Rush may not be a film that you’re familiar with but it’s one that I’ve been looking forward to for quite a long time. We got to chat with Academy Award winning director, Ron Howard (who’s helming this project) late last year at the 2011 BIFA awards to get the lowdown on the new movie focusing around F1. You may think then that it’s going to follow suit with my favourite movie of last year Senna but it’s completely different. In fact this one is described as an epic action-thriller in the official press release below. Senna on the other hand replied completely on documentary footage and photography to achieve the amazing movie that it turned out to be. That said, one of the Producers of Senna, Eric Fellner is also Producing Rush but that is pretty much where the similarities end.
Rush focuses on Formula One racing rivals, James Hunt and Niki Lauda who raced back in the 70s. Rush stars Chris Hemsworth as James Hunt and Daniel Brühl as Niki Lauda. Olivia Wilde also stars alongside Alexandra Maria Lara.
I’ve placed the full press release below our interviews with Mr. Howard but suffice to say, I’m very excited to see more from the movie in the coming months.
In the interview, Ron Howard tells us where the story came from in the first place and what it was that brought him to the Rush project. He also speaks about what he knew of Formula One before taking this movie on.
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‘RUSH’ BEGINS PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY
Two-Time Academy Award® Winner Ron Howard Directs the Epic True Story of Legendary Formula 1 Racing Rivals James Hunt and Niki Lauda
Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl Lead the All-Star Cast
London, 06 March 2012 —Two-time Academy Award® winner Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind), teams once again with fellow two-time Academy Award® nominee, writer Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon, The Queen), on RUSH, a spectacular big-screen re-creation of the merciless 1970s rivalry between James Hunt and Niki Lauda, it was announced today. The film recently began principal photography and is co-financed and produced by Exclusive Media and Cross Creek Pictures, in association with Imagine Entertainment. Working Title Films, Brian Grazer and Revolution Films are also producing.
The epic action-thriller stars Chris Hemsworth (The Avengers) as the charismatic Englishman James Hunt and Daniel Brühl (Inglourious Basterds) as the disciplined Austrian perfectionist Niki Lauda, whose clashes on the Grand Prix racetrack epitomized the contrast between these two extraordinary characters, a distinction reflected in their private lives. Also starring Olivia Wilde (TRON: Legacy) and Alexandra Maria Lara (The Reader). RUSH is produced by Andrew Eaton (A Mighty Heart), Eric Fellner (Senna, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Ron Howard, Academy Award® winner Brian Grazer (Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind), Peter Morgan and Brian Oliver (Black Swan) and executive produced by Exclusive Media, Cross Creek Pictures and Todd Hallowell. Universal Pictures will distribute the film in North America.
Set against the sexy, glamorous and spectacular golden age of Formula 1 racing, RUSH portrays the exhilarating true story of two of the greatest rivals the world has ever witnessed — handsome English playboy James Hunt (Hemsworth) and his methodical, brilliant opponent Niki Lauda (Brühl). Following their personal lives on and off the track, RUSH follows the two drivers as they push themselves to the breaking point of physical and psychological endurance, where there is no shortcut to victory and no margin for error. If you make one mistake, you die.
RUSH will shoot on location in the UK, Germany and Austria.
“Lauda and Hunt were rock stars of the race track: two absolute pros at the top of their game, in a time when sex was safe, driving was dangerous and all bets were off,” said Ron Howard. “They were also complicated, fascinating men and born rivals. RUSH will be as much about that personal rivalry as it will be about the thrill of the race.”
Executive Producer Nigel Sinclair, Co-Chairman and CEO of Exclusive Media added: With a dream team of director Ron Howard and screenwriter Peter Morgan behind the wheel — and a cast that includes some of the hottest young actors working in movies today — RUSH promises to capture the true glamour, speed, sex appeal and risk of Formula 1 as it has never been seen before. It will be an adrenalin-fuelled exploration of human rivalry and emotion set against the backdrop of fashion and music in the ’70s.”
Producer Brian Oliver, President of Cross Creek Pictures, said: “Ron’s gift as a director is his ability to inhabit extraordinarily complex characters and grasp their essential humanity. With Chris and Daniel as our leads, I’m confident that the compelling story of Hunt and Lauda’s infamous rivalry will be told as never before.”
