Bob Beresford, a tow-truck driver with 11 years of experience at Central Montana Service & Salvage, announced Monday that he encompasses a great idea for a tow-truck movie.
“I do not know why, but the general public really hasn’t got that clear an image of what tow-trucking is all about,” said the 44-year-old Beresford, standing ahead of his 1995 Ford Super Duty. “With Towtruckin’, I’ve got an opportunity to alter all that.”
Towtruckin’, in line with Beresford, is “a classic David-versus-Goliath story.” Its hero, “Rob Relesford,” could be a gifted, idealistic young tow-truck driver trying to form it as an independent operator within the highly competitive world of towing and recovery. Faced with competition from Towco, a massive, multi-state towing corporation, Relesford must choose from continuing to eke out a lonely but proud existence or accepting a well-paid position on the Towco payroll. In the end, the selection is obvious.
“At the tip of the movie, there is a big, overturned tractor-trailer across the highway, and therefore the hot-shot Towco guys won’t move it for insurance-liability reasons,” Beresford said.
The plot of Towtruckin’ is what Beresford said he hasn’t fully developed. He has, however, puzzled out certain scenes, like the one during which Relesford pulls a good-looking waitress’ 1984 Sunbird off the median and gallantly refuses to simply accept payment.
Beresford said, “Rob could be a real American hero. Able to right a tipped truck or haul a stalled vehicle to a mechanic, he’s out there along with his wrecker all hours of the day and night. He’s the closest thing to the cowboy we’ve got left nowadays. But the purpose is, if something must be towed, by God, he’ll tow it.”
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Though Beresford plans to color Rob as something of an outlaw, he said the character’s actions will always fall on the side of what is right.
His own personal experiences, much like the same experiences the people from Santa Clara towing also had, are what Beresford said he will likely incorporate into the film.
“With Boom tow, high-line towing, righting a chassis, Stampfel knew it all, he was just like the Yoda of Central Montana Service & Salvage. He died of a coronary failure in ’96. Within the movie version, the guy dies, too, but Rob continues to speak to him after he dies.”
Describing it as a “can’t-miss” concept, Beresford is confident in his vision for Towtruckin’. He does, however, fear that the film might be ruined by studio executives who don’t fully “get it.”
“There’s a right way and a wrong thanks to doing that film,” Beresford said. “Don’t get me wrong, this guy will have a pleasant rig, just like the three-axle Ford Super Duty I drive at Central Montana. But I could see some Hollywood type putting him in a very big 30-foot rollback tower with of these extra hydraulics and a crew cab which is quite crap. That’s not how it should be done. Towtruckin’ is all about the tow trucker, not the motortruck.”
