ROBINLORI CHATS IT UP WITH ‘LADY AND THE DALE’ PRODUCER ANDRE GAINES!

Yesterday, I was able to chat with Executive Producer Andre Gaines at the “Lady and the Dale” free car wash at Magnolia Car Wash and Detail Center in Burbank. The event was hosted by HBO to celebrate the finale of the documentary miniseries about the rise and fall of Elizabeth Carmichael and her three-wheeled 1970 concept car… The Dale.

When independent producers Allen Bain and Andre got an email from then screenwriter Nick Cammilleri about a project called “The Lady and The Dale,” following the rise and fall of 1970’s transgender entrepreneur Elizabeth Carmichael and her radical fuel-efficient, three-wheeled car known as The Dale, they knew it was the type of project they had to get their hands on.

“It is the only unsolicited inquiry that either of us have ever responded to,” says Gaines. “I have always loved true crime. Next to sci-fi, and biographical, it’s my favorite genre. Liz Carmichael’s story was incredible — we were hooked from the very beginning, and so was everyone on our team.”

After watching the HBO series… I said to myself, “This is on a TIGER KING shock factor level. Liz lived a WILD… yet fascinating life of CATCH ME IF YOU CAN.  I kept saying… “Is this real??”  Ya’ll… It’s the kind of stuff you see in movies. A MUST SEE!

And I love how the producers told Liz’s story with fun animations mixed real footage & interviews from the people who were there.  She was certainly a con-artist of imagination and determination…  who also gave us an inside look at the journey of becoming a trans woman and the history of transphobia.

Watch the team discuss their AMAZING project:

Andre Gaines is a Los Angeles-based producer, writer, director and the founder of Cinemation Studios. Over the course of his fifteen-year career, Gaines has financed and produced more than twelve documentary and narrative feature films.

His other upcoming productions include: the documentary series Stateless with Blumhouse TV; the remake of Stephen King’s Children of the Corn and a documentary feature film about legendary comedian and activist Dick Gregory.

I asked Mr. Gaines about the discovery phase of Lady and the Dale and if there were any surprises he could share.  Take a look:

I had a blast hanging out with the crew. The HBO team added some really cool ’70s touches to an already-retro Burbank car wash…. including fun displays paying tribute to Liz’s 20th Century Car Company.  All of the automated washes were totally free and came with a Lady and the Dale swag bag and a prepaid gas gift card!  Take a look at all the fun at this socially distance event.

Photos RobinLori

Sending a huge thanks to Tosha Whitten Griggs /The FrontPage Firm for the invite!

Trailer: