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Ron Howard Might Direct Peter Morgan's Formula One Project 'Rush'

by Alex Billington
June 21, 2011
Source: 24 Frames, Variety

It looks like Ron Howard might be headed to the race track soon. It was first reported by 24 Frames, then backed up by news on Variety, that Ron Howard is in "early discussions" to direct a biopic about a rivalry between the late playboy British Formula One driver James Hunt and his nemesis, Austrian champion Niki Lauda. Just recently, Paul Greengrass was eying the project as well, but has since moved on, so now Ron Howard is showing interest as well. The project is titled Rush at the moment and comes with a screenplay by Oscar nominated Peter Morgan (Last King of Scotland, The Queen, Frost/Nixon, The Damned United).

Now what about that other massive project Ron Howard is supposed to direct - Dark Tower? Well, Variety claims that Howard "has eyed other helming gigs since rumblings emerged that Universal might have stalled the hugely ambitious movies-and-TV project due to budgetary and creative concerns." So this could just be a strategic move to say that he's got other projects lined up and in the works in case that falls through. Rush is one of those that sounds like it has potential. Cross Creek Pictures is financing, and Brian Grazer's Imagine Entertainment is producing alongside Cross Creek's Brian Oliver and Working Title's Eric Fellner.

Only time will tell which one Ron Howard actually takes on. That said, it might be cool to see him take on a Formula One biopic like this, as he can bring some quality performances to the action. The story will follow three-time Formula One champ Niki Lauda and his near-fatal 1976 racing season where he was nearly burned to death after his Ferrari swerved off the track in the second lap of the German Grand Prix, bursting into flames. He emerged six weeks later to pursue his rivalry with fellow driver James Hunt. Sounds like this is also perfectly timed with Pixar's Cars 2 hitting theaters this week. We'll keep you updated on the project.

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