Neill Blomkamp Shares Why He Wanted to Direct GRAN TURISMO, Which Is His Sports Movie
District 9 and Elysium director Neill Blomkamp was an interesting and unexpected choice when he jumped on board to direct a film inspired by PlayStation’s hit racing game, Gran Turismo. I’ve been really curious to see what he would do with it, and I enjoyed what I saw in the first trailer that was released.
During a recent interview with Empire, the filmmaker shared why he wanted to direct this movie saying: “I'm just obsessed with cars. Totally obsessed. So I was like, 'Yeah, I should probably do this film.”
When asked about this project falling into the sports genre, the director said: "I think it probably will ultimately fall into that genre. I definitely don't think of it that way but I think it's hard not to. It's definitely the closest that I'll ever get to making a sports film – that is for sure!"
The film has been described as “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.” Jann was able to translate his impressive Gran Turismo gaming skills into real life through a series of Nissan competitions, resulting in him becoming a professional race car driver.
When talking about the movie, Blomkamp said: “It’s real actors, in real cars, on real race tracks, driving insanely quickly. The north star for me was to make a videogame title with character work that propels the movie, even more so than the racing. Although the racing is bloody intense, too.”
The movie features a great ensemble cast that includes Orlando Bloom and David Harbour, who are set to star in the film along with Archie Madekwe. The cast also includes Djimon Hounsou (Shazam!), Geri Halliwell-Horner (Six Underground), Daniel Puig (Naomi), Maeve Courtier-Lilley (The Outpost), Emelia Hartford (A Hollywood Christmas), Pepe Barroso (High Seas), and Sang Heon Lee (XO, Kitty).
Blomkamp is directing from a script by Jason Hall and Zach Baylin, with PlayStation Productions’ Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan producing alongside Doug Belgrad and Dana Brunetti.
Game creator Kazunori Yamauchi and Hall are executive producing the film, which Sony Pictures will release in theaters on August 11, 2023. Watch the trailer and tell us what you think!