1997’s “Gran Turismo” is not only the best-selling video game for the PlayStation, but also spawned a slew of best-selling sequels until 2022, which have always struck a chord with many racing enthusiasts. Nevertheless, it’s somehow understandable that there hasn’t been a film adaptation until now. Than: Gran Turismo is a racing simulator. What do you want to say here?!
Many must have asked this question when it was announced that “District 9” creator Neill Blomkamp would finally bring the game classic to the big screen after several attempts. FILMSTARTS editor Daniel Fabian visited the shooting of “Gran Turismoand got to the bottom of that question.
In addition to director Blomkamp, there were also conversations with the cast about “Lord of the Rings” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” star Orlando Bloom and protagonist Archie Madekwe (“Midsommar”, “See”). During a visit to the shooting, he could also see with his own eyes what awaits us here in terms of action. So much can be revealed: in the cinema you wish the armchairs had seat belts…
A special challenge
Blomkamp, who is best known for his dark science fiction stories, put the cards on the table immediately after the greeting at the interview near the filming location at the legendary Hungaroring motor racing circuit. Because when Sony approached him with the film, only one thing came to mind: “That’s the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard!”
But why did the South African finally take the director’s chair – when there’s clearly no room for the aliens, robots and laser cannons otherwise seen in his dystopian sci-fi films?
“I didn’t think I’d be interested in ‘Gran Turismo’ until I read the script,” said Blomkamp. Than “Gran Turismo” is based on a true underdog story that reminds the director of movies like “karate childwhich once inspired him in his youth and eventually led to his passion for cinema. However, the possibility of putting such a film on the screen yourself also entails a lot of dangers. After all, Blomkamp is known for using a lot of special effects/VFX in his films – which he now has to turn his back on.
The game template is known for its realism. And to achieve that in the film, everything is actually filmed ‘real’. – in the cockpit, on the track, with the stars in the driver’s seat. Because relying on special effects is “simply not the right thing” for this film, as Blomkamp emphatically states. Don’t Try CGI Fireworks à la”Fast & Furious‘but rather branded an immersive cinematic experience’Top gun: Maverick“, which, in addition to an exciting story, must also offer action that throws the audience right into the middle of the action. And Archie Madekwe experienced what that means…
Fasten seatbelts!
Leading actor Archie Madekwe did not even have a driver’s license for “Gran Turismo” – and had only a month to take driving lessons, pass the exam and immediately afterwards plunge into filming, which demanded a lot from the novice driver. After all, his character is based not only on a real person to be embodied, but on a racing driver – whose job is to whiz around the track at top speed and be exposed to the toughest conditions.
Then things got serious in the cockpit: “So claustrophobic, it makes you sick. It’s so hot,” Madekwe describes the extreme situation behind the wheel of his Nissan GT-R. After all, the most powerful version of the Japanese horsepower monster is called “Godzilla” for a reason – and soon teaches less experienced drivers to be afraid. That Madekwe repeatedly speaks of a love-hate relationship when he describes the shots on the track becomes increasingly understandable:
Often eight or nine cameras are pointed at Madekwe, which he has to keep an eye out for. They are placed in and on the car, on accompanying camera trucks or camera cranes and even drones are used. And then it is also important to counter the limited expression possibilities in full equipment including helmet, to learn the text by heart and preferably not to drive over one of the many, many crew members stationed along the circuit. All this in sweltering heat, roaring engine noise and 200 kilometers per hour, with which he makes the tires smoke and the pulse rate rise. It is therefore not surprising that the actor always ended the shooting days drenched in sweat and even threw up again and again.
I was allowed to accompany the recordings of such a scene under a wonderfully deafening engine sound and, among other things, get an idea of how Neill Blombkamp performs the action trimmed to realism. And there is one thing I already dare to predict: together with cameraman Jacques Jouffret, he will bring racing scenes to the screen that will put at least as wide a grin on the face of the audience as I did on the spot. But “Gran Turismo” not only has what it takes to give you goosebumps with its extremely realistically staged action sequences that pierce your bones, but above all with its story.
