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Live-Action Gran Turismo Film's Trailer Highlights Story, Race Scenes
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
Sony Pictures began streaming a new trailer for it and PlayStation Productions' live-action film based on Polyphony Digital's Gran Turismo racing simulator games on Tuesday. The trailer highlights the film's story based on the life of GT Academy winner Jann Mardenborough, and also shows many of the racing scenes.
In an interview in the official U.S. PlayStation blog, director Niell Blomkamp also talks about the filming for the movie, and his inspirations. He noted that in addition to drone IMAX camera work, the production also used a pursuit-arm mounted on a Nissan R35 GT-R to capture the race from an outside perspective, while also using an R1 camera rig positioned behind a car to capture the whole car in a manner similar to the chase camera from the Gran Turismo games.
Sony Pictures describes the film as follows:
Based on the true story of Jann Mardenborough, the film is the ultimate wish fulfillment tale of a teenage Gran Turismo player whose gaming skills won a series of Nissan competitions to become an actual professional racecar driver.
Columbia Pictures is developing the film. Jason Hall (American Sniper) is penning the script. Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan from PlayStation Productions are producers alongside Doug Belgrad and Dana Brunetti. The film stars David Harbour, Orlando Bloom, Archie Madekwe, Darren Barnet, Geri Halliwell Horner, and Djimon Hounsou.
Sony first launched the project to develop the racing simulator series into a film in 2013. At that time, Fifty Shades of Grey producers Mike De Luca and Dana Brunetti were producing the project, with Sony executives Elizabeth Cantillon, DeVon Franklin, and Hannah Minghella also involved.
The racing simulation franchise debuted on the original PlayStation console in 1997 and has since sold 85 million copies. The most recent title, Gran Turismo 7, shipped for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 in March 2022.
Nissan and Sony Interactive Entertainment previously produced the GT Academy program that took Gran Turismo players and provided them an opportunity to become real-life professional racers. The series produced a number of successful drivers during its 2008 to 2016 run.
Sources: Sony Pictures Entertainment's YouTube channel, Official U.S. PlayStation blog (James Stavrinides)
