RUSH Production Notes

James Hunt (CHRIS HEMSWORTH) poses with his fans while Niki Lauda (DANIEL BRÜHL) looks on in Rush.
Two-time Academy Award® winner RON HOWARD
(A Beautiful Mind, Frost/Nixon) teams once again with
two-time Academy Award®-nominated writer PETER
MORGAN (Frost/Nixon, The Queen) on Rush, a
spectacular big-screen re-creation of the merciless
and legendary 1970s Formula 1 rivalry between gifted
English playboy James Hunt (CHRIS HEMSWORTH
of The Avengers, Thor) and his disciplined Austrian
Lauda, two of the greatest rivals the world of sports
has ever witnessed. Taking us into their personal
lives and clashes on and off the Grand Prix racetrack,
Rush follows the two drivers as they push themselves
to the breaking point of physical and psychological
endurance, where there is no shortcut to victory and
no margin for error.
O L I V I A W I L D E ( T RO N : L eg a c y ) a n d
opponent, Niki Lauda (DANIEL BRÜHL of Inglourious
Basterds, The Bourne Ultimatum).
Set against the sexy and glamorous golden age
of racing, Rush portrays the exhilarating true story of
the charismatic Hunt and the methodically brilliant
ALEXANDRA MARIA LARA (The Reader) co-star
in the epic action-drama as, respectively, Suzy Miller
and Marlene Lauda, the loves of James and Niki’s lives
who watched and feared as the men rocketed toward
possible death.
– 21 –
Spy), TYLER THOMPSON (Black
Swan, The Woman in Black) and TODD
HALLOWELL (Apollo 13, Frost/
Nixon). Universal Pictures distributes
the film in the United States.
Rush was filmed on location in the
U.K., Germany and Austria.
BEFORE THE
PRODUCTION
Dawn of a Rivalry:
Road to the 1976
World Championship
Hunt celebrates an F1 victory.
Rush is produced by ANDREW EATON (A Mighty
Heart, The Killer Inside Me), ERIC FELLNER (Les
Misérables, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), BRIAN OLIVER
(Black Swan, The Ides of March), Peter Morgan,
Academy Award® winner BRIAN GRAZER (Apollo
13, A Beautiful Mind) and Ron Howard. The film was
co-financed by Cross Creek Pictures and Exclusive
Media, and produced in association with Revolution
Films and Imagine Entertainment.
Howard has assembled a stellar crew of behindthe-scenes talent including Academy Award®-winning
cinematographer ANTHONY DOD MANTLE
(Slumdog Millionaire, The Last King of Scotland),
production designer MARK DIGBY (Slumdog
Millionaire, 28 Days Later), Oscar®-winning editors
DAN HANLEY and MIKE HILL (Apollo 13, A Beautiful
Mind), costume designer JULIAN DAY (Nowhere Boy,
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen) and Academy Award®winning composer HANS ZIMMER (The Lion King,
The Dark Knight Rises).
Executive producers for the film are GUY EAST
(The Woman in Black, The Ides of March), NIGEL
SINCLAIR (The Ides of March, End of Watch), TOBIN
ARMBRUST (End of Watch, The Woman in Black),
TIM BEVAN (Les Misérables, Tinker Tailor Soldier
In 1975, Austrian racer Niki Lauda drove to the
Formula 1 (commonly known as F1) world title in a
Ferrari-powered car, ending a seven-year reign by Ford.
Lauda’s run to the top set the stage for the dramatic
1976 season in which our story is told.
The Unbelievable 1976 Season
The early stages of the 1976 racing season gave no
indication as to the incredible drama that would unfold
between two of racing’s fiercest competitors. Defending
champion Lauda of Ferrari drove to six victories in
the season’s first nine races, capturing the top prize
at Brazil, South Africa, Belgium, Monaco and Great
Britain. Lauda also earned a spot on the podium as
runner-up in the Spanish and the United States Grands
Prix and made it to a third-place finish in Sweden.
