Open Speed Racer

Speed Racer, the Wachowski brothers' film takes the poster on May 9 in North America on June 18 in France, and it will also be presented in IMAX format.

First film to be written and directed by the duo Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski since The Matrix (they had not made V for Vendetta), Speed Racer is an adaptation of anime, created in 1967 by the Japanese Tatsuo Yoshida and developed six months later for television.

This family adventure film featuring Emile Hirsch in the role of Speed, a young man who dreams of winning the Grand Prix with his Mach 5, built by his father, Pops Racer (John Goodman). When he refused the offer particularly attractive from Royalton Industries, it alienates the boss of the company (Roger Allam) and discovers that the results of the races are fixed in advance by a handful of unscrupulous owners. To fight against the industry, it can count on the support of his girlfriend Trixie (Christina Ricci), his mother (Susan Sarandon) and the mysterious X (Matthew Fox).

"Apart from the fact that the Wachowski brothers were fans of the comics in their childhood, what they like about this adaptation to the big screen is all the family dimension of the series. Larry and Andy wanted to make a movie that is for the whole family and their nieces and nephews can go, "says Grant Hill, one of the producers. Joel Silver, who produced The Matrix and has collaborated on Speed Racer, adds: "The film is really for everyone. [...] The TV series has served as an introduction to the world of Japanese animation for the Wachowski brothers. Larry and Andy were fascinated by the stories, action and, of course, the unique style of the series, which was completely different cartoons broadcast at the time. "

When the main actors of Speed Racer arrived in the Babelsberg studios in Berlin, the Wachowski brothers showed their drawings, paintings, storyboards and even moving in a 3D scene of course, from the storyboard. "This vision was a lesson in humility" confides Emile Hirsch. "It was extraordinary to see the amount of work done before the start of shooting. It did not look at all of science fiction, like The Matrix. It was magical. " Matthiew Fox remembers that "we were 12 players in the room and I can assure you that everyone is silent seizures. We all looked completely stunned. [...] There are few moments in life where you are in a totally innovative project, and I lived one of those moments. "

The selection process for the lead lasted for months, spanned three continents and hundreds of players were seen by the production team. "When I got the role, I am simply not coming back!" Says Emile Hirsch. "I watched the cartoon every morning while eating my cereal." To Joel Silver, the choice of the young man has imposed itself: "At the time, Into the Wild was not yet released, but we knew it would be able to fully assume the lead role. "

"Trixie is really my kind of girl. She is always ready for adventure and what guys are doing, but the movie insists that it is a girl "says Christina Ricci. "The helicopter pilot, knows kung-fu, but at the same time, wears super cute ensembles for each of these activities. Trixie is a tomboy and a princess, which makes it very fun to interpret. "

Matthew Fox, he had not seen the cartoon Speed Racer. "I grew up without television on a farm in Wyoming, so I missed the TV series. [...] But I have conducted research before meeting with Larry and Andy and when I saw how Racer X was introduced, it gave me even more eager to interpret it. "

With its aggressive profile, its white finish and red, the M on the hood, the Mach 5 is probably one of the most famous cars from the small screen. While the design of the car could move in different ways, "we have finally opted for a semi-retro look with very sleek lines," says designer Owen Paterson. "After exploring several possibilities, Larry and Andy have decided to retain the original spirit of the Mach 5 because of its unique and eternal," says, for his part, Joel Silver.

Although the Mach 5 is in the spirit of hard-line fans, the vehicle most closely associated with Speed Racer, the Wachowski brothers introduce in the film, a new generation of cars, the Mach 6. "As might be expected with Larry and Andy, they also wanted to innovate," said Owen Paterson. "We have given him a profile refined, while retaining the color range, the image M and the shape of the Mach 5. In addition," Larry and Andy coined a term to describe the Mach 6 and cars in its class in the film, "says the designer. "They called this type of T180 vehicles because of their ability to spin their wheels to 180 degrees."

Paterson and his team began working about a year before filming to create more than 100 models of passenger cars. "In the 'real' world, we have architects, but in the world of Speed Racer, they are 'carchitects'" jokes Paterson. "We have met some of the most talented artists in the field of the best designers storyboard to the best designers of the automotive industry. We wanted to have fun with them and allow everyone to give free rein to their creativity, "said Grant Hill, one of the producers.

Once the cars approved, they were modeled and painted digitally. Meanwhile, the Mach 5 and Speed Shooting Star Racer X were constructed scale for some scenes. And if the players could settle at the wheel of each car, they could not go anywhere, no engine has been placed under the hood, all the movements of vehicles were rendered by CGI.

The filmmakers had initially considered the possibility of turning the racing sequences using real cars on real tracks. However, Paterson says, "given the style of our cars and high impact we wanted to give the action scenes, it was much more sensible to create computer."

Remember that the Wachowski brothers' film takes the poster on May 9 next in North America and June 18 in France.