Ellington

Belvoir gal Casey Coker has the pleasure this season of seeing her handiwork on the big screen.

Ms. Coker, a public relations coordinator at Coker Tire and the daughter of owner Corky Coker, helped outfit “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” movie set with classic car tires and wheels.

“It was so fun because the story spans eight decades,” she said.

The Paramount and Warner Bros. movie, which opened Christmas Day, has been nominated for five Golden Globe awards and stars Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. It grossed almost $38 million its opening week.

Tim Woods, picture car coordinator for the newly-released movie, said the reputation of Coker Tire makes the local business a top choice for expert analysis when it comes to authenticity in movies.

“I’ve used them for just about every vintage movie I’ve done,” said Mr. Woods. “I know that they would have everything we would need to make the movie.”

Ms. Coker went to see the movie the day after Christmas. She said she couldn’t help poking her date’s arm and whispering the names of each car she saw.

“Just like it’s important to get the correct clothing when making a historic movie,” she said, “it also goes for outfitting cars with the correct tires and wheels to make the movie that much more realistic and period-correct.”

Ms. Coker said she helped Mr. Woods find tires and wheels for about 15 cars, from Model As and Model Ts to muscle cars.

The Cokers’ museum sports seven Indian bikes, much like the Indian Flathead motorcycle Brad Pitt rides in a few scenes.

Ms. Coker used the company database to check her model-tire matches. With the car’s year, make and model she can find its tires and wheels.

“If the bolt pattern is off by a quarter of an inch that wheel’s not going to fit,” she said.

Ms. Coker said she loves watching cars change with the world throughout history.

For example, she said, bias ply, polyester-blend tires shifted to longer lasting radial, steel-belted tires in the late 1960s and early 1970s as the nation tried to save on fuel.

“It’s so much fun being a woman in a guy’s world,” said Ms. Coker. “I grew up around old cars, old motorcycles and old car guys, so I guess I was destined to be a car girl. There are a couple of things that strangers can talk about and immediately become friends. I feel that once car conversation comes up, everyone becomes your friend. It’s like family.”

Coker Tire, which has a maintenance shop on Brainerd Road and headquarters downtown, has outfitted other movie sets with car parts, too, including “Driving Miss Daisy” and “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?,” said Ms. Coker.