Daniel Brühl may play Niki Lauda role in RUSH

Daniel Brühl is circling the role of Austrian Formula One champion Niki Lauda and arch rival to British racing icon James Hunt in Rush, which is from UK-based Revolution Films and Working Title and US financier Cross Creek Pictures.

Andrew Eaton, Eric Fellner and Brian Oliver are set to produce and are planning a 2011 start in Germany and the UK. They are waiting for Chris Hemsworth, the frontrunner to play Hunt, has fulfilled his obligations on Universal’s Snow White And The Huntsman. Earlier we reported that Ron Howard was attached to direct from a screenplay by Peter Morgan.

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.

Brühl will next be seen in the highly anticipated San Sebastian opening night premiere Intruders from Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and has starred in Inglourious Basterds and Goodbye Lenin! I think that this would be cool role for him, after seeing him in Basterds. What are your thoughts on this news?