By the midway point of the season (eight
races), Lauda and Ferrari had built up a seemingly
insurmountable lead in the point standings, more than
doubling the total of their nearest competitor. While
Lauda dominated, James Hunt—the driver who would
ultimately emerge as his greatest rival—struggled for
the most part. In his first year with Team McLaren, he
failed to finish four of the season’s first six races.
– 22 –
Controversy even haunted Hunt in victory. Although
he beat Lauda to the finish line in the season’s fourth
race, the Spanish Grand Prix, officials disqualified
Hunt after the race—ruling that his Marlboro McLarenFord M23 was too wide. McLaren protested on the
grounds that the discrepancy was due to the expansion
of the tires during the race. McLaren eventually won
its appeal, but only after two months of haggling were
Hunt’s points reinstated.
Hunt claimed victory at the French Grand Prix
(Race No. 8), when Lauda was forced to retire due to
engine trouble. At that point, it was the only race that
the Austrian had failed to finish.
Following his triumph in France, Hunt returned
home a hero to compete in the British Grand Prix at
Brands Hatch. However, Lauda disappointed the British
faithful as he won the pole and led throughout the first
half of the race. When Lauda experienced gearbox
troubles with only 15 minutes left, Hunt took the lead
and sent the home crowd into a frenzy. Hunt went on to
victory, and Lauda held on for second.
But controversy would again slap Hunt in the face.
The British Grand Prix was finished after a restart on
the first lap. Clay Regazzoni, Lauda’s Ferrari teammate,
immediately challenged Lauda. Their cars touched.
Regazzoni spun and was hit by Hunt and
Jacques Laffite. Although the remainder
of the field passed by safely, the debris
on the track necessitated a restart.
Hunt had jumped into his team’s
spare car for the restart, as did Laffite
and Regazzoni, although they were
forced to retire. After the race, Ferrari
and two other teams protested Hunt’s
win in a backup machine. McLaren
maintained that, since no lap had been
completed, the restart rules did not
apply. F1’s governing body upheld the
protest, stripped Hunt of the victory
and promoted Lauda to first place.
Heading into the 10th race of the season, the
German Grand Prix, Hunt had inched slightly
closer to Lauda in the point standings but remained
a whopping 23 points behind, with seven races remaining. Lauda still seemed a sure-fire bet to win his
second straight title.
All that changed in Germany.
Near Death at “The Ring”
Although F1 began introducing greater safety
innovations in the 1960s, the measures were often
outpaced by technological advancements that allowed
the cars to go faster. In its first 56 years of the sport,
driver fatalities had averaged nearly three per year.
From 1967 to 1975, a total of 13 F1 drivers lost their
lives in racing accidents.
No turn at any track was more infamous than the
Nordschleife (northern loop) at Nürburgring, Germany,
a racing circuit nicknamed “The Green Hell” by F1
driving legend Jackie Stewart. Nestled in the Eifel
mountains about 70 miles south of Cologne, “The
Ring” was often damp, misty or foggy. Varying weather
conditions at different ends of the track were not
unusual, and the 14.2-mile, tree-lined course featured
an incredulous 177 turns.
– 23 –
A BRM mechanic (JAMIE SIVES) is schooled by Lauda.
Hunt and Lauda start their engines.
Lauda, one of the sport’s most vocal advocates on
the subject of driver safety, was a vocal opponent to
racing Nürburgring. At a drivers’ meeting in spring
1976, Lauda proposed a driver boycott of Nürburgring
but was voted down. Prodded by driver Stewart, the
track had spent substantial sums in 1974-76 to improve
safety with catch fencing and guardrails. But “The
Ring” still loomed as an ominous racing venue.
“The problems posed by Nürburgring were obvious
at a glance,” Lauda wrote in his autobiography, “Meine
Story.” “Its layout made it the most difficult circuit
imaginable. It was well-nigh impossible to render safe
14.2 miles of tree-lined track.”
