Christian Bale and Matt Damon star in the racing biopic “Ford v Ferrari.” James Mangold’s Race-car drama will deal with the Ford Motor Company’s rivalry with Enzo Ferrari’s racing empire in 1966. Mangold, best known for having directed “Logan” and “I Walk the Line,” has been directing adult dramas now for close to 20 years in Hollywood, which is truly an unprecedented feat given the amount of paradigm shifting that has happened at the movies since then. He’s survived the onslaught. He’s somewhat maintained his integrity as an artist, even amidst all the changes and obsessions with superheroes and the near-total dissolving of the mid-budget adult drama these last few years.
“Ford v Ferrari” test-screened on Monday in NYC. Here’s a first-hand account and reaction of the film:
“It’s very much a Golden Globes contender, maybe Oscar too. It’s engaging in the moment. A grueling runtime (over 2 and a half hours) moves quickly due to sharp editing and playful chemistry between Damon and Bale. The racing scenes deliver thrills but the heart of the film belongs to the actors. Damon has his usual everyman type role. Bale gets lots of focus as the hot-tempered driver who is trained under Damon. Slowly their relationship is tested and unravels as Damon becomes obsessed with the media attention surrounding the race.”`
Again, there was much more to this account than what I have published but, according to another account that was sent to me, this is very much a film similar in nature to Ron Howard’s “Rush,” but only better and with thicker drama.
The film will be released November 15th, which means Oscar is being eyed by Mangold and 20th Century Fox. Expect it to premiere at Telluride and Toronto.
The ‘Smile’ franchise has a new director. David Bruckner, who made “The Night House” and the 2022 “Hellraiser” reboot, has been hired to direct “Smile 3” for Paramount.