Michael Mann in Italy Prepping for Long-Awaited Ferrari with Adam Driver and Penélope Cruz

Michael Mann’s “Ferrari” is one of the longest-gestating projects in Hollywood, with the “Heat” director trying to get the racing drama off the ground for the better part of two decades. The film, tells the story of Enzo Ferrari, the auto executive who turned his passion for racing into the most iconic sports car brand on the planet. Adam Driver is set to play Enzo Ferrari, taking over the role that Hugh Jackman was previously in talks to play.

With the cast finally settled and financing in place, Mann is finally gearing up to shoot his passion project in Italy this July. While various iterations of the film have come close to being greenlit, this is by far the closest Mann has come to seeing his vision become reality. And today, Deadline has reported that the director is currently in Italy, immersing himself in pre-production for the shoot.

“Ferrari” will take place in the summer of 1957, when Enzo Ferrari’s increasingly expensive racing endeavors had led his company to the brink of bankruptcy. At the same time, his marriage to Laura Dominica Garello Ferrari was strained due to their financial problems and the loss of her son. Faced with a seemingly impossible set of problems, he decides to bet all of his resources on winning the Mille Miglia, a famous Italian open road race. 

The film, which is based on the book “Enzo Ferrari – The Man and the Machine” by Brock Yates, is also set to star Penélope Cruz as Laura Dominica Garello Ferrari and Shailene Woodley as Enzo’s mistress, Lina Lardi. Mann co-wrote the script with Troy Kennedy Martin. The shoot will not be Michael Mann’s first time working with Ferraris. In 2008, he directed a commercial for the brand’s California sports cars.

When the film was first announced, Mann said that “being able to have these wonderfully talented artists, actors Adam Driver, Penélope Cruz and Shailene Woodley, bring to life these unique characters on location in Modena and the Emilia-Romagna is a vision fulfilled.”

“Ferrari” is set to film in Italy starting in mid-July, though no release date has been announced.

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