon decided to sell the car to save money for school.
He had it up on www.craigslist.org for several months when he got a call from a man named Marty Osborne who works with HBO to get props for movies.
“I didn’t believe it at first,” De Leon said.
“You have no idea the kind of calls you get off of Craigslist.
“But everything he said checked out, and I talked to the driver [Wednesday] morning.”
A driver picked up the car at about 6 a.m. Thursday to drive it to Los Angeles for filming, the two said.
‘Cinema Verite’
De Leon was told by Osborne that the car would be used in a movie titled “Cinema Verite.”
Osborne did not return calls for comment.
So far Diane Lane, Thomas Dekker and Tim Robbins have signed on to play in the movie.
The film will tell the tale of the Loud family, who were featured in the 1970s documentary “An American Family.”
The 1973 documentary was released on PBS in 12 segments, a prelude to the many reality TV shows which now air, according to PBS.org.
The show, which was watched by about 10 million people, included the marital problems of the Louds and how they dealt with the homosexuality of one of their sons, PBS.org said.
De Leon’s car will have a starring role in the film, he said.
“I thought maybe it would just be parked on the street somewhere,” he said.
“But they told me it will be the one that Diane Lane will drive.”
The couple purchased the car as Volvo fans.
“I’ve always appreciated Volvos,” said Mimi De Leon.
“My husband had driven past this one numerous times, and one time he saw that it had a for sale sign on it.”
The couple had previously purchased a 1960s Rambler and managed to sell it off for $1,600 — the exact price the Volvo was going for.
Once they started to try and sell, Mimi De Leon said they had a few interested, but none had really fallen into place.
“Once we found out who was going to buy it and what it was for, we were really excited,” she said.
“It is like there were greater plans for the Volvo than us and Port Angeles.”
Neither of the couple knew whether the film would be on the big screen or the small screen.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
