Ford v Ferrari has been hailed as one of the most crowd-pleasing movies of 2019. It was a surprise hit at the box office and has been nominated for several Oscars, including Best Picture. The film tells the exciting true story of Ford Motor Company’s attempt to best Ferrari in the famed 24-hour race at Le Mans in 1966.
With director James Mangold (Logan) behind the camera as well as Matt Damon and Christian Bale as the leads, the film has a lot going for it even if you’re not a car enthusiast. And like most great movies, the behind-the-scenes facts are just as interesting. Here are some of the things about the making of Ford v Ferrari that you never knew.
The Development
Despite the amazing underdog story and the excitement of a movie set in the world of racing, Ford v Ferrari had a hard time getting made. It was in development for years with various talents associated with the project at different times. At one point the film was set to be made with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt in the leads under the title Go Like Hell but even that didn’t pan out.
During this time in development hell, James Mangold became aware of the project and periodically asked if it was still available. After the success of Logan, Mangold was finally handed the project and got it moving forward.
Mangold’s Approach
Mangold himself admits that he had never taken an interest in motor racing before the film and wasn’t even much of a car enthusiast. He liked the project due to its classic underdog story and its characters, but he also saw a more relatable theme that he could latch onto.
Mangold viewed Ken Miles and Carroll Shelby’s journey in the film as being similar to the struggles of making a movie. With all the interference from the “suits”, rules and regulations, getting a movie into theaters can be as difficult as it was to get that car on the racetrack.
Damon And Bale
The movie is really the story of two men, Ken Miles and Carroll Shelby, their friendship and this incredible journey they took together. The roles needed to be filled by just the right actors and luckily, Christian Bale and Matt Damon proved to be the right men for the job.
Damon has said that a big part of why he signed onto the film was for the chance to work with Bale. However, according to Bale, as fun as it was to work together, he decided to keep his distance from Damon off camera so as not to break the illusion of his performance when in a scene together.
More Weight Loss For Bale
Christian Bale has become somewhat notorious for his dramatic weight gains and weight losses for roles. He has undergone some of the most shocking body transformations in film history and he was required to do it once more for this film.
While Bale’s normal physique is not too different from Ken Miles, in reality, Bale had just finished playing Dick Cheney in Vice for which he had to gain a significant amount of weight. Bale managed to shed a reported seventy pounds before filming began and has said this will be the last time he undergoes such a transformation.
Bale’s Training
Aside from the physical transformations, Bale is known to immerse himself in as much research as possible for a role. In order to prepare for playing Ken Miles, Bale decided he needed to study the art of car racing and enrolled in a training program to practice.
In just so happens that the founder of the training program was Bob Bondurant, a former colleague of Ken Miles who is actually mentioned in the film. Bale had the opportunity to practice his racing as well as hear stories about Ken from the era in which the film is set.
The Big Fight
While there are powerful and exciting moments in the film, there’s also a lot of laughs. One of the funniest moments in the film finds Ken and Carroll at odds with each other which leads to them fighting each other on the front lawn. However, instead of a macho, badass fight, this is more of a sad and pathetic fight between two men who are too old to be doing this.
Bale and Damon both pointed to this scene as one of the more enjoyable ones to shoot. Both actors have done movies involving extensive fight choreography, so it was refreshing to take a looser and more silly approach to this brawl.
Another Ferrari Movie
Given the amazing performances and huge films he’s been a part of, it’s no surprise that Christian Bale is one of the most in-demand actors in Hollywood. Interestingly enough, one role he almost ended up playing mirrors this film closely.
Bale was originally cast as Enzo Ferrari, who is featured prominently in this film, in Michael Mann’s film about the famed car designer. Bale left the project over concerns about achieving the appropriate weight in time. He was replaced by Hugh Jackman and was cast in this film a couple of years later.
Ferrari In Daytona
Like most films based on real events, this film picks and chooses some facts from history in order to shape a more compelling story. However, one particular detail that followed the events of the film hampers the triumphant feel of the ending.
After losing to Ford in Le Mans, Ferrari decided to take them on in Ford’s home turf during the 24 Hours of Daytona race. Ferrari ended up winning all three top spots in that race while no Ford cars finished. To add further insult, the three winning cars lined up to cross the finish line together just as Ford did in Le Mans ‘66.
Peter Miles
One of the most touching aspects of the film was the relationship between Ken Miles and his young son Peter. The young boy certainly looks up to his dad and loves to see his passion for racing.
The real Peter Miles ended up being an invaluable help to the production, especially for Christian Bale. He would talk to Peter extensively about his father as a way of getting a sense of Ken Miles from one of his loved ones. Bale was also able to screen the film privately and watch it with Peter.
Depiction Of Ford
Given the story of Ford being the underdog, you would think that this film would be a marketing dream for the company. However, Ford has distanced themselves from the movie due to the unflattering portrayal of key members of their team, especially Leo Beebe and Henry Ford II.
Beebe is completely portrayed as the villain of the film, taking a personal and petty dislike for Ken Miles and doing all he can to prevent him from achieving glory. The company itself is seen only as wanting to sell cars and constantly standing in the way of Ken Miles and Carroll Shelby.
