In the round-up: Director Ron Howard on his planned F1 film on the 1976 season.
Links
Top F1 links from the past 24 hours:
F1 on film – Q&A with Hollywood director Ron Howard
“It’s going to be a motion picture. It will be fascinating, sizzling, sexy and entertaining in the mould of Apollo 13, Frost/Nixon and A Beautiful Mind.”
Trulli ‘not panicking’ about his future (Autosport)
“Some announcement will be done probably in the next weeks, but at the moment I’m happy with the way it is and I just want to focus on my job and the team and my results. I want to enjoy what I’m doing because I wasn’t enjoying it much before.”
Technical Focus: Semi-Automatic Gearbox (Williams)
“We ran the system on-track for the first time in 1990, but we didn’t race it. It was then part of the FW14 in ’91 and I think the system cost us that year’s championship because we had appalling reliability in the first four races.”
Big Man, Little Countries (Slate)
Being sent to the Monaco Grand Prix to whinge about it for a living? Nice work if you can find it.
Alonso would welcome Lewis (Sky Sports)
“I am very happy with Felipe [Massa] and I hope to be with him for many years. But if another driver comes there will be no problem, we would work the same way for the team. And if Hamilton comes, [it will be] the same.”
Construction Site timelapse: July 1-31 (YouTube)
Keep Formula 1 Free To Air in the UK (UK Government e-Petition)
Support the petition to keep F1 on free-to-air television in the UK.
Follow F1 news as it breaks using the F1 Fanatic live Twitter app.
Comment of the day
Instead of the usual Comment of the day, here’s ten more great contributions of yours from yesterday’s Top ten F1 driver nicknames:
Johnny Carwash (Giovanni Lavaggi) from Journeyer
Christmas Dinner (Christian Danner) from rethymnoracer
SuperSwede (Ronnie Peterson) from TimG
Jos ‘The Boss’ Verstappen from JohanKasper
Karunipedia (Karun Chandhok) from Girts
Eric far from Pole (Eric van de Poele) from TommyB89
El Chueco (Juan Manuel Fangio) from CJD
El Nano (Fernando Alonso) from Cyclops_PL
Secret Squirrel (Damon Hill) from TMFOX
Jumper Jarier (Jean-Pierre Jarier) from Tinakori Road
If you know of any more great F1 driver nicknames, add them here:
From the forum
I was at Snetterton with Ratboy and Ajokay for the BTCC races on Sunday, read about it in the BTCC Fanatic thread.
Site updates
Some people experienced a fault with the site’s login system yesterday. This was due to a bug caused by an update to another part of the site.
This error has been addressed and appears to have solved the problem. As always if you experience a technical problem please report it directly via the contact form and not in the comments:
Happy birthday!
No F1 Fanatic birthdays today. If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is by emailling me, using Twitter or adding to the list here.
On this day in F1
Nelson Piquet won the first ever F1 race at the Hungaroring on this day 25 years ago.
Here’s the start of the race:
Piquet clinched the win with a spectacular pass around the outside of Ayrton Senna:
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
10th August 2011, 0:06
I thought the COD was your tweet, Keith:
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
10th August 2011, 0:15
It gets better: now I’ve got a picture of Britney Spears and the word “sexy” on the top deck of the home page.
All part of my master plan* to gradually turn F1 Fanatic into Heat magazine.
*Not a real plan
F1Yankee (@f1yankee)
10th August 2011, 0:45
i hear it’s pretty much a fact that nico rosberg hates women and the handicapped.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
10th August 2011, 7:19
Haha! That was such a funny transcript in that press conference :D
alejandro
10th August 2011, 1:09
Hey Kieth, I’ve been hanging out for your article on the 18th place qualifier getting regular points, which you mentioned on TFL last week… any news on that?
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
10th August 2011, 8:10
Still being worked on at the moment.
BasCB (@bascb)
10th August 2011, 7:13
The secrets of JB and Jessica! How Lewis likes it rough kind of things :-(
I keep getting supprised by the picture of Britney up there every time I see it.
Girts
10th August 2011, 12:29
I have been searching for a picture of shirtless Kamui Kobayahsi, may I ask you to include one in the upcoming article about the sexiest F1 drivers of all time? j/k :D
Fixy (@)
10th August 2011, 13:59
Great! Wall will the third step be? :P
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
10th August 2011, 20:09
Got some ideas.
This is IN!: the new McLaren overalls cause sensation around the paddock.
Summer break, what to wear?: battle of the styles, British racing green or JPS?
Top 10 sexiest finger moves: Schumacher’s orquest director, Vettel’s finger, Button’s W.
