Aaron Paul Talks About NEED FOR SPEED Movie
Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul is set to star in the big screen adaptation of the hit video game Need for Speed for DreamWorks and producer Steven Spielberg. Act of Valor director Scott Waugh is directing the movie, and it will also star Dominic Cooper, Michael Keaton, and Imogen Poots.
The story follows an underground racecar driver named Tobey Marshall (Paul) who owns a garage that modifies expensive cars to make them faster for racing. Framed and sent to prison when his best friend is murdered during a race, he seeks revenge upon his release. Cooper plays an arrogant car supplier named Dino in the film, and Keaton plays the reclusive, oddball host of the event who invites the best racers from around the world to compete.
The film has also been described as being a "fast-paced, high-octane film rooted in the tradition of the great car culture films of the 70s while being extremely faithful to the spirit of the video game franchise. In Need for Speed, the cars are hot, the racing is intense and the story keeps players at the edge of their seat."
In a recent interview with Empire Paul talked about the film, and explains how he landed the lead role,
[It was] all thanks to Steven Spielberg, because he loves Breaking Bad. It was like, 'Yep, I’m going to give you this.' I was in London when I got the phone call. I think I said, 'Really? Okay. Wow.
That must have been an awesome phone call to get! He goes on to explain that the movie is going to surprise everyone,
Need For Speed is going to surprise everybody. I think a lot of people are thinking it’s going to be this car film, but it’s not that at all. There’s no actual narrative in the game, it’s just superfast cars with the point of view of the driver: his point of view as his car blasts around. And, of course, cops chasing them. It’s just plain make believe, pure imagination – it’s really, truly a blank canvas using really incredible supercars.
From that statement it sounds to me like the video game's point-of-view aspects will be incorporated into the film, which should be cool! I've enjoyed playing the game that this movie is based on, it's got a great cast, a solid director, and I'm excited to see how it turns out!
Head on over to Empire to read about what he said about Breaking Bad.