One of the cinematic highlights of 2023 was Ferrari, a film directed by Michael Mann which explored the troubled life of Enzo Ferrari and the sometimes horrific consequences of his push for automotive glory. But this wasn’t the only biopic of a legendary automaker to see release in recent years: Lamborghini: The Man Behind the Legend, written and directed by Robert Moresco, debuted in 2022, and Moresco also has projects in the works telling the stories behind Maserati and Bugatti.
What else do all of these movies have in common? The answer is a producer, Andrea Iervolino, whose other credits include the anthology Tell It Like a Woman and the heist film Finding Steve McQueen. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter‘s Brett Berk, Iervolino discussed his penchant for cars both on and off screen — when not producing films, he’s also taken part in some amateur racing himself.
In Iervolino’s estimation, many of these automakers lived cinematic lives from the outset. That quality plays into the appeal for him as a producer; in comments to The Hollywood Reporter, he sees parallels in these upstart automakers to both contemporary Silicon Valley and a classic film set in 1970s Philadelphia. “The life of all of these guys is like Rocky,” he told Berk.
From Enzo Ferrari to the Cannonball Run, Brock Yates Chronicled It All
Yates’s book inspired the film “Ferrari”Last fall, Variety reported that Iervolino’s next auto-related film — Maserati: The Three Brothers — had added Anthony Hopkins in a supporting role. At the time, the film was set to begin filming in Bologna, Italy. Later that year, one of the cast members, Victoria Sophia, posted a photo of herself on the set of the film to Instagram.
If Ferrari was indeed on on your list of the best movies of 2023, get ready for more of where that came from.
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