(Updated 08/02/2023)
Sony is bringing an ambitious video game adaptation to the big screen this summer, and the studio has teamed with a surprising filmmaker to make it happen. The movie is GRAN TURISMO, which is nominally an adaptation of Sony's long-running PlayStation racing franchise. Oh, and the GRAN TURISMO movie is a true story.
There's a big hurdle to clear with a movie based on this game series is that the games feature no people and no real storyline. The "Gran Turismo" games are a pure racing experience, hyper-detailed and faithfully modeled on real cars and tracks, all designed to push the limits of every new console generation.
All of which is great for gamers, but a lot more difficult when it comes time to make a movie. That’s where Neill Blomkamp, the director of films like DISTRICT 9 and ELYSIUM, comes in. Blomkamp is unusually good at developing characters alongside tech-heavy themes. Here, he starts with the true story of a gamer who got a shot at real-world racing. Check out the new GRAN TURISMO trailer and learn a lot more about the movie below.
When Does Gran Turismo Come Out?
Sony Pictures will release GRAN TURISMO in movie theatres on August 25.
Watch the New Gran Turismo Trailer
While the first GRAN TURISMO trailer laid out the story and showed off the players, this new one goes into more detail about the difficult of the competition. It really hinges on a tension that will be familiar to many gamers: The thought that, having mastered something in a game, it might be possible to do the same thing in real life — and then the crushing realization that one skillset doesn't necessarily translate into another.
The True Story at the Heart of Gran Turismo
GRAN TURISMO is based on the story of British gamer Jann Mardenborough, who in 2011 beat out thousands of contestants to win a chance to turn his video game racing skills into a real racing career. It's worth mentioning that the "Gran Turismo" games are unusually realistic in their approach to digitally recreating cars and race courses around the world. When the movie version of Jann says "I know this track" in the trailer, it's not an outlandish notion.
We won't spoil what happened in Jann's story in real life because we don't know the degree to which the movie is faithfully based on his experience. But the important point is simply that a young guy who was better at video game racing than almost anyone else was able to get behind the wheel of a GT car capable of doing 200 mph.
The Cast of Gran Turismo
English actor Archie Madekwe stars as Jann. He's been in a variety of TV and movie roles in the past, and is probably best known for his part in MIDSOMMAR. David Harbour plays the man who is tasked with getting Jann into racing shape — and as such, with ensuring the young gamer stays alive on the track.
Orlando Bloom co-stars as Danny Moore, a racing marketing guy who is instrumental in orchestrating Jann's transition into racing. He's a composite character based on Darren Cox of the GT Academy. Darren Barnet plays another GT Academy driver, as does Josha Stradowski.
Then there's the most surprising cast member: Geri Halliwell, aka Ginger Spice, plays Jann's mother. Djimon Hounsou appears as his father, and Daniel Puig plays his brother, Cai.
Neill Blomkamp Races Forward
Neill Blomkamp started out working on animated CG effects in his teens, and worked as an effects artist on a variety of TV series and movies through the early 2000s. He made short films, including a handful based on the "Halo" video game series, and nearly got to make a HALO movie with producer Peter Jackson. When that movie didn't come together, he and Jackson made DISTRICT 9 instead. The movie. a stunning combination of grungy handheld camera work and impeccable CG effects, defined Blomkamp's style. He applied that same style to movies like ELYSIUM and CHAPPIE.
Now, GRAN TURISMO looks like something a bit different. It's a bigger, glossier movie than Blomkamp has made in the past — and that's not a bad thing. Change is good!
GRAN TURISMO opens on August 25.
All images courtesy of Sony Pictures.