The Big Picture
- Adam Driver, who plays Enzo Ferrari in Michael Mann’s new biopic, was not allowed to drive the cars due to insurance reasons, while his co-star Patrick Dempsey was allowed to drive.
- The cast practiced racing modern Ferraris in pre-production, which helped Driver get into the mindset of Enzo Ferrari and understand the focus required when behind the wheel.
- The film tells the story of the deadly 1957 Mille Miglia race and features Penélope Cruz as Enzo’s wife, Shailene Woodley as Enzo’s mistress, and other talented actors. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival and will be released by Neon this Christmas.
In a cruel twist of fate, a man named Driver was not permitted to drive a Ferrari, while playing a man named Ferrari in a film named Ferrari. In a time when we hear all about actors doing their own stunt work, it’s almost refreshing to hear about someone who just wasn’t allowed to join in the fun, although one senses Adam Driver wasn’t overly keen to drive himself around at 150mph in the manner that, say, Tom Cruise would do.
Driver plays Enzo Ferrari in the biopic of the famed Italian racecar driver, enthusiast, constructor and designer from the mind of Michael Mann, and was appearing at the Venice Film Festival in support of the movie, where he made the remarks. While Driver couldn’t get behind the wheel, his co-star Patrick Dempsey was permitted to drive the reconstructed cars built for the purposes of the film, thanks largely due to his racing ability and license, which made insuring him a lot less complicated than it would be for Driver himself.
“They wouldn’t let me drive the cars for insurance reasons. They don’t trust me with small pieces of equipment. Big pieces of equipment like sandwiches they’ll let me handle.”
Life or Death Behind the Wheel
In pre-production, though, the cast practiced by racing modern Ferraris, which Driver admitted was extremely helpful when it came into entering the mindset of Enzo himself. The film is based around the 1957 Mille Miglia, which would turn deadly and proved to be a pivotal moment not just in the life of Ferrari, but in the history of the company which he had built to bear his name.
“The mindset of racing cars in pre-production with Ferraris, you become painfully aware, it’s the opposite of escapism, it’s absolutely focused on the mindset of what’s happening right now. There’s no room for daydreaming or losing focus in attention, because you’ll crash obviously,” Driver said. “The mindset was helpful in playing the character. It’s impulsive. It’s pre-psychology. He’s making decisions in a vacuum.”
In addition to Driver and Dempsey, the film also stars Penélope Cruz as Enzo’s wife Laura, and Shailene Woodley as Enzo’s mistress Lina Lardi. The film will also star Jack O’Connell, Sarah Gadon, Gabriel Leone as Alfonso de Portago and Erik Haugen as de Portago’s navigator Edmund Nelson. De Portago and Nelson were among those killed in the 1957 Mille Miglia.
Ferrari world premiered at the Venice International Film Festival. It will play the New York Film Festival before Neon releases Ferrari this Christmas. You can check out the new trailer for the movie down below.
