The Lady in the Van "The Lady in the Van" was greenlit on 3 June 2014, with TriStar Productions and BBC Films working together to make the film adaptation of Alan Bennett's West End hit. TriStar won the film rights to handle worldwide distribution, while the BBC was the first to show the film on television in the UK. The involvement of Maggie Smith and Nicholas Hytner was announced simultaneously with the film, but they were attached to the project as early as 9 May (coincidentally Bennett's 80th birthday). Both of them had collaborated with Bennett in the past; Hytner on "The Madness of King
The Van (1977 film) (DeVito's character) would cross over to the universe of whatever film they were discussing. The Van (1977 film) The Van is a low-budget teenage comedy film directed by Sam Grossman, primarily released to drive-in theaters in 1977. It was released at the height of the vansploitation genre, and was followed by the 1978 film "Malibu Beach", in which Stephen Oliver reprised his role as bully Dugan Hicks. High school graduate Bobby buys a customized 1976 Dodge D300 Tradesman van (including a waterbed) with his college savings to pick up women. His desperate quest for sex leads him into a number