Despite his concerns, Lauda qualified second, to
Hunt, for the 1976 German Grand Prix. On the morning
of the race (August 1, 1976), the weather forecast for
Nürburgring was typically unpredictable. Near race
time, rain began to fall, and most teams switched to
their wet-weather tires—in retrospect, a strategic error
as the rain subsided and stiff winds dried the track.
Lauda started poorly, dropping quickly in the field.
He remembers pulling into the pits, changing from
wet to dry tires: his last memory of the race. As he
approached a corner, a tie-rod broke on his Ferrari.
The car went sideways, slammed into an embankment,
became airborne and then smashed onto the track.
The first racecar through was able to avoid Lauda
and the wreckage. A second car, driven by Brett Lunger,
crashed into Lauda, whose Ferarri burst into flames.
The next car, driven by Harald Ertl, plowed into both
wrecked cars. Lunger and Ertl were unhurt, but Lauda’s
car was engulfed in flames. Several drivers, including
Lunger and Ertl, worked frantically to remove Lauda
from his burning vehicle. They eventually succeeded
in pulling Lauda to safety, but not before he had been
critically burned.
Lauda was airlifted to an intensive care unit in
Mannheim where a team of six doctors and 34 nurses
worked to save his life. He had suffered third-degree
burns on his head and wrists, several broken ribs, a
broken collarbone and cheekbone. Of even greater
immediate concern was the damage to his lungs that
resulted from breathing toxic fumes delivered by the
fire extinguishers at the crash scene.
Although Hunt ended up winning the German
Grand Prix, the headlines the following day were
rightfully dominated by Lauda’s crash and how the
defending F1 champion was clinging to life. For four
days, Lauda hovered near death.
But Lauda wouldn’t let go. Nearly blinded, he
focused on voices to maintain consciousness. After his
recovery, he immediately began to form plans for his
– 24 –
return to racing—that season. With a therapist as his
constant companion, he exercised 12 hours each day.
“I made a quick recovery as far as damage to the vital
organs was concerned,” Lauda wrote, “but my superficial
injuries turned out to be a bit more complicated.”
In addition to the severe burns on Lauda’s face, both
eyelids had been burnt away. Plastic surgeons offered
different opinions on his therapy, but Lauda settled
upon a Swiss surgeon who grafted skin from behind
his ears to form new eyelids.
Hunt Moves Up, Lauda Returns
With Lauda out, Hunt narrowed in on the points
lead. He won the pole for the Austrian Grand Prix and
placed fourth in the race. He followed Austria with a
win at the Dutch Grand Prix, cutting Lauda’s points
lead to two, 58-56. Only four races remained and, with
Lauda presumably done for the year, it appeared the
World Championship was Hunt’s for the taking.
Then came the unbelievable news from Lauda’s
camp: The reigning world champion would return to
the track for the Italian Grand Prix on September 12,
1976, only six weeks
after his near-fatal
crash. Miraculously,
Lauda qualified fifth
and scored an amazing
fourth-place f inish
in Italy. He extended
his points lead over
Hunt, who struggled in
qualifying and failed
to finish the race.
Hunt bounced
back to win both the
Canadian and U.S.
Grand Prix, while
Lauda placed eighth
and third, respectively,
in those events. In
between, Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile
(FIA) took away Hunt’s July 18 victory at the British
Grand Prix. Now, Lauda held a three-point advantage,
68-65, with one race to go in the season, the Japanese
Grand Prix.
Although Hunt still trailed Lauda, the dashing
young Brit was now racing’s hottest property. While
Lauda had won four of the year’s first six races, Hunt
was the champion four times in the latest six.
In Japan, Hunt and Lauda qualified second and
third, respectively, behind Mario Andretti. Perhaps
Lauda may have been more concerned about the
weather forecast, but he knew Hunt’s car would handle
better on a wet track; as well, he was also worried about
his eyes and reduced visibility in the rain.