But what is Gran Turismo actually about?
As a self-confessed car enthusiast who has already owned three (!) Nissan GT-Rs, it is very important for Neill Blomkamp to finally bring compelling car action to the screen again. The racing scenes should feel “like you’re right in the thick of it,” according to the director. However, they only get the big emotional blow from their content – and here’s where the real story the movie is based on comes in:
Gran Turismo tells the true story of racing driver Jann Mardenborough. While Sony had been toying with the idea of making a film for several years, it was ultimately the 31-year-old Briton’s eventful career that ensured that an idea was followed by action.
Than as the producers told me in conversation, as some of the fastest (and especially loudest) PS cars in the world raced around us around the Hungaroring, they wanted to head in a similar direction in terms of content beforehand. However, there were fears that a fictional story would not provide the necessary emotional punch, that the audience would find it completely unimaginative or even unrealistic. The actual story of Mardenborough, now making its way to cinemas, is even (!) crazier than anything the creative minds behind the project could have dreamed up years ago.
While most pros start their careers at a young age, Mardenborough made the jump through a competition initiated by Nissan and Sony – on the PlayStation. In 2011 he took part in the so-called GT Academy, a virtual car race in which the winner gets the chance to prove himself in professional motorsport. Mardenborough managed to beat 90,000 entrants and then got a starting spot in the 24 Hours race in Dubai – in which he took an incredible third place. Then everything went very fast.
In 2013 he started for Nissan in the Toyota Racing Series and made a name for himself in Formula 3. In the same year he celebrated his premiere at the legendary circuit of Le Mans and finished third. But no matter how steep the success story gets, one point – which Jann Mardenborough literally threw off the track in 2015: There was a horror crash at the Nürburgring, in which his car took off, was thrown over all the barriers and fatally hit a spectator. But Mardenborough persevered and carried on undaunted – because some of his greatest successes were yet to come…
“Gran Turismo”: Finally a proper video game adaptation?
The story of Jann Mardenborough, who took PlayStation’s often elite motorsport by storm, is made for the cinema, as is the spectacular footage of the drones buzzing around the cars at top speed, promising some of the most thrilling racing sequences in film history. .
And then, of course, there’s the fantastically wacky cast, which, in addition to starring Archie Madekwe and Orlando Bloom, who visibly thrives in his role as a race fanatic, also includes ‘Stranger Things’ sheriff David Harbour, Marvel, DC and ‘Fast & Furious’- star Djimon Honsou and Spice Girl (!) Geri Halliwell are among them. Neill Blomkamp summed it up aptly in our conversation:
I understand that if you don’t know the setup and then hear that ‘Gran Turismo’ is going to be a movie, you get confused on the outside. And then Geri Halliwell also plays along. I mean what?! I almost want to see it again!
Yes, “Gran Turismo” makes you very curious in advance – and in the end it could even become one of the most successful video game adaptations ever. This classification is likely to be contested in the end.
Neill Blomkamp fears that many will eventually speak of a sports film – the similarities with underdog stories like “Rocky” and Co. are at hand. At the same time, the film uses the game template not only as an element of content, but also as a staging – and in the end it is probably more of a video game adaptation than many other representatives of the genre. And if it holds up to what the first footage from the movie promises in terms of racing action, we might finally get to see another really strong car movie – which “Fast & Furious” fans have been waiting for years.
Incidentally, we can especially look forward to Orlando Bloom, whose euphoria spread among all the journalists present during the interview. He was not only lyrical about the racing world, which he himself has been addicted to for years, and about his absolute favorite car (a 1973 Porsche 911S, which of course he has in his garage), but especially about his role. Because he plays the founder of the GT Academy, Darren Cox (in the movie Danny Moore), who has one job above all: to radiate enthusiasm for his unique project – and if Bloom succeeds in the film as well as in our conversation, it will eventually also seamlessly transfer to the public.