Above: "Mr Hip-Hop" poses with Cedric the Entertainer at the red-carpet premiere of Fox Searchlight's family comedy Johnson Family Vacation.
Cars as Stars
Riding in the comfort and class of "Mr. Hip-Hop," the Johnson family survives an array of hilarious highway misadventures -- such as a chase by an 18-wheeler out for revenge, a mishap with a cement truck, and a run-in with a motorcycle cop.
Co-starring as a character that can meet the challenges of the road is clearly part of Lincoln's long history on the small screen and silver screen alike. The famous Batmobile of the original Batman TV show is a 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car. James Bond drove a Lincoln Continental convertible in Thunderball, and the fraternity brothers in Animal House used a Lincoln Continental as their signature ride. More recently, Snoop Doggy Dogg, as Huggy Bear in the new Starsky & Hutch movie, drives a 1976 Lincoln Continental, and rapper-actor Ice Cube will drive a Lincoln Navigator in the movie Are We There Yet? - set for release later this year.
Rapper-actor Bow Wow plays the rapper-wanna-be son, DJ.
"The Johnson Family Navigator is bound to join its Lincoln movie car predecessors in possessing a personality and character all its own," says Fitzpatrick. "These movie cars have every bit of the star power exuded by their actor counterparts, and we're passionate about continuing to create vehicles that evoke the same level of emotion."
The entertainment division of UniWorld Group Inc., Lincoln Mercury's African-American agency of record, worked with Lincoln Mercury and Fox Searchlight Pictures in representing the Navigator in the movie.