Despite being one of the year’s better films thus far, Blackhat marked a financial low for Michael Mann, so much so we thought it might be some time before we got news on his next project. Thankfully, that doesn’t look to be the case. According to Variety, production is aiming to begin next year for Ferrari, a biopic on Italy’s Enzo Ferrari directed by the Heat helmer.
Based on Brock Yates’ biography Enzo Ferrari: The Man, the Cars, the Races, the film will combine previous scripts written by Troy Kennedy Martin (The Italian Job) and David Rayfield (Out of Africa), telling the story of the man behind Formula One racing and iconic Italian sports car. While producers will be at Cannes shopping that one around, word has also arrived on another Ferrari biopic.
According to Il Messaggero (via The Guardian), Robert De Niro is attached to the competing film, saying, “It is an honor to tell the life of an extraordinary man who revolutionized the world of motor sport. The film will go into production soon, mostly in Italy, and has absolute priority over all my other projects.”
With a script by Nixon‘s Stephen J Rivele and Christopher Wilkinson, Clint Eastwood is reportedly circling to direct this one, having taken to the screenplay. There’s no telling yet of any distinct structural differences between the films. With both aiming to head into production soon, we’ll have to which gets made, since we doubt both will see the light of day, so check back for updates.
Which project would you like to see more?