Lauda’s worst fears were realized when rain poured
all night on the Fuji International Speedway, followed
by fog and more rain on race day. Hunt and Lauda,
both members of the drivers’ safety committee, urged
organizers to postpone the race. Their plea fell on
deaf ears. Although the start was delayed by 1:40, it
otherwise went off as scheduled.
– 25 –
Hunt and Lauda meet again.
I did then, although I do not reproach myself. If I had
been a little less tense at the decisive moment, if I had
taken it easy and coasted to the couple of points I needed
for the title, then I would have four titles to my credit
instead of three. But, to be candid, I couldn’t care less.”
The End of an Era
Model Suzy Miller (OLIVIA WILDE) and James wed.
Hunt got off to a fast start while Lauda quickly fell
back. After two laps, Lauda pulled into the pits and shut
off the car. “It’s too dangerous,” the Austrian said.
The Brit led 61 of the 73 laps, then went on to
place third behind Andretti and Patrick Depailler. Hunt
earned four points for his performance, enough to wrest
the season championship from Lauda by a single point.
The championship came as a surprise to Hunt, who had
been unsure of his position following a late pit stop.
“I think it was really a brave decision for Niki to
stop. I really feel for him,” Hunt told Sports Illustrated.
“Under the circumstances, he was incredibly
courageous. To tell you the truth, I feel that the race
should not have been started in those conditions. Niki’s
decision not to carry on was perfectly reasonable. In
his situation, with the accident at Nürburgring and
everything, who wouldn’t have made the same choice?”
Lauda left the track immediately, too emotional to
wait for the inevitable post-game media blitz. Years later,
he expressed few regrets for his decision: “I see the loss
of the 1976 World Championship differently from how
Lauda would return to win the World Drivers
Championship again in 1977 for Ferrari, but 1976
would be etched into fans’ memories for decades to
come. He later switched to McLaren and won his
third title in 1984 by one-half point over teammate
Alain Prost. Following the 1985 season, Lauda retired
from racing.
From the severe burns to his head following the
1976 crash in Germany, Lauda suffered extensive
scarring. He lost most of his right ear, as well as the
hair on the right side of his head, eyebrows and eyelids.
He had reconstructive surgery to replace the lids and
get them to work properly, but never felt the need to do
more. Since the accident, he has worn a cap to cover the
scars on his head. The author of five books, Lauda ran
his own airline, Lauda Air, before selling it to Austrian
Airlines in December 2000.
Hunt’s dramatic battle with Lauda would result in
Hunt’s sole World Championship. Following the 1979
season, Hunt retired from racing and worked for years
as a racing commentator for BBC Sports. He also
served as an adviser and consultant to young drivers.
Hunt died of a heart attack in 1993 at age 45.
ABOUT THE
PRODUCTION
Knights Ride Again:
Rush Is Developed
British screenwriter/playwright Peter Morgan
believed that the Lauda-Hunt rivalry and their
– 26 –
accompanying thrilling battles during the 1976 Formula
Morgan had been working on the Fernando Meirelles
1 season was a story that transcended the sports pages.
drama 360. “I was aware of the project because I was
Morgan has earned a reputation as a master of working on another film with Peter,” Eaton relays. “He
modern-history movie scripts. He captured the gave me the script to read, which I loved straightaway.”
intrigue behind Uganda’s brutal dictator Idi Amin
Eaton, a co-founder of Revolution Films, recognized
(The Last King of Scotland), Queen Elizabeth II’s that while the movie is set amid the glamour and
struggles following the death of Princess Diana (The excitement of F1 racing, at its heart is a story about two
Queen), the behind-the-scenes drama surrounding
quite contrasting personalities. “It’s a character story
David Frost’s 1977 interview with former U.S.
with two characters: one Austrian, one English,” Eaton
President Richard Nixon (Frost/Nixon) and British says. “It’s mainly about these two men, their different
Prime Minister Tony Blair’s relationships with both styles and their different lifestyles. But it also happens
his successor, Gordon Brown (The Deal), and former to have this amazing backdrop of motor racing and
U.S. President Bill Clinton (The Special Relationship). Formula 1, making it a character piece with action.”
