Actor Armie Hammer Had No Idea How Close He And His Friends Came To Becoming Stranded In Mexico Last Year (14) After Getting Lost In The Arizona Desert While On A Cross-country Vespa Roadtrip.
The Social Network star embarked on the ambitious journey across America, known as 4k to Hardway, last year (14), shunning luxury hotels to camp in the wilderness, while taking in the scenery as they travelled off the beaten path from California to Florida.
However, Hammer admits they worried they had taken on more than they could handle on numerous occasions, especially when they thought they might actually die in the desert.
He explains, "Things got weird. I mean, you've got a group of guys crossing the country, staying in the middle of nowhere.
"We had some close calls... like, at one point, we stayed outside of Yuma, Arizona and we were like, 'OK, we've got to get from Yuma to Phoenix, but there's no main roads, except for an interstate (highway)...' Everyone pulls out Google maps (on their phones)... and they go, 'You know, it looks like all desert from here to Phoenix, but it looks like there are roads. It doesn't say roads (sic), but it looks like there's trails. I think we can make it.'
"We get off the pavement and it's like a dirt road, it's hardpacked... Everyone's like, 'Yeah, this is the adventure, we're owning this...!' Then all of a sudden, the road gets so soft, you can't sit on (your bike), you have to walk, next to your Vespa, as you're pushing it up a dune..."
Luckily, a law enforcement official spotted Hammer and his crew veering close to the U.S./Mexican border and stopped them before they could land themselves in more trouble.
Hammer continues, "We thought we were gonna die out there at one point, until... this truck... comes flying at us out of the middle of nowhere. We're like, 'Oh my God, it's the border patrol. What have we done?'.
"He comes up and basically goes, 'What the hell are you guys doing?' We go, 'Sir, we're crossing the country on Vespas...
He looks it up... and he goes, 'You guys are crazy. What the hell are you doing in the desert...? Man, I'm really glad I stopped you 'cause... you see that hill right there...? That's Mexico and if you would have gotten any closer, I wouldn't have been able to let you come back.'"
The border patrol agent subsequently helped guide the group out of the desert and get them back on the road.
Set in northern Italy in the summer of 1983, this internationally flavoured drama is a...
It's the summer of 1983 and 24-year-old Oliver has returned from his studies in America...
A relaxed, amusing true story about noted Swiss painter and sculptor Alberto Giacometti, this sharply...
It's been six years since the last Cars movie (there were two Planes movies in...
Former Piston Cup Champion Lightning McQueen was a hero in his day, but it seems...
Basically a 90-minute shoot-out, there isn't a lot to this movie. British filmmaker Ben Wheatley...
It's 1978 Boston and an unlikely gang made up of Justine (Brie Larson), Stevo (Sam...
Lightning McQueen may be a legendary name in the Piston Cup Championship history, but as...
This true story from 19th century America feels eerily relevant today in its depiction of...
It's been seven years since designer Tom Ford made a splash with his award-winning writing-directing...
For a short time, Edward and Susan had a happy marriage, they lived in a...
Nat Turner was a former slave who on witnessing the scope of slavery across America...
Adopting a deliciously groovy vibe, Guy Ritchie turns the iconic 1960s TV spy series into...
America and Russia have never seen eye to eye, but they do have some of...