Sony releases first trailer for Gran Turismo movie

MANILA: The initial trailer for the upcoming movie, adapted the popular PlayStation video game racing franchise, directed by Neil Blomkamp and based on true events, has been released to the collective celebration of many fans of the series and cars in general the world over.

Blomkamp, known for directing "District 9" and "Elysium," veers away from his typical science fiction genre to helm this sports racing film. The plot is about a young adolescent who is fixated on playing the racing video game and gradually transitions his gaming talents to real-life racing, hoping to become a professional race car driver. The cast includes Archie Madekwe as the protagonist, David Harbour as his racing coach, Djimon Hounsou as the teen's father, and Orlando Bloom as a motorsport marketing executive. Darren Barnet plays a respected GT Academy driver who feels threatened by the youngster's rapid rise to success.

The plot of the film is based on the actual events of Jann Mardenborough, a British gamer who played "Gran Turismo" and won the Nissan GT Academy in 2011, becoming the youngest winner in the process. The academy program selects gamers to compete in actual racing events, and Mardenborough managed to defeat 90,000 competitors from around the world. After his win, he went on to participate in various races, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the British GT Championships, and Formula E.

As the real GT Academy was supported by Nissan, in the movie, we can see several Nissan vehicles such as R35 GT-Rs, a 370Z NISMO, and a Ligier-Nissan LMP racing car when Mardenborough advances to racing real vehicles. His opponent's car is appropriately portrayed as a Lamborghini Huracán covered in chrome gold wrap. There are other vehicles in the background, such as an Audi R8, Porsche 911, Ferraris, and several others.

The racing simulation video game series was first launched in 1997 developed by Polyphony Digital, and launched exclusively for the Sony Playstation which was developed and led by Kazunori Yamauchi. The video games focus on realism, mimicking the real-life looks and capabilities of licensed vehicles. There have been 14 versions of the franchise released since its inception in 1997, and its sales have exceeded 80 million units, making it Sony's and the PlayStation brand's top-selling video game franchise.

The script for the movie was penned by Jason Hall and Zach Baylin, while Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan, Doug Belgrad, and Dana Brunetti were the producers of the film in collaboration with Columbia Pictures, PlayStation Productions, Trigger Street Productions, and 2.0 Entertainment. The movie is scheduled to hit theaters in North America on August 11th but no word on its release here in the Philippines. It should release right around the same period later this year. The film is distributed by Sony Pictures.

Photos by Sony Pictures

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