Ford v Ferrari



Ford v Ferrari (titled Le Mans '66 in the UK and other territories) is a 2019 American biographical sports drama film directed by James Mangold, and written by Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, and Jason Keller. It stars Matt Damon and Christian Bale, while Jon Bernthal, Caitriona Balfe, Tracy Letts, Josh Lucas, Noah Jupe, Remo Girone, and Ray McKinnon appear in supporting roles.

The plot follows an eccentric, determined team of American engineers and designers, led by automotive visionary Carroll Shelby and his British driver, Ken Miles, who are dispatched by Henry Ford II and Lee Iacocca with the mission of building the Ford GT40, a new racing car with the potential to finally defeat the perennially dominant Ferrari racing team at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans race in France. In early stages of the film's production, Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt were cast in the starring roles, but those plans fell through. Mangold was then hired in February 2018, and Damon, Bale, and the rest of the cast joined that summer. Filming began in July 2018 in California and lasted a little over two months.

Ford v Ferrari had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival on August 30, 2019, and is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on November 15, 2019, by 20th Century Fox. The film received positive reviews from critics, who lauded the performances and racing sequences.

Premise
In 1963, Enzo Ferrari was approached by the Ford Motor Company about a possible buyout of Ferrari. Talks were unilaterally cut off by Ferrari when Enzo realized that the deal included the purchase of Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari's racing program that had won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1958 and every year from 1960 through 1965. Le Mans is the world's oldest active sports car endurance race, held annually since. Upset at being rebuffed, Henry Ford II directed his racing division to build a car to beat Scuderia Ferrari.

The film tells how automotive designer Carroll Shelby and race car driver Ken Miles lead a team of American engineers and designers from Ford to build a race car that can beat legendary Ferrari. Ultimately, they produce the Ford GT40 for a showdown at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Production
A film based on the rivalry between Ford and Ferrari for the dominance at the Le Mans endurance race has long been in works at 20th Century Fox. Initially, it was going to star Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt from an original screenplay by Jason Keller, but the project fell apart after writers Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth drafted a script and Joseph Kosinski was brought on to direct. On February 5, 2018, it was announced that James Mangold had been brought on board to direct the film based on the previous script by Jason Keller, Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth. Later, Caitriona Balfe, Jon Bernthal, and Noah Jupe joined the cast alongside Christian Bale and Matt Damon in the lead roles. In July 2018, Jack McMullen was cast in the film to play one of Miles's key British mechanics, and Tracy Letts also joined to play Henry Ford II, along with Joe Williamson. In August 2018, JJ Feild was cast in the film to play the automotive engineer Roy Lunn, the head of Ford Advanced vehicles in England and the right-hand man to Henry Ford II. Composer Marco Beltrami confirmed in an interview that he would be scoring the film, Beltrami having previously worked with Mangold on 3:10 to Yuma, The Wolverine and Logan.

Filming began on July 30, 2018, and lasted for 67 days, taking place in California; New Orleans, Louisiana; Atlanta; Savannah; and Statesboro, Georgia, as well as Le Mans, France.

Release
Ford v Ferrari premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on August 30, 2019, and screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2019. It is scheduled to be released in the United States on November 15, 2019, in 2D, IMAX 2D, and Dolby Cinema by 20th Century Fox. It was previously scheduled to be released on June 28.

The first trailer for the film debuted on June 2, 2019, during Game 2 of the 2019 NBA Finals.

Box office
In the United States and Canada, Ford v Ferrari will be released alongside The Good Liar and Charlie's Angels, and is projected to gross $23–30 million in its opening weekend.

Critical response
On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 91% based on 76 reviews, with an average rating of 7.37/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Ford v Ferrari delivers all the polished auto action audiences will expect -- and balances it with enough gripping human drama to satisfy non-racing enthusiasts." Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 73 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Eric Kohn of IndieWire gave the film a "B", saying that "Ford v Ferrari excels at evoking the sheer thrill of the race—'a body moving through space and time,' as one character says—and it's compelling enough in those moments to make the case that nothing beats the thrill of competition." Variety's Peter DeBruge praised the racing sequences and the performances of Bale and Damon, writing: "The best sports movies aren't so much about the sport as they are the personalities, and these two go big with their performances."