Butler_f1
10th August 2011, 0:09
‘sizzling, sexy and entertaining’ is everything i dont want from an f1 film! I would rather have something which I thoughtful, insightfull and emotional such a the senna movie, and when I want to lark about i would go see Cars2 or some other big blockbuster.
matt90 (@matt90)
10th August 2011, 0:33
Yeah, because those were some damn sexy films. A mental mathematician, astronauts almost dying- phwar. But particularly Nixon- PHWAR!
matt90 (@matt90)
10th August 2011, 18:14
Thanks for fixing my misguided attempt at blockquotes Keith.
CarsVsChildren (@carsvschildren)
10th August 2011, 0:46
Which in my opinion would miss the point about F1 in the 70’s.
It was sexy, it was sizzling. Stories about the various drivers antics after the races would make Keith Moon blush. Senna is a great human drama, and a fantastic film. We have that. I want to see an F1 film that captures the fun side of F1 as well.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1320323/Formula-1-champion-James-Hunt-slept-33-BA-air-stewardesses-race.html
DeadManWoking
10th August 2011, 0:49
I’m looking forward to the scene where Patrick Head mistakenly walks in to an unused pit stall only to find Hunt having sex with a japanese girl minutes before he went out and won the 76 World Championship. 8)
CarsVsChildren (@carsvschildren)
10th August 2011, 0:53
Don’t forget the vomiting.
topdowntoedown (@topdowntoedown)
10th August 2011, 13:17
Breakfast of Champions.
Fixy (@)
10th August 2011, 14:00
I guess you’re right! I want it to be realistic and follow the real life story, concentrating on the cars dashing down the straights, not anthing else.
Calum
10th August 2011, 0:14
I thought the ’76 Lauda/Ferrari V Hunt/Mclaren film had been cancelled, obviously not which is great news, I’ll always welcome an F1 film if it’s being properly made with a decent budget, I’m glad the success of the Senna Movie is allowing film companies to explore other famous stories in motorsport – there will be some great moments in this upcoming film, from the horrendous, double impact, flame filled and life threatening Lauda crash in Germany, to the title climax in a monsoon in Japan, as well as the friendship between two athletes at the peak of their game. This film has the potential to be brilliant – I’m looking forward to it.
CarsVsChildren (@carsvschildren)
10th August 2011, 0:48
I wonder if they will show James Hunt with all 33 air hostesses?
BasCB (@bascb)
10th August 2011, 7:16
Wouldn’t that get a bit repetitive?
I am highly sceptical of what to expect, on the other hand Ron Howard made an exiting and moving film of A Beautiful Mind, so he might be able to get this done.
verstappen
10th August 2011, 12:07
Don’t get your hopes up. Quote from the article:
Animated ‘action’… sad
javlinsharp
10th August 2011, 18:18
Do you really think they would recreate the entire season? The tracks?, the cars?, the crowds? Some of these places and things dont exist anymore. And even if they did, do you think it would be done at full speed or would some camera trick be used?
News Flash: Apollo 13 was not actually shot in space, and they didnt use a time-machine for Titanic.
Be happy a major Hollywood director (and all the resources he brings) is even considering such a risky film in the US market.
The Senna Movie used stock footage, the action was 20+ year old footage from 20+ year old cameras, my phone takes better video. This might be the only time for some of us to see it ‘nearly’ as it was.
I know its not normal in this formum, but come on… pick fewer nits.
Ace
12th August 2011, 4:39
My guess:
1. Some detail and time spent on first couple of ’76 races & character development.
2. Montage (naturally) that covers mid-late season.
3. One third of film spent on deciding race.
I hope I’m wrong :)
sato113 (@sato113)
10th August 2011, 0:39
got to say, that petition isn’t growing as fast as it should be…
DeadManWoking
10th August 2011, 1:12
That’s not all that’s not growing as fast as it should:
It’s currently 478 to 304 and a week ago F1F had a comfortable lead.
If you haven’t voted yet go here:
http://www.longlife.co.uk/blog/index.php/2011/08/whats-your-favourite-motorsport-blog-competition/
matt90 (@matt90)
10th August 2011, 2:37
To be fair, Scarbs is brilliant in a different way.
BasCB (@bascb)
10th August 2011, 7:19
I think it has a lot to do with being able to vote for 2-3 sites.
As ScarbsF1 is top for technical analyses it probably gets voted by a lot of people who see news on other sites. So this might be the top for news, but how many of us voted ScarbsF1 as well? See.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
10th August 2011, 3:10
Considering that England in general and London in particular are currently undergoing a localised apocalypse, I don’t think the Sky-BBC deal is at the forefront of anyone’s mind right now.
