Enzo Ferrari: A genius in his field who was feared for his mercurial temper, tolerated no nonsense, and was renowned for his unflinching dedication to his craft.
Christian Bale: A genius in his field who is feared for his mercurial temper, tolerated no nonsense, and is renowned for his unflinching dedication to his craft.
Seems like a match made in heaven then, right?
The Dark Knight actor is set to portray the legendary Ferrari founder in an upcoming movie directed by Michael Mann of Heat and Collateral fame. Mann has been working on his biopic for more than 15 years now, even collaborating at one time with late director Sydney Pollack. Per Variety, this script was originally scheduled for a 2004 release date.
Enzo Ferrari’s life certainly ought to make for interesting cinema, even for moviegoers with little or no interest in automobiles. Fighting in WWI, rising to prominence as a race car driver and manager, having to manufacture cars for Mussolini’s fascist government, tragic deaths, affairs, and a child out of wedlock… the man lived an interesting life. He built road cars for one and only one reason: to finance his racing pursuits.
He was also famously, albeit partly, responsible for the creation of Lamborghini. When Ferrucio Lamborghini, a tractor manufacturer, tried to call him up to give him some feedback on his Ferrari, which Ferrucio thought had a less-than-perfect gearbox, Enzo Ferrari rebuffed him. Legend has it that Enzo said, “What would a tractor manufacturer know about my Ferrari?”
Ferrucio Lamborghini took that slight to heart and vowed to build his own sportscar that would beat Ferrari, by then already an icon, on every parameter. And Lamborghini has succedded for the most part, nipping at the heels of the Ferrari ever since the nineties. It is the plucky upstart, the perfect antithesis to Ferrari, the howling mad flashy street supercar alternative to Fiorano, the Raging Bull to the Prancing Horse.
We don’t know if that part of Enzo Ferrari’s saga will make it into Michael Mann’s movie. If it does, it would provide Christian Bale the perfect foil to his character.
Who do you think should play Ferrucio Lamborghini?
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