A batch of first look photos for director James Mangold's upcoming biographical drama arrived today via Entertainment Weekly, giving us our first glimpse of Christian Bale as British racer Ken Miles and Matt Damon as Carroll Shelby, the prominent American car designer. Together in FORD V. FERRARI, both talents of the track join forces to build a innovative vehicle that would set Ford up as a worthy contender for sports car supremacy against the Ferrari brand.
“This is David vs. Goliath vs. Goliath,” Bale told EW. “You’ve got the industrial Goliath with Ford and the charismatic Goliath of reputation with Ferrari, and then this true story of the triumph of the misfits.”
As a part of today's first look photo reveal, EW also spoke with Mangold, whose 2017 X-Men film, LOGAN, rose to the top of the charts in terms of being a favorite among fans of superhero cinema. When speaking with the outlet, Mangold expressed his awareness for how risky it is to make a film like FORD V. FERRARI in today's superhero-saturated market, by saying his upcoming biographical drama is "an endangered species."
“As we were making it, we joked that it was the last movie ever. Luckily, we had this great character drama that was inside this other story.” But the old-school approach was crucial in preserving the heart of the film. “These are real people with love and loss and fears that aren’t handled in three mini-moments between the next 100-decibel, 12-minute action sequence,” says Mangold. “And it’s an acting tour de force — Matt and Christian have never been better.”
You can take a look at the gallery of new photos below:
When Mangold's latest feature comes racing into theaters, the events of FORD V. FERRARI will be set against a 1966 backrop, during the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in France. Furthermore, a wealth of other talented actors are also involved in the project, such as Caitriona Balfe (ESCAPE PLAN, OUTLANDER), Tracy Letts (LADY BIRD, THE BIG SHORT), Josh Lucas (SWEET HOME ALABAMA, POSEIDON), and Jon Bernthal (THE WALKING DEAD, THE PUNISHER).
As his talk with EW continued, Mangold told the outlet that he'd learned much from his time on LOGAN, and how sometimes a simple approach to filmmaking can benefit a film in unforeseen ways. “One of the main goals with Logan was that I felt the superhero genre had gotten so CGI’d, so I wanted to make it as emotionally and physically real as possible,” Mangold explained. “And that very much carried over into Ford v Ferrari. I wanted to see a racing film where the cars weren’t all digital creations [and] we were really out there on the track. And not just so we could talk about it when we’re doing press, but because it actually makes a physical difference when you see it on screen.”
For more on EW's talks with the cast and crew of FORD V. FERRARI, be sure to click here. Otherwise, you can wait until the film races into theaters on November 15, 2019.