Arguably, one of the most anticipated movies of 2023 is Ferrari, the Michael Mann-directed biopic about the life of Ferrari founder Enzo Ferrari, with a particular focus on one of the most challenging years in his life, 1957.
It will be a Ferrari-packed feast for auto enthusiasts but also an acting tour de force, if early reactions from the screening at the 2023 Venice Film Festival are any indication. Ferrari, which sees chameleon actor Adam Driver play Enzo, got a minutes-long standing ovation from audiences after the screening and went into the running for the prestigious Golden Lion award, the big prize in the competition.
So how's this for irony? Adam Driver didn't get to live up to his family name. He may be the leading man in the big-budget production, but he wasn't allowed to drive any of the Ferraris on set while the film was in production. The headline to this piece might sound like a joke, but it's not: Driver himself admitted to this during a press panel ahead of the screening.
"[The Ferrari race cars] were the scariest things on set, but they wouldn’t let me drive the cars for insurance reasons," Driver said.
Photo: Neon
Insurance is one of the reasons why many big-budget productions rely on CGI (computer-generated images) for what insurers deem high-risk scenes, whether they involve car chase sequences, fight choreography, or big explosions. In this case, insurance was a blade that cut both ways to protect both the talent and the valuable replicas used during production. Put differently, not even an action man with the kind of leverage Tom Cruise has could have gotten insurers to let him drive.
While Driver didn't drive (*a statement that is endlessly hilarious) a Ferrari in the Ferrari film (*ditto), co-star Patrick Dempsey did get a chance to show off. Dempsey plays professional driver Piero Taruffi, but he also has actual racing experience in real life, so producers let him behind the wheel of one of the open-top race machines. He described the experience as terrifying because of the lack of a roll cage but said he'd do it again in a heartbeat.
Meanwhile, Driver had to settle for racing newer Ferraris on a closed circuit ahead of the production, just so he would know what his character talked about. During the production, he was always in a dolly car.
Ferrari also stars Penelope Cruz and Shailene Woodley and, aside from the dubious choice on Mann's part of having his characters speak with an Italian accent, seems very promising. Based on the full trailer, Ferrari will deliver serious drama, both for auto enthusiasts and moviegoers with no particular interest in the auto industry. Ferrari opens in theaters on Christmas Day 2023.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
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