The owner of the town's Cozy Cone Motel, Sally takes a liking to a young hotshot named Lightning McQueen who gets stuck in her town on the way to a big race. Since this is a Disney/Pixar film, Lightning soon learns some important lessons from Sally and her fellow Radiator Springs citizens.
The Appeal of Cars: Bonnie Hunt took on the role of Sally the Porsche in Cars because it was a Pixar film. “I’ll tell you when I first met Pixar, I felt I met this creative oasis in the middle of a business that I dreamed of being in as a little girl. I just wanted to be a storyteller my whole life. I got out there and I’m sure for you guys it’s the same thing, you have this dream of what you want to do and then you get into that world where your job takes place, and there is not a lot of cooperation at the top for your intelligence and you’ve got to kind of figure your way through. Once in a while you meet somebody who gets it.
When I first worked at Pixar over 10 years ago and each movie takes 4 or 5 years – this is my third film with them – there is just a lot of talent there and a respect of talent. It’s all about story and character and the process and nurturing it. Besides, these people are obviously tenacious and passionate and responsible. They are great storytellers. I do these movies because I love working with them.”
Getting Into Character: Did hearing she’d be playing a Porsche help her understand her character? “You know, I don’t know. From the very beginning, when John [Lasseter] first called me, we didn’t even talk about what type of car it would be. We just talked character, which is so true to Pixar’s passion. So, it’s whether you are a bug, a monster, a toy or a car or a fish, and you’re in a Pixar film, you’re going to have a heart and soul and dimension - technically, artistically and emotionally.”
Hunt continued. “I don’t know if John always intended to have a Porsche. I’m sure they had a lot of ideas in mind. He was definitely a car geek growing up and he’s still fascinated with cars. That’s just who John is. I bet a lot of it had to do with his dream type of cars and who he could get clearance from, and who would be okay with it. Who would collaborate and all that stuff. How authentic he could be, which is always a big thing for him as well.”
The Evolution of Sally: “John is such a visionary that that heart and soul was always sort of the same throughout the whole process. There were very different tweaks here and there. I was very fortunate to even get a writing credit on this film and I really feel close to the guys at Pixar, certainly John Lassiter and Darla Anderson. These are just really respectful, talented people who don’t have a lot of fear that is usually in place with the decision-making process in Hollywood. They don’t have a lot of fear, because they have the ability. They have what it takes.”
Bonnie Hunt Can Relate to Sally: “Maybe what we all identify with, when you get to be 40 I think there is a point where you go, ‘You know, I’ve been running for a long time. And what’s it all about?’ We all sort of go through that and I’ve definitely been going through that in my own life, so I could really relate to it with Sally. There is a part of it that we can kind of accept, the idea behind stopping to smell the roses and slowing down, but it’s always feels like a risk to actually do it.
I gotta tell you, no matter where you go, there you are. I really think a lot of that rat race is in our own minds and we put the pressure on ourselves. I do it all the time. But there are moments where I am gardening where I am in Radiator Springs in my own garden.”
Traveling Down Memory Lane…: In keeping with the film's theme, Hunt recalled road trips she took with her family when she was a kid. “I just remember my dad, he would usually light up a Winston and the air conditioning would be on. The windows would be up and it would be like a cancer oven (laughing).
I remember one time my mother was in the back seat and there were six or seven of us kids. We were all smushed in the station wagon and my dad was smoking a cigarette and we were going to Bass Lake, Indiana. My dad had exchanged this thing in this little motel where they redid the electrical wiring in the place, and that was the exchange for the vacation. My dad would work the whole vacation. He flicked the cigarette into the back of the car and my mother - and she’s got seven kids in the car - she’s looking for this lit cigarette and they were yelling at each other. It was literally 10 minutes of the funniest material I ever heard of in my life. I was like 12 and I could see the humor in the brilliance in their argument, because the humor always came out in every argument.”
