Ferrari (Michael Mann, 2023)

[flyonthewall2983]

He's in the final stages of getting together his next film, a biopic of Enzo Ferrari. Oddly enough another picture on Ferrari is in development with Robert De Niro attached, and Clint Eastwood is rumored to be circling it as well.

[Feiereisel]

He's in the final stages of getting together his next film, a biopic of Enzo Ferrari. Oddly enough another picture on Ferrari is in development with Robert De Niro attached, and Clint Eastwood is rumored to be circling it as well.

I'll take the Mann one in a heartbeat; he's very good with velocity--is it too cruel to call the premise "Rush, but interesting"?

[flyonthewall2983]

Yeah, I'll bet anything DeNiro just hops on board Mann's film instead. Strangely enough this has happened to Mann before. Before Public Enemies he and Depp had separate projects about the poisoned KGB agent in London, Alexander Litvineko for awhile.

[carmilla mircalla]

He also intimates that he may go back to film for that one, after seeing Heat on the big screen.

Thank god. Miami Vice and Public Enemies are literally hard to watch.

[flyonthewall2983]

I like what he's done with digital, but it's only tolerable for me if it's in the original AR. I don't mind watching cropped movies generally, but Miami Vice stood out as being very unwatchable when done that way.

[criterion10]

Public Enemies is the only one that looks really off in digital -- all the rest have a really unique look and vibe aesthetically, but it would be interesting to see Mann return to film.

[flyonthewall2983]

Paramount picking up most of the international rights to the Ferrari project, slated to start filming in Italy next summer.

[flyonthewall2983]

Bale bails on Ferrari

[oh yeah]

Ouch, that's a real shame. I'm not Bale's biggest fan by any means (his turn in Public Enemies was actually the finest work I've seen from him, though even that had its shaky moments), but I think he could have pulled Ferrari off. And this does not bode too well for the film's future if it's missing a lead actor with just a few months left until the shoot. Hopefully Mann will be able to find someone fitting and manage to pull a rabbit out of his hat; God knows he's come out strong against the odds many times before...

[flyonthewall2983]

At least he had good enough reason to. The kind of physical transformations he's gone through (especially in The Machinist) could not have been easy but at least he was young enough to pull it off.

[oh yeah]

At least he had good enough reason to. The kind of physical transformations he's gone through (especially in The Machinist) could not have been easy but at least he was young enough to pull it off.

That is true, yeah. I'm now trying to think of actors who would make a good Ferrari, and I'm having a strangely hard time. Someone elsewhere online proposed Oscar Isaac, and I think that's within the realm of possibility. Hmm... I think getting an actor of Italian descent would be preferable, though certainly far from necessary.

[FrauBlucher]

Bale's drastic weight swings over the last ten years is catching up to him. The body can't take that. I commend him for his efforts but that's some serious stuff he's messing with.

[oh yeah]

I'm thinking DiCaprio might be good in this role.

[Ribs]

I know he dropped out for different reasons but this is already seemingly very similar to when Bale dropped out of Steve Jobs.

[feihong]

A friend of mine performed with Bale in Harsh Times. He told her that his drastic changes of shape for The Machinist and Batman Begins were very unhealthy for him. And those were just the beginning for Bale. I'm glad he was able to turn down the Ferrari role, I hope he stays healthy. The idea that our great film actors need to do these kind of extreme physical transformations––started I think with De Niro's highly publicized weight gain for Raging Bull––is a really wayward notion.

[beamish13]

Tom Hanks' disclosure of having Type 2 Diabetes last year made me wonder if it was caused by his weight loss/gain for certain films (e.g. CASTAWAY and PHILADELPHIA). I'm sure Bale is terrified of developing a chronic health condition that could impact his ability to get insured, not to mention have a hugely detrimental impact on his life.

[FrauBlucher]

Bale losing excessive amount of weight - The Machinist, Rescue Dawn and The Fighter.
Bulking up with muscle- The Batman movies.
Bulking up overweight- American Hustle
There may be more.... This is not good.

[Ribs]

Ferrari is back on with Hugh Jackman and Noomi Rapace

[oh yeah]

Great news, thanks for the link.

Although I think someone like Leo could knock the title role out of the park, I'm actually pleased with this turning out to go to Jackman rather than Bale. I'll admit that part of that is down to, for one, being a bit tired of Bale generally, and secondly, simply being curious to see how Mann's direction elevates (I hope) Jackman's acting - which is typically good though less than extraordinary. As I've written before, Mann's done a terrific job in recent years of getting surprisingly good or great performances out of actors who were previously mediocre or competent at best. (E.g. Smith in Ali, Foxx in Ali and Collateral and Vice, Hemsworth in Blackhat, Bale in Public Enemies, and even I'd say Depp in PE and Russell Crowe in The Insider - I think the latter two gave easily their best performances in those films). He also is good at getting these disciplined, nuanced, career-high performances out of more lauded actors, like the uncharacteristically low-key turn from a 90s Pacino in The Insider, or of course De Niro's turn in Heat, which I think kind of tightens up and sharpens the famous De Niro "style," perfectly marrying it with a fittingly terse, secretive character.

I wonder how long we'll have to wait this time... It might be 2020 if production doesn't start until summer 2018. Then again, if waiting longer means a better film I'm fine with that, and I think it's no big secret by now how much of a perfectionist Mann is.

EDIT: I also wanted to comment on the new blu-ray cut of Ali, which I didn't pay complete attention to like I normally would but which from what I can gather seems to me slightly inferior to the original/theatrical cut of the film (still haven't watched my earlier Director's Cut DVD). It's not a huge difference and it's hard to pin down, except to say that I feel like the film flows better overall in the TC. It's missing a certain something in this new cut, somehow. I do like the added bits of CIA scenes and the political angle, but I didn't think there was a great shortage of them in the TC anyway. I dunno. It's different, I think, but not terribly so.

[flyonthewall2983]

He will start production on his Ferrari project next spring

[bluesforyou]

I thought this would never see the light of day after the Mangold went ahead but that is good news. I do wonder if the masses will come out to watch another Ferrari film (although the Mangold is a more a Ford film) after having seen one so recently.

[flyonthewall2983]

It sounds like Amazon could be involved, so it could (at least in the US) wind up going straight to Prime Video. Too early to tell, but hopefully by the time it's released the current theatrical situation will be relieved.

[DarkImbecile]

Adam Driver, Penélope Cruz, and Shailene Woodley are the latest to sign on to Ferrari, which is sounding like it might actually happen

[Maltic]

Driver going from Gucci to Ferrari

[Brian C]

Adam Driver, Penélope Cruz, and Shailene Woodley are the latest to sign on to Ferrari, which is sounding like it might actually happen

I mean, okay, but I’m still not believing it until I see a trailer.