Ron Howard Might Direct the Formula One Movie RUSH
Earlier this month it was reported that Paul Greengrass was in talks to take on a Formula One racing movie called Rush. Today word on the street is that director Ron Howard might end up getting behind the drivers seat for this film production. Greengrass ended up dropping off of the film to move on to other projects. He must have opted to take ont the Tom Hanks film A Captains Duty.
Rush is set up over at Working Title Films, and would reunite the director with screenwriter Peter Morgan who also wrote the Howard directed film Frost/Nixon. The film is being shopped around to other studios. This film tells the story of three-time Formula One champion Niki Lauda and the driver’s near-fatal 1976 racing accident. Here's a more detailed description of the film,
Morgan’s screenplay deals closely with Lauda’s famed rivalry with the English race driver James Hunt, both on and off the track. For those unfamiliar with the Formula One legend, on August 1, 1976, Lauda very nearly burned to death after his Ferrari swerved off the track in only the second lap of the German Grand Prix, crashed, and burst into flames. Lauda lapsed into a coma and ultimately lost his right ear; Hunt would go on to win the race.... Lauda so detested Hunt and was so obsessed with beating him that just six weeks later, he dragged himself out of bed and finished fourth at the Italian Grand Prix. Hunt would go on to win both the Canadian and U.S. Grand Prix, and, after Lauda dropped out of the Japanese Grand Prix due to heavy rain, he ultimately wrested the 1976 World Driver’s Championship title from Lauda, winning by a single point.
This would be a great project for Howard to take one while The Dark Tower is in development, and waiting on a greenlight. Rush is scheduled to start shooting in Europe this year, The Dark Tower doesn't start shooting until next spring.
Formula One racing has never been big here in America, but it is one of the biggest sports watched world wide. This would make for a great film, and I think it could end up being pretty successful. What do you all think?