LIVE Magazine Issue #250 Jan 4-13, 2017

In nature, the snake and mongoose are the
deadliest of enemies—genetically encoded to
eternally fight to the death without mercy. Beginning
in the 1960’s, the nature of that dynamic
was strategically and expertly applied to the
historic rivalry between Don Prudhomme and
Tom McEwen in the most unlikely of venues—a
“minor” sport struggling for attention on dusty
drag-racing strips at tracks across the country.
There, Prudhomme, the Snake, and McEwen,
the Mongoo$e, did, in fact, compete aggressively
for dominance in the nascent sport of
drag racing. Racing aficionados probably know
that much of the story by now.
But, what if that rivalry spawned something
more than victories and defeats? What if it created
a unique and unlikely friendship out of the
smoke of battle? What if Snake and Mongoo$e
were quietly the closest of friends even as
their rivalry intensified? What if they shared the
joy and pain of life when they were not busy
competing? What if their mutual respect, racing
nerve, thirst for fame and compensation, and
their desire to advance their thrilling, but extremely
dangerous, sport brought them together
as something more than mere rivals? What if
a perfect storm of conditions transformed their
competition into something greater—a blood
kinship that enabled them to team up in order
to revolutionize an entire industry?
There is no need to wonder “what if”—that’s
what really happened while the two real-life
Southern California drag racing legends were
setting tracks on fire during those years. But,
until now, few people outside of the racing community
knew the true and full story of the Snake
and the Mongoo$e. That is about to change
with the long overdue release of the independent
film, “Snake and Mongoo$e,” from British
director Wayne Holloway and production partners
Entertainment Universe, Rhino Films, and
the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA). The
film documents the full texture of the real-life
relationship in all its colorful permutations—the
rivalry, the races, the fights, the victories, their
partnership and business success, and their
tender support for each.
Before that tragedy struck, they managed to
put drag racing on the map for the first time,
and changed motor sports forever, starting with
the 1970 sponsorship agreement with Mattel’s
Hot Wheels toys that soon gave birth to the
corporate sponsorship and licensing model that
continues to dominate motor sports, and many
other sports, to this day. But while that was going
on, the pain of a failed marriage, the tragic
illness of a child, and the loneliness of the road
weighed heavily on both men and their families.
“Snake & Mongoo$e” probes these many
layers of their enduring relationship on a bigstage
platform for the first time.
The film also features archival National Hot
Rod Association (NHRA) footage and consulting
and producing expertise from the real-life
Prudhomme and McEwen. It’s based on the
journalistic work of writer Alan Paradise, who
documented the rivalry for years before taking
on screenwriting chores.

The movie stunningly chronicles a vintage slice
of American culture as it came to life, while
simultaneously documenting in compelling and
dramatic terms one of the deepest and longestlasting
relationships in the history of sports.
At its core, “Snake & Mongoo$e” is a true and
passionate story about the meaning of enduring
friendship.
It’s finally here! Get your digital
copy of the Snake & Mongoose
Movie today! You can purchase it
at Amazon here:
http://amzn.to/NlMJje and iTunes here:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/
snake-and-mongoose/id814634867
You can also get it on demand
through these cable/dish providers:
Time Warner, Comcast, DirecTV and
Dish and more. You can also rent it
from Red Box