Christian Bale, recently known for his portrayal of Batman in The Dark Knight movie trilogy, has reportedly signed on to director Michael Mann’s biopic of Enzo Ferrari, the founder, automotive genius and namesake behind the renowned Italian automaker.
According to an Aug. 21 article from GQ, Mann’s movie will focus on Ferrari’s time in the 1950s, when “Ferrari was a key player in the rise of Formula One Racing.” Road and Track also reported Aug. 20 that Mann has been working to get this production in motion for the past 15 years. They also reported that the movie will be based on Brock Yates’ book “Enzo Ferrari: The Man, The Cars, The Races, The Machine.”
If these reports are all correct, this could be the movie Ferrari fans have been waiting for. A quick stint of internet research will show you that the 1950s were an insane time for Ferrari. During these years, Ferrari won their first Formula One championship in 1952 and also went on to win the 1953, 1956 and 1958 seasons.
The film will most certainly highlight 1957, a year of devastating losses for both Enzo and the Ferrari race team. Drivers Castellotti and Alfonso de Portago were killed during the season, and, just a year before, Enzo lost his son Alfredo “Dino” to muscular dystrophy. Below is a video of archival footage from Ferrari’s 1950s races.
[youtube id=”K0e8ROfmrvA” align=”center” mode=”normal” autoplay=”no” maxwidth=”680″]
Needless to say, this film will be a rollercoaster, and Bale has his work cut out for him. If you aren’t satisfied with this casting, know that Robert De Niro is also playing Enzo Ferrari in another movie that is expected soon.
What do you think about the casting? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
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(Sources: Road and Track, GQ, Ferrari, YouTube)
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