For his work, Morgan earned Academy Award ®
The themes and the period in which Rush is set
nominations for Best Screenplay for both The Queen attracted the attention of Eric Fellner who, with his
and Frost/Nixon. “I grew up in England knowing partner Tim Bevan, owns and operates Working Title
all about James Hunt,” Morgan recalls, “but I never Films. They had recently co-produced Asif Kapadia’s
knew Niki’s side of the story.’”
award-winning Senna, based on the life of the great F1
The screenwriter, who lives in Austria, approached
champion Aryton Senna, and grew even more transfixed
Lauda with an idea to write a script that dramatized the
with the sport.
tumultuous 1976 racing season. Lauda consented and
Fellner explains that his fascination with racing
provided Morgan with invaluable input during the draft began as a boy: “The mid-’70s was the period that
stages. “We had a lot of discussions about the Hollywood
brought me into the excitement of Formula 1 racing.
movie and the reality,” Lauda says. “I always brought It was the Hunt-Hesketh days. I was just a teenager
him back to the reality. They were very
interesting discussions.”
Morgan grew more and more taken
by the incredible tale as he put pen
to paper. He explains: “I wrote it on
spec. I found it interesting but I was
an Englishman married to an Austrian,
living in Vienna. I didn’t know who
else might be interested. Once it
was finished and I started showing it
around, I found other people who also
found it interesting.”
One of the first people to whom
Morgan showed the script was director
Michael Winterbottom’s longtime
Marlene (ALEXANDRA MARIA LARA) flirts with her soon-to-be husband, Niki.
producer Andrew Eaton, with whom
– 27 –
fare such as Black Swan,
The Ides of March and
The Woman in Black—the
latter two co-produced
with Exclusive Media—
recognized that the setting
and dramatic elements
could make Rush a viable
project. Oliver agreed
to work on the financing
structure and immediately
called executive producers
Nigel Sinclair and Guy
East, who head Exclusive
Niki dusts the competition while Marlene cheers him on.
Media—a mini-studio
at school, and Formula 1 was an epic piece of the
whose film credits include the upcoming production
sporting calendar on a weekly basis. These guys were Parkland, the critically acclaimed End of Watch,
gladiators—incredibly sexy and incredibly exciting Snitch and through its documentary label, Spitfire
because they rolled the dice with death every weekend.
Pictures, the Academy Award®-winning documentary
They were rock stars, and no one personified that better Undefeated. “I read the script and immediately thought,
than James Hunt.”
‘Wow, we’ve got to do this,’” recalls Oliver. “It was
From beloved projects such as Four Weddings and
one of those screenplays that transcends that sport and
a Funeral and Love Actually to 2012’s blockbuster Les becomes fully about the characters.”
Misérables, the London-based Working Title has made
Sinclair concurs: “As a Formula 1 fan, I immediately
a global imprint with its movies. For the production
saw the potential of the wider appeal for this gladiator
partners, story has always trumped spectacle. “I started rivalry story.”
making films back in the ’80s and had always wanted
East and Sinclair, along with Exclusive’s head of
to make a movie about Lord Hesketh’s brief, but glamproduction, Tobin Armbrust, quickly agreed to fully coorous involvement with the sport of auto racing,” states finance the budget with Cross Creek and also to look
Fellner. “We were never able to pull that off, but years
after the international distribution and marketing of the
later I was approached to do a documentary on the
movie. East comments: “With Ron Howard so dedicated
life of Aryton Senna. I saw that a documentary was
to the process of making Rush as an independently
a good low-budget way of approaching the subject. I
financed film, we knew our international partners were
always thought a Formula 1 feature, especially a period going to be very supportive.”
