Returning to his roots as a writer five years
ago, SYLVESTER STALLONE was full of questions about the
type of men it took to control a 900-horsepower car at speeds
well over 200 miles per hour. At the core of his new film
"Driven" is STALLONE's fascination with
"the men behind the visor," the only professional
athletes who risk their lives each time they practice or compete.
"For years I watched guys in helmets
go around and I never knew who they were," STALLONE
said. "I wanted to understand who was living inside the
helmet. What's that man's life like? What are his fears? How
does he find the ability to maintain such extraordinary focus?"
Produced by Franchise Pictures, "Driven"
is currently in post-production and will be released on April
27, 2001 by Warner Bros. Pictures. Using the latest moving-camera
techniques and computer graphics technologies, director RENNY
HARLIN is bringing to life a meticulously researched script
that became a labor of love and an obsession for STALLONE.
Early in the research process, STALLONE
narrowed his focus to open-wheel racing, attracted by the extremely
high speeds and the danger inherent in an open cockpit. Over
the next few years, STALLONE attended dozens of Formula
One and CART races around the world. In the process,
he spent time with drivers and mechanics, team owners and journalists,
asking questions and listening to their personal stories.
STALLONE soon identified an intriguing
paradox at the core of motor racing: driving requires enormous
personal courage and passion, but a racer has few opportunities
to display these emotions during competition. Although he and
his car are constantly communicating with the pit crew, each
driver works alone in a delicate balancing act of risk and reward.
Strapped into a tiny, confining cockpit, hands and feet occupied
at all times without a break in the action, the athlete is further
isolated from his fans by a full-face helmet. The visceral power
and storytelling range of cinema seemed a perfect medium to
unmask the driver and reveal his personal experience.
In search of a central character, STALLONE
created Joe Tanto, a retired race car driver who is called
back to racing to help develop a talented, but unfocused young
rookie [KIP PARDUE]. For Tanto, getting back on
track means navigating a troubled emotional past and once again
confronting the racer's delicate balancing act between the desire
to win and the need to survive.
"These guys have many of the same fears
and daily concerns or problems we all have," STALLONE
said. "But they have to develop what we call in the film,
the 'quiet spot,' this extraordinary focus and channeling of
energy to do their jobs. A driver is right on the ragged edge
between heaven and hell, life and death. He's the master of
his destiny and that's a rare, powerful place to be."
Reflecting the multicultural mix of the real-life
racing community, "Driven" stars an international
cast of familiar faces and newcomers. The players range from
BURT REYNOLDS, whose "Smoky and the Bandit"
films featured some of the most unforgettable chase scenes
of all time, to CHRISTIAN de la FUENTE [Family Law],
who started his career as a pilot in the Chilean Air Force.
GINA GERSHON plays FUENTE's wife, and German actor/director
TIL SCHWEIGER plays the world-champion driver Beau
Brandenburg. Making her feature film debut, Canadian supermodel
ESTELLA WARREN lights up the screen as Brandenburg's
girlfriend.
Shot on location in and around the actual
2000 CART racing series, "Driven" will offer
race fans with a unique opportunity to transcend the visual
limitations of televised motorsports, revealing the driver's
full experience of speed. While the wide lenses and high angles
of television used tend to flatten and slow down action for
the viewer, HARLIN's use of advanced technology moving
cameras, multiple angles, visual effects and computer graphic
imaging promises a spectacular depiction of velocity.
"We've never seen what the driver sees
at such high speeds," said STALLONE. "We want
to give the audience the terrifying, thrilling experience of
what it's like to be sitting on top of all that horsepower,
to get inside the mind of the driver, to see what he sees and
feel what he feels." To accomplish this ambitions goal,
STALLONE and HARLIN dove into the traveling carnival
of open-wheel racing and created a new way of planning and making
an action film.
Part 2 of this series will explore a complex
and unusual shooting process that took place during carefully-scheduled
breaks in the actual race action at tracks on four continents.
"Driven" stars SYLVESTER STALLONE, BURT
REYNOLDS, KIP PARDUE, TIL SCHWEIGER, GINA GERSHON, ESTELLA WARREN,
and CHRISTINA de la FUENTE. Directed by RENNY HARLIN
and written by STALLONE, the film reunites the two following
their highly successful collaboration on "Cliffhanger."
"Driven" is produced by Franchise Pictures'
ELIE SAMAHA, STALLONE and HARLIN. ANDREW
STEVENS, DON CARMODY and KEVIN KING are the executive
producers. It will be released by Warner Bros. Pictures,
an AOL Time Warner Company
From a "Driven" Street Team
press release - Craig Zablo [February 20, 2001]
