Selling Out: A Brief, Highly Selective History of Product Placement at the Movies

The Italian Job (2003)
Who wants a Mini Cooper? Well, for starters, anyone who saw this smart caper with Mark Wahlberg and Charlize Theron, a remake of a 1969 heist movie starring Michael Caine and an adorable, highly maneuverable car. BMW supplied the vehicles — 32 of them, with a total value of about $1 million, according to Scott Donaton's book Madison & Vine — even rearranging production schedules to get the cars to the filmmakers on time. And Mini owners all across America were invited to early screenings: walking out of one in San Francisco, the above writer found herself grinning stupidly at a parking garage full of Minis in every color.

• Muscle Cars in the Movies