Did Scorsese get to set a man on fire? Did Spielberg get to make gasoline bombs in a Ziploc bag?
Probably not — but Koziell did.
Peter Koziell is the 35-year-old Methuen filmmaker who also regularly dons a gorilla suit to market his latest film, "Hell Drivers: America's Original Crash Test Dummies" — giving new meaning to the term "gorilla marketing."
"It's a great way to loosen people up," said Koziell, who can't actually see people when he's in costume, though he often poses for photos as he hands out flyers for screenings.
"You can't get upset with a gorilla. It's worked out really well for us," said Koziell, who will suit up again for screenings at the New Hampshire Film Festival in Portsmouth, N.H. this week and the Somewhat North of Boston (SNOB) Film Festival in Concord, N.H. in November.
The gorilla suit actually has meaning — it honors King Kong Knievel, a daredevil featured in the film about people who crash cars for entertainment. King Kong Knievel holds the record for "jumping over the most bananas."
Koziell works for the Billerica-based company, Award Productions. His credits include the aviation pioneer documentary "Beyond Kitty Hawk" and the political activism film "Crashing Parties."
For his latest movie, he and his crew spent a year following several men who make a living crisscrossing the country to drive garbage trucks through school buses and jump motorcycles over cars.
"The guys were great about including us," said Koziell, who grew up in Newport, N.H., near Lake Sunapee.
He discovered the subjects of his film a few years ago, when he saw former Hell Driver Lucky Lee Lott perform.
The Hell Drivers were a group of stunt car drivers dating back to the 1930s who were known for their precision driving and staging crashes. In their heyday, Hell Drivers would perform at race tracks and fairs all over the United States.
These days, the bands of "crash dummies" are a much rarer sight, with many of their old venues turned over to other types of entertainment.
"I didn't know these people even did this," Koziell said.
Once he found out, the fact that he would make a film about this subject seemed ordained — and that was before he found a stunt driver priest living in Florida.
"You just don't think of a priest taking the collar off, putting on a denim jacket and jumping on the front hood of a car and saying 'OK, drive me through a flaming wall,'" Koziell said.
"Hell Drivers" follows the last of these stunt drivers — especially Crash Moreau and Doug Danger — as they continue to eke out a living in this quirky profession.
The movie begins by connecting these risk-takers to comic book heroes.
"Some of the stunts these guys perform — they are like superheroes to us," Koziell said. "We thought it would be a neat way to introduce a documentary."
The first part of the film explores the history of crashes-as-entertainment through old pictures and news reels.
Koziell could have made a film about this subject alone, but he found the living "Hell Drivers" more compelling.
"Maybe on the DVD," he said.
Koziell talks to these stunt drivers about their most daring feats, as well as the prices they've paid for them — from broken bones to slight brain damage. He also captures their free-spirited nature, including scenes of karaoke and live gold-fish gulping.
So far, the film has made its way to a few festivals — including Woods Hole on Cape Cod — as well as the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in Iowa.
Koziell will continue to don the sweaty gorilla suit and hand out flyers in the cities and towns where "Hell Drivers" screens. That, setting someone on fire and bomb making are all in a day's work for this filmmaker.
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Screenings of "Hell Driver" will be held today 12:35 p.m. at the Music Hall, 28 Chestnut St., Portsmouth, N.H. and Sunday, Oct. 19 at 11 a.m. at the Muddy River Smokehouse, 21 Congress St., also in Portsmouth, N.H. as part of the New Hampshire Film Festival. It will also be screening at the Somewhat North of Boston (SNOB) Film Festival in Concord, N.H., Nov. 7-9. Visit www.snobfilmfestival.org for more information. To see the "Hell Drivers" movie trailer, go to: helldriversmovie.wordpress.com/see-the-trailers/