feature, would be prohibitively expensive. Then Peter
The passions, personalities and competitive
Morgan and Andrew Eaton came to me with this script, extremes of these characters—not to mention his
which they said could be made for a reasonable price. I experience on his last film with Morgan—convinced
couldn’t resist, and I said I was in.”
two-time Oscar® winner Ron Howard to direct Rush. “I
Brian Oliver, president of Cross Creek Pictures,
had the pleasure of working with Peter on Frost/Nixon
which has produced critically and popularly acclaimed
and when he told me about the remarkable conflict
– 28 –
between these two amazing characters, I found the
story completely irresistible,” Howard explains. “The
characters are so rich. The rivalry between James Hunt
and Niki Lauda was dramatic. It was violent, sexy and,
ultimately, it was very emotional and triumphant—
the makings of a great screen drama. During the 1976
season, everything intensified. Everyone, even people
who didn’t necessarily follow the sport, was talking
about it. Everyone was writing about it because they
were such opposites. It not only makes for great drama,
it’s a dichotomy that creates a lot of humor. And given
the world in which they exist, it was a fresh story with
totally unique characters.
“What Peter is great at is looking at characters,”
continues the director. “When he deals with true
stories, he’s fantastic at discerning what it is that makes
them tick, what is that thing that gets under their skin
in positive or negative ways and how to build scenes
around that. Some of the scenes are purely factual,
some are dramatic illustrations but they’re all meant
to serve these ideas he’s developed. So, the results are
always very honest, if not 1,000-percent authentic.”
It’s no coincidence that Howard’s latest project,
along with his Oscar®-caliber films Apollo 13 and
Frost/Nixon, is set in the ’70s. The filmmaker admits
he’s long been captivated by the era.
“It’s a very sexy, fascinating period in
global history and popular culture,”
he explains. “I believe that by using
today’s cinematic technology, with
a classic look at a remarkable time,
we’ve made something that cuts
through to the audience and feels
fresh, rewarding and exciting.”
What also sparked Howard
was that this era was the same as
his transition from performer to
filmmaker. “When this story was
taking place, Happy Days was
becoming a No. 1 show around the
world,” Howard says. “So, I recognized the cultural
differences of that period. It was the tail end of the
sexual revolution, where there was nothing to fear and
everything to celebrate…when sex was safe and driving
was dangerous. The drive to express yourself, take
chances and stand for something unique and particular
was depoliticized coming out of the ’60s, but it was
still there on a cultural level. When I hear wild stories
about Formula 1, I realize people don’t quite do those
things today but they are not entirely alien to my own
understanding of what the world of celebrity was like
in the ’70s.”
Their wish list of directors had been a short one,
and the producers agreed they had the top name on the
list. “Ron is one of the great American film directors,”
Oliver says. “Having him involved in a European racing
project is a huge plus for the success of the film. It
wasn’t a big stretch to believe that the man who brought
us into the world of astronauts and firefighters could
make a great movie about race drivers.”
Eaton appreciated the indefatigable energy the crew
would find in its leader. He commends: “When we were
looking around for directors, Peter had breakfast with
Ron in Los Angeles and Ron told him how much he
wanted to do the film. He’s a huge sports fan and even
Hunt and Lauda race for Team McLaren and Team Ferrari.
– 29 –
Hunt signs autographs for his adoring fans.
though he wasn’t really familiar with Formula 1, he
appreciates the drama inherent in sports competition.
Ron also has the same energy and drive as the two lead
characters. It’s inspiring to work with him because of
his attention to detail and his raw energy. He was the
perfect person to direct this movie.”
The producers knew that Howard could find the
humanity in real characters from recent history better
than most. “From the mathematician in A Beautiful Mind
to the astronauts in Apollo 13, he excels at capturing
an environment in which real people operate,” says
Fellner. “It’s a plus that he came in knowing little
about the sport. It’s been my experience that if you
have a director who comes to a film without knowing
everything there is to know about the subject material,
you often get a more interesting point of view. Ron’s
take on this world brings us to places no other director
could have taken us.”