BasCB (@bascb)
10th August 2011, 7:17
Yeah, I think its fair to say so. Still it got about a thousend extra supporters both on monday and tuesday, so its not all that bad.
Icthyes (@icthyes)
10th August 2011, 10:26
Actually if it accrues as many signatures per day as it has been it’ll get to 100,000 no problem.
People have moved on to more pressing matters though, such as stripping benefits from people who steal and would be the most likely to turn again to crime if they had no money ;)
F1Yankee (@f1yankee)
10th August 2011, 0:50
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vVznVarX8A
“generally speaking, films about sports don’t work. people like to see the real thing.”
translation:
“i have very few tricks in my arsenal, and they’re no good for a sports documentary. also, i wouldn’t make nearly enough money.”
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
10th August 2011, 3:31
I’ve heard Ron Howard is looking at Chris Helmsworth – from Thor and The Avengers – for the role of James Hunt.
wasiF1 (@wasif1)
10th August 2011, 3:32
That move have to be one of the Legendary Overtaking move in the history of F1.
superted666
10th August 2011, 17:29
It was incredible! I miss the ways they used to be able to drift the older cars.
pitt layne
10th August 2011, 5:02
Oh god. Another Hollywood big shot wanting to do a racing film. Anybody see the sequel to Ironman? Or the Stallone racing film? The Monaco GP sequence in Ironman 2 was blasphemous. I just watched Senna on computer. Way better than any Hollywood flick will ever be. I have a new appreciation for the man. If only he oould’ve “let it go”. If the car wasn’t up to first place he should’ve, let it go. Maybe he’d still be here. Oh well. He became the lighthouse of safety in the racing world. He’ll always be remembered. Racing films should only be made by race fans, like Steve McQueen
CarsVsChildren (@carsvschildren)
10th August 2011, 23:45
You are picking on the racing realism in a movie about someone flying around in a giant mechanical suit?
Somehow I imagine that a Ron Howard biopic will be much better.
MagillaGorilla
13th August 2011, 21:20
It’s funny cause the Stallone racing film was just about creating drop and some nice digital scenes it was more about the people than the racing. The Ironman 2 example is just funny seeing as the scene even states cars that aren’t F1 being used and was more about introducing villians than making a proper race scene. You’re examples are a bit critical of Ron Howard who is known for making more award winning movies or those who usually stick to the story and not try to go over the top like the superhero movie you exampled. If you looked at the resume of Howard you’d realize he might just pull off a worthy movie.
austin
10th August 2011, 5:53
I think it has potential.. this is old f1, not modern day F1, they would have a harder time faking the look of todays cars.. The monaco scene in ironman 2 was crap, but that movie was not about racing. I think the older cars you can build replicas that look closer to the real deal rather than trying to build modern carbon fiber cars and then do crash scenes in them. I remember that Stallone movie Driven, had tube frame indy cars, and the crash scenes looked horrible because you can see the tube frame chassis rather than carbon fiber.
congealedmeat (@congealedmeat)
10th August 2011, 6:59
Q: Are you planning to shoot at the Nordschleife?
RH: We will have to wait and see. Nowadays we do have the ability to do everything in the studio so going there is not a necessity. But, as I said, let’s wait and see.
A little part of me died when I read this…
Lachie (@lachie)
10th August 2011, 7:51
To be fair though a lot of the Nordschleife today wouldn’t look like it did in 1976 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALpT_kYqA5Q It’s been ‘safened’ up as much as possible since then and obviously they can’t film on the original start finish straight anymore so a lot of it will have to be done in a computer anyway.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
10th August 2011, 8:03
I think you’re over-reacting. Reading the article, it appears Howard means they’ll shoot everything in the studio if for whatever reason they cannot go on-location.
Todfod (@todfod)
10th August 2011, 9:08
When Ron says in the studio, he probably means that the racing will be created in post production.. which is.. CGI and stuff. It just doesn’t make sense to create a track in the studio to shoot, as it would work out more economical to just shoot on location.
Ben Needham (@ben-n)
10th August 2011, 7:20
Nothing would make me happier than Alonso and Hamilton in the same team again – although I feel he belongs at McLaren, it was amazing seeing them in the McLaren in 2007, and I think they would still be so evenly matched that there would bound be some controversy throughout the year!
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
10th August 2011, 8:05
I suspect Alonso would be happy to have Hamilton at Ferrari because Alonso is much more integrated into Ferrari, whereas Hamilton would be stepping into the team. It was the other way around in 2007.
Ben Needham (@ben-n)
10th August 2011, 9:23
I completely agree with you! It would be thrilling to watch though!
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
10th August 2011, 7:28
Tom Hanks as Enzo Ferrari? Utter brilliance.
