by Wallace Wyss –
The first images from one of the most anticipated racing films are leaking out or maybe given away and there’s several stories on the net now about the new feature from Fox, via Disney Ford v. Ferrari.
Christian Bale as Ken Miles and Matt Damon as Carroll Shelby – Photo: Empire On Line
This is the one directed by Logan film maker James Mangold with two Oscar winners in the lead, Christian Bale as Ken Miles and Matt Damon as his boss Carroll Shelby.
The released pictures show Cobras, no GT40s. And no, Bale did not get an enlarged nose, a la the real Ken Miles.
Bale on the left, Miles on right – Photo: Unique Cars
The film company is still saying the plot revolves around “maverick American car designer Carroll Shelby (Damon) who sets out to build a revolutionary car that would allow Ford to challenge Ferrari, with Bale playing fearless British racer Ken Miles—who gets behind the wheel of the new Ford racing vehicle.” They neglect to say in the PR releases that the GT40 was developed in Dearborn and the UK without Shelby but it’s certainly true that Shelby saved it when brought into the program in the winter of 1965.
Matt Damon as Carroll Shelby – Photo: Merrick Morton 20th Century Fox
Mangold told reporters that his goal was to make a sort of “Butch and Sundance in the world of racing,” film showing the relationship between two men. In other words a character drama. On a site called Collider, in a story by Adam Chitwood, Mangold said,
“As we were making it, we joked that it was the last movie ever. Luckily, we had this great character drama that was inside this other story.” But the old-school approach was crucial in preserving the heart of the film. “These are real people with love and loss and fears that aren’t handled in three mini-moments between the next 100-decibel, 12-minute action sequence,” says Mangold. “And it’s an acting tour de force — Matt and Christian have never been better”.
Christian Bale as Ken Miles – Photo: Merrick Morton 20th Century Fox
Brian Welk in a story on the site The Wrap quoted Bale from Entertainment Weekly as saying,
“It’s these two friends figuring out how do you deal with these a-holes in suits who know nothing about racing,” Bale told EW. “It transcends racing and becomes something that captures the spirit of people who are willing to risk everything for their love”.
The lack of CGI is intentional.The director was quoted in The Wrap story saying “I wanted to see a racing film where the cars weren’t all digital creations [and] we were really out there on the track,” the director told EW. “And not just so we could talk about it when we’re doing press, but because it actually makes a physical difference when you see it on screen.”
Mangold also comes out solidly against CGI: “One of the main goals with Logan was that I felt the superhero genre had gotten so CGI’d, so I wanted to make it as emotionally and physically real as possible,” he says. “And that very much carried over into Ford v Ferrari”
20th Century Fox developed it, then got swallowed up by Disney. The Collider story said the premiere’s release date was bumped from summer to fall to give it a better positioning for awards.
Let us know what you think in the Comments.
THE AUTHOR: Wallace Wyss, author of three books on Shelby is contemplating a book called “The Making of Ford v. Ferrari.” But Hollywood hasn’t called.
His email is photojournalistpro2@gmail.com
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Miles and Shelby at a race celebrating their victory
Wishing the film All the Best. But I was there then and neither Shelby nor Miles nor the Cobras were that tidy. All 3 were as tough as they come.
I like how they bucked the dreadful trend and did not use CGI. The comedian, Gilbert Goffried, a true movie buff made such an interesting quote when it comes to the making of science fiction movies and the use of CGI. He said that “CGI looks real, but FEELS FAKE. Stop action photography looks fake, but FEELS REAL”. Think about it. What movie feels more real than the original 1939 movie version of “King Kong”, shot entirely with models and stop action photography, and look at any other science fiction movie out there today and see how fake it feels. Glenn in the Bronx, NY.
Here is what could be the poster. Not very exciting, and what’s all the white space for? It could be just the announcement to the preview, which I don’t think they want generally known, it’s going to be tough to get in. No attempt to make Damon and Bale look like the men they portray.