Out of all the great movies Tom Cruise starred in, it's a shame that a gem like "Days of Thunder" is virtually forgotten. I initially didn't know of it at first either. It was thanks to my awesome uncle, who's a fellow movie nerd and autograph hound, that I ever came to know about "Days of Thunder." And I found out about it in the best way possible!
It was a few days after he passed away and we were organizing his will and the inheritance he left us. Since he didn't have kids of his own, he mostly distributed his belongings to me and my cousins. I, of course, inherited most of his movie-related memorabilia. My uncle and I always bonded over our love for movies. One of my favorite pastimes then was to visit him every once and awhile and he'd show off his collection. Signed movie posters, notebooks filled with autographs, rare vinyl records, VHS tapes of practically every movie under the sun, and more! It helped that he also worked in Hollywood for a while, which helped him get closer to some of the biggest stars at the time.
When he was alive, I only really ever got to see the surface of his collection of signed movie posters. He only really showed off the classics: "The Godfather," "Star Wars," "Bonnie & Clyde," and the like. But when I inherited all of his memorabilia, including his collection of signed movie posters, I discovered that he really worked his ass off hounding for autographs. As I peeked through his storage space, the signed "Days of Thunder" posters immediately caught my eye. I was faintly aware of it already but seeing the poster up close, especially the awesome autographs, led me to watch it eventually.
And, of course, after watching it for the first time, I instantly fell in love. It really shocked me that the cast of "Days of Thunder" ever signed the posters that were now in my possession. I mean, this ain't no run-of-the-mill cast we're talkin' about! The movie starred the likes of Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Robert Duvall, John C. Reilly, Richard Petty, and more! For my uncle to have met all of these icons at one point in time, damn! It made me admire and miss him even more!
Unfortunately, he had already passed on when I discovered the movie and the posters. I'd never get to know how he was able to hound them for their autographs. I can only assume now, knowing the caliber of these stars, that he probably worked in the movie himself. He did all sorts of labor in movie sets back in the day after all. And when I asked my aunt about it, she confirmed that he did work on the set of "Days of Thunder." So yeah, I'm guessing' this was where he got these autographs.
Damn, my uncle was so awesome! And I'm always grateful that, even from beyond the grave, he continues to introduce me to stellar movies like "Days of Thunder." I hope y'all enjoy this movie like I did!
Please note: Our inventory is limited as we may have only received a few posters in total. Most of our items are obtained from film premieres, studios, and from autographed hounds such as the one in the story above.