Todfod (@todfod)
10th August 2011, 9:18
I would have thought they would get an Italian, or Italian looking, actor to play Enzo. Maybe be a Pacino or Andy Garcia
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
10th August 2011, 13:25
Nooooo Danny Devito or don’t bother ;)
Carla
10th August 2011, 7:59
Just a film of F1 with those 3 adjectives can’t like a lot … But well, we’ll see what comes of there, I hope also is not a simile of Too Fast Too Fourious, haha!
Meander
10th August 2011, 8:56
Bruno Giacomelli’s mechanics uses to call him Jack O’Malley which I think is brilliant. They even put hit on his car, I believe.
Of course Mark Webber is the Canberra Milk Kid, but that one was probably already mentioned ;)
Pink Peril
13th August 2011, 1:01
I heard Webber’s friends call him Potsie, which ties in nicely with today’s “Happy Days” theme.
ajokay (@)
10th August 2011, 9:11
I know Ron Howard was Executive Producer (and narrator) of Arrested Development. So whilst not being directly involved in the writing, he still had a big input into the show. And if this F1 film is half as good as that sitcom is, it’ll be excellent.
mags (@mags)
10th August 2011, 9:32
An F1 film? I can’t afford to go see that, I’ll have to wait until it’s free-to-air…
Craig Woollard (@craig-o)
10th August 2011, 19:40
Or you can stream it illegally ;)
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
11th August 2011, 13:25
Or wait until it’s free-to-air.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
10th August 2011, 11:09
The F1 Fanatic Quiz leaderboard is ready, see how you rank here:
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley)
10th August 2011, 18:20
= 15th! :D
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
11th August 2011, 13:27
33rd. Shocking performance on the Alonso and Schumacher stuff :(
Browny (@browny)
10th August 2011, 12:40
Going to see the debut screening of Senna in Australia tomorrow. So excited!!!! I’ve read all your reviews and hopefully this time tomorrow night I’ll be adding to them.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
10th August 2011, 12:44
Enjoy! I saw it again on Saturday as it happens.
UnitedKingdomRacing (@unitedkingdomracing)
10th August 2011, 13:35
As I just saw even in 1986 the Hungarian GP was won by the driver who was third in the first corner. Amazing how that fact work for so many races there not only in recent years.
Valentino
10th August 2011, 14:01
F1 driver Mark Webber does helicopter backflip!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQfhy-kro_w&feature=player_embedded#at=40
@HoHum (@hohum)
10th August 2011, 14:49
“Heiki went left, so I went right then he came back , next thing you know…….”
antifia
10th August 2011, 16:24
I am a great fan of the late James Hunt. Even more than Nigel Mansel, for me, he is the English driver ever. Great driver, great person. But I don’t know how one can make the 1976 season look good. Hunt did nothing wrong, but he only won the championship that year because Lauda missed 3 races and was not at his best in the other ones after his accident at the Green Hell. There is no way one can honestly tell the story of that year and consider that championship something to brag about.
Nick
11th August 2011, 14:57
Just a note;
Senna the movie came out in Australia today.
For those of you who haven’t seen it yet, trust me, you should raise your expectations because no matter how high they are, the movie will surely out-do them.
It was brilliant. How he was portrayed, how the Prost v Senna era was portrayed, his spirit, his love for the sport, everything was just right. Not too much information for it to become an analysis, and enough information for compelling viewing while maintaining the obvious dramatic presence.
I took my girlfriend (who is as far from a Formula 1 fan as you can be) and sure enough she ended up trying to convince me that she wasn’t crying (also forgetting she was wearing mascara…)
So not only does it appeal to F1 fans, but its a truly inspiring and enlightening film for non-F1 fans alike.
Unfortunately I was only 5 when he was killed so I only remember his aftermath. Now I feel I can truly appreciate his existence properly.
dfketr
11th August 2011, 15:04
“sizzling, sexy and entertaining”, so in other words, not a very accurate representation of F1. they should make it dull and processional like f1 has been more often then not, and make it a political drama – after all that is what the world of f1 is really about. i suspect one of the baldwin brothers will play max mosley, and morgan freeman will make an appearance somewhere. hopefully it wont be like “Driven” which was originally to be an F1 movie also, before using Champcars.
JohnBt
12th August 2011, 2:54
The main cast has to be ENGLISH actors and I hope they use the real tracks and not some overdone studio effects. If I want to watch effects CARS 2 should be good.
Leslie Johnson
27th March 2012, 16:00
The Senna director thinks Rush is not gonna work as a movie! Says sport is better off as a documentary… http://www.f1pulse.com/features/track_talk/20120321122/kapadia-documentary-and-sport-go-together