Collision Course (1989 film)

Collision Course is a 1989 action-comedy film starring Jay Leno as a Detroit police officer and Pat Morita as a Japanese officer forced to work together to recover a Japanese turbocharger stolen by a thief played by Chris Sarandon. It was directed by Lewis Teague and unreleased in the U.S. until 1992, when it debuted on home video. (When Morita guest-starred on The Tonight Show in 1989, with Leno serving as guest host, they recalled that the movie had run out of money on the last day of filming, with key scenes yet to be shot and no budget left for editing and post-production.)

Much of the principal photography for the film was shot on location in Detroit, Michigan. Numerous local landmarks are shown in various scenes, including the now-defunct Trapper's Alley in the city's Greektown Historic District neighborhood and the Garden Bowl within the Majestic Theatre Centre—the United States' oldest continuously operating bowling alley.

The story plays upon the culture clash between Detroit - whose economy is largely built on automobile manufacturing - and Japan - whose trade policies and export of cars were blamed for Detroit job losses in the 1980s.

Cast

Pat Morita as Fujitsuka Natsuo

Jay Leno as Tony Costas

Chris Sarandon as Madras

Tom Noonan as Scully

Dennis Holahan as Derrick Jarryd

Ernie Hudson as Shortcut

John Hancock as Lt. Ryerson

Al Waxman as Dingman

Soon-Tek Oh as Kitao

Randall "Tex" Cobb as Kosnic