The Ford Mustang has been a perennial favorite of Hollywood, garnering critical acclaim in blockbusters like Bullitt and Gone in 60 Seconds. The obsession with the Mustang has carried on into the 21st century, and Hollywood wasn’t shy about using the Mustang as the hero car for the Need For Speed movie starring Aaron Paul.

So what is it about the Mustang that draws Hollywood star power to it? That’s the question this video attempts to answer, giving us a behind-the-scenes look at the “why” behind the casting the Mustang as the hero car.

As director Scott Waugh explains, he felt it was important to have America “represented” in the Need For Speed movie. So instead of putting Aaron Paul’s character into a high-dollar, easily-recognizable exotic and foreign car, our hero gets a modified Mustang. It really adds an overall ‘Merican feeling to the movie, and gives car guys a reason to cheer for Paul.

The chosen Mustang was a modified 2014 Shelby GT500, which definitely helped define American racing prowess. Of course we’re sure Ford was eager to use the Need For Speed movie as a launching point for the 2015 Mustang, which hits dealerships later this fall. Seeing a life-sized Mustang on the big screen just makes us want the 2015 model that much more, and we’re sure Hollywood big shots are already clamoring to get the new Mustang into their own feature films as the next great hero car.