Speed Racer
Short description
Speed Racer is a young driver who has grown up in a family of car builders, working on the Mach 5 with his father and dreaming of racing glory. His brother Rex died during a competition, and that loss hangs over the family. When Royalton, the head of a powerful racing company, offers Speed a lucrative contract, he turns it down and learns that major races are being fixed. Anyone who refuses to cooperate with these businessmen risks never reaching the finish line, and Speed must decide how far he will go to protect the sport and the family business he loves.
The film is based on a Japanese animated series from the 1960s. It was directed by Lilly and Lana Wachowski, who also wrote the screenplay, following their Matrix trilogy. Emile Hirsch plays Speed, with Christina Ricci as Trixie, John Goodman and Susan Sarandon as his parents, Matthew Fox as the mysterious Racer X, and Roger Allam as Royalton. It was produced by Joel Silver, Grant Hill and Lilly Wachowski, with a budget of 120 million USD and a worldwide box office of 94 million USD.
On IMDb it holds a 5.2/10 film critics' rating from 218 reviews, while on TMDB it has a 6.4/10 score from 1,862 votes, indicating that general viewers received it somewhat more warmly than professional reviewers.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film's global advertising campaign was supported by a number of major partners, whose expenditures exceeded $80 million. These included major corporations such as General Mills, McDonald's, Target, Topps, Esurance, Mattel, LEGO, Petrobras, and many others. Mattel Corporation released toys based on the film, Tyco Toys released a remote-controlled Mach 5 car and racing sets, and LEGO Company released four LEGO construction sets.
- Keanu Reeves turned down the role of Racer X.
- Zac Efron was initially considered for the lead role. Shia LaBeouf and Joseph Gordon-Levitt were also among the candidates.
- Warner Bros. Studio first announced the production of a live-action film based on the Japanese manga and anime in the fall of 1992. In the summer of 1995, Johnny Depp was cast in the lead role, and filming was scheduled to begin in October of the same year, however, a month later the actor took a break, citing personal reasons. After that, director Julien Temple left the project, and Johnny Depp eventually withdrew from it as well.
- In September 2000, the film studio and producer Lauren Shuler-Donner invited Hype Williams as director, after which various screenwriters were invited over the next few years, but production still did not move forward. In the summer of 2004, Vince Vaughn expressed interest in the project, planning to be one of the producers and play the role of Racer X, but these plans also remained unfulfilled.
- Rose McGowan was one of the candidates for the role of Trixie, but the producers decided they needed a younger actress. Elisha Cuthbert and Kate Mara also auditioned for the part.
- Coinciding with the film's release on May 6, 2008, a video game dedicated to it was released for the Nintendo DS and Wii consoles, and subsequently in September for the PlayStation 2.
- A small cameo role was offered to well-known American race car driver Danica Patrick, but she was forced to decline due to contractual obligations to Andretti Green Racing and the Indy Racing League.
- For use in the film, the Wachowski brothers acquired the rights to sound effects and an original song from a 1960s television series.
- After the project stalled in the mid-90s, the film studio considered Gus Van Sant, but in December 1997, Alfonso Cuarón was confirmed as the director.
- The German Federal Film Fund provided over $13 million for the film's production, which remains its largest subsidy to date.
- According to the Wachowski brothers, a large portion of the film was shot in front of a green screen.
- Actor Peter Fernandez, who participated in the English dubbing of the original Japanese animated series and voiced the character Speed Racer, appears in the film in a cameo as a race commentator.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
