True story, birth of the project, main actor… Here are five things to know about “Gran Turismo” by Neill Blomkamp.
What is it about ? Gran Turismo tells the incredible true story of a team of underdogs: a working-class gamer, a failed ex-racing driver and an idealistic motorsport executive. Together, they risk it all and take on the most elite sport in the world.
Inspiring, thrilling and action-packed, GRAN TURISMO proves that nothing is impossible when you are determined to take all the risks.
A mind-blowing true story
The feature film Gran Turismo is adapted from the famous video game series of the same name developed by Polyphony Digital, but also inspired by the story of British racing driver Jann Mardenborough. As a teenager, the latter constantly plays the Gran Turismo video game to get closer to the experience of an F1 driver.
But he is convinced that he will never experience the feeling of driving a racing car himself… Until he participates in a Gran Turismo competition (a program developed by Nissan and Sony to allow virtual drivers to become real drivers) in the hope of being selected in the Nissan GT Academy team.
Despite the 90,000 competitors taking part in the event, Jann Mardenborough finished first. A feat allowing him to participate in a competition at the wheel of a racing car on the Dubai 24 Hours circuit, where he finished third. He then became a professional driver for Nissan and took part in several races, such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
If he obtains more or less honorable results in other races (British Formula 3 Championship, Blancpain Endurance Series, etc.), one of the most significant events of his career remains his accident in 2015. His car had taken off and landed in the public, killing a spectator and injuring several people.
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A long-standing project
Gran Turismo is a film project that dates back to 2013: at that time, the producers of Fifty Shades of Grey, Dana Brunetti and Michael De Luca, wanted to supervise this adaptation of the famous video game on the big screen.
Produced by Kevin Spacey, the film finds its screenwriter in the person of Alex Tse (Watchmen) and its director in that of Joseph Kosinski (Tron Legacy, Oblivion, Top Gun: Maverick). But things don’t happen. It was not until 2022 that the project materialized under the impetus of Sony and with Neill Blomkamp (District 9) behind the camera.
Who for the hero?
The hero is played by Archie Madekwe, seen among others in the series See and the disturbing horror thriller Midsommar. He explains about his character: “He feels trapped. He’s stuck in a rut in his small town where the same events repeat themselves every day. But he’s driven by an all-consuming passion and a desire to rise above his condition.”
“He’s obsessed with cars and he’s crazy about Gran Turismo – the only thing he dreams of is becoming a driver, but it’s a world that has always been inaccessible to him… Until an opportunity presents himself: he is offered the opportunity to live an experience, consisting in training players so that they become real racing drivers.
be credible
To be believable in character, Archie Madekwe had to learn to simulate driving and be able to actually participate in the Gran Turismo game. The actor recalls: “I had to be really good at this game. To shoot the scenes in the café with the consoles, we practiced playing against the AI, which was difficult, and I had to win. It was impressive because I knew it took a lot of practice and talent to be good at those games.”
To improve, Madekwe was coached by David Perel who, like Mardenborough, has been a simulator driver and is now part of the Ferrari team. Archie adds: “PlayStation sent me a simulator – a seat, steering wheel and pedals. And as soon as I finished my previous shoot, I had to practice over and over again. Learning to drive on a circuit requires a lot of skills – you have to learn the racing lines, the corners, and feel the brakes.”
“And as soon as you get the hang of it, you have to repeat the gestures, again and again. All of this inspired me with immense admiration and a lot of respect for the pilots because the exploits they accomplish in the circumstances that are theirs are delusional.”
FPV drones
To capture the intensity of the race, Neill Blomkamp used FPV (subjective vision) drones: “Drone racing uses these types of devices and that’s where the inspiration comes from, but luckily for us they haven’t seen much use in racing so far. Our FPV drones give us the most sensory immersive point of view imaginable.”
Drones at 150 km/h! How did Gran Turismo film its racing scenes?
“What I like is when a camera, at near ground level, is attached to a remote-controlled mount on the front of a vehicle that is racing at full speed in a chase. is a filming vehicle that tries to beat the main cars, and overtakes them. And since we are only a few centimeters from the ground, the feeling of speed is very well rendered”says the director.