A new biopic about the life of Italian car manufacturer and racing driver, Enzo Ferrari, is currently being discussed with X-Men star Hugh Jackman as Ferrari himself. The film, reportedly simply titled Ferrari, is set to be directed by Michael Mann, who also directed hit films such as Heat, starring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino.
Although described as a biopic, it’s said this film will mainly focus on the year 1957: the year two miserable, but important, moments in the history of the company and its founder occurred. The first was the fatal crash during the Mille Miglia motorsport event which killed Ferrari driver Alfonso de Portago, his co-driver Edmund Gurner Nelsen and ten spectators. Although motorsport deaths were not uncommon during this time, the Mille Miglia race and all motor-racing was banned in Italy. The Vatican attacked Enzo Ferrari, holding him accountable for the deaths, which sent the company into financial disaster.
The second, more personal to Ferrari himself, was the death of his son Alfredo ‘Dino’ Ferrari. During his short life, Dino began working at his father’s company as an engineer and helped to create the 1.5 litre V6 engine that would later be used, though he would never live to see it. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and died at the age of 24. Enzo would later name the cars using the V6 engine the ‘Dino’ series.
This won’t be the first time Enzo Ferrari’s life has been made into a biopic or portrayed onscreen. The first biopic was Carlo Carlei’s 2003 film, Ferrari. He has also been featured in the 2013 film Rush and the more recent, Oscar-nominated, Ford v Ferrari, of which Michael Mann was executive producer.
The soon-to-be director of Ferrari told Deadline: “The real power of this piece is in the emotionally charged lives of these people in complex, extreme circumstances. In addition, there is the explosive power and lethal beauty of racing. It has a great drama at its core and that’s why Ferrari stayed with me.”
Hugh Jackman has already taken a break from his superhero flicks as Wolverine, showcasing his singing and dancing skills in The Greatest Showman before more recently starring in the comedy Bad Education. Fans will be excited to hear production for Ferrari will begin next spring.
Words by Libby Briggs