Ferris Bueller, Darth Vader, body-painted models, dogs, all-star celebrities,
hipster vampires and CGI-aliens are just some of the colorful characters
scheduled to touch down during the Super Bowl telecast Sunday.
But the biggest star could be actor and director Clint Eastwood, expected
to appear in a two-minute Chrysler ad giving America a pep talk, according to
a Wall Street Journal report.
The car company transformed its and Detroit's national images last year
with its gritty "Imported from Detroit" ad, backdropped by rhythmic rising
music from Eminem, that won an Emmy. Chrysler, owned by Fiat, said it wanted
to hold out releasing details or previews of this year's anticipated encore,
but the closely guarded advertising secret was leaking out.
Eastwood has recent connections to the Motor City as director and star of
"Gran Torino," set in a deteriorating blue-collar neighborhood near Highland
Park. Ironically, the Gran Torino is a Ford product, and Eastwood's character,
a retired Polish-American auto worker who mentors a young neighbor away from
gangs, helped assemble it.
About 111 million people tuned into last year's big game, and this year's
match-up between the New England Patriots and New York Giants is primed to
become the most-watched TV program of all time.