“One of the most exciting aspects of the film
was Ron Howard’s involvement,” says executive
producer Tobin Armbrust. “Watching him work firsthand, I was inspired by his ability to move smoothly
between heart-pounding race sequences and intimate
character moments.”
Joining the production team on Rush was
Howard’s longtime partner at Imagine Entertainment,
Oscar®-winning producer Brian Grazer, who found
himself as intrigued by Morgan’s script as he was by
the writer’s last screenplay for Imagine. “Ron and I
worked with Peter on Frost/Nixon,” Grazer relays,
“and Peter has this ability to study somebody and at
the same time get so microscopic that he can see the
pores in their skin.”
Grazer found that Morgan’s latest examination
of the machinations of men was just as laser focused
and explains where this project sits in the canon of
films that he’s produced with Howard. He notes: “The
continuity that Rush shares with the other films from
Ron and me is that it’s about the characters’ identities,
about how their psyche works. Rush is also about two
men who have giant flaws who are competing with
each other. Oddly enough, this film isn’t about winning
the race, it’s about how these men overcome their flaws
through a competition and become more complete.
Their victories lie within. Ultimately, James and Niki
not only improved themselves through the racing, they
improved each other’s self-worth.”
With Imagine as one of the final pieces of the puzzle,
the financing in place and Howard in the director’s chair,
Rush moved quickly into production.
Best Enemies:
The Search for Hunt
and Lauda
Through his lead role performances in Thor and The
Avengers, Australian actor Chris Hemsworth has shot to
stardom within the last few years. With the versatility
he’s shown in movies from The Cabin in the Woods to
Snow White and the Huntsman—not to mention his
– 30 –
movie-star wattage—Hemsworth was a natural for
McLaren driver Hunt, whom Howard describes as “a
rock star on wheels.”
“James was famous for being a ladies’ man, famous
for epitomizing the spirit of the ’70s with a very
free lifestyle,” Howard says. “But he was incredibly
competitive. He represented the idea that you can be
great without making it a business, that a vocation
could be some wild form of expression, not just a job.
Chris’ performance captures that.”
Howard had not met the actor before casting the
part. “Chris won the role with his fantastic audition,”
he says. “I’d seen him in Thor and in Star Trek. I met
him, I liked him, but I had no idea if he could be James
Hunt. He convinced me and everyone involved with the
tape that he made while he was on location doing The
Avengers. It was remarkable. There was nothing more
to say than, ‘Please, sign that guy for the role.’”
While that sort of audition wasn’t remotely what
Hemsworth had in mind, he didn’t want to miss the
opportunity. “Normally, I wouldn’t have done that unless
it was something like this project and for someone like
Ron, a director I’ve wanted to work with for years,” says
Hemsworth. “He’s one of those people who is as good
a person as he is a director. You want to work for Ron
because you know every time you hold
back a bit, he’s there to challenge you.
He knows he can squeeze something
else out of it.”
Naturally, performers hope to wrap
themselves around a character, but that
wasn’t always easy for Hemsworth.
Although he and Hunt share the same
blue eyes and swagger, there was more
to melding the two. “It was interesting
to try to pin down exactly who James
was,” he says. “In reading different
biographies, watching different
interviews—depending on what mood
he was in—and then speaking to people
who knew him, there are varied opinions. I think that’s
why it was so fascinating to be around him: He was
incredibly passionate, outspoken and a great amount of
fun. But he also had a side to him that was bottled up,
a sort of dark side. There were contradictions, which
make for an interesting character.”
Hemsworth learned that Hunt’s duality was never
more obvious than on the track. He provides: “I
spoke to one of James’ teammates, and he recalled a
conversation he had with James where he said, ‘God,
James, those first two laps of the race you were all
over the place!’ And James just said, ‘You know, I can
never remember the first two laps.’ He had that much
adrenaline flowing, and we get all that in the film. He
threw up before races and would work himself into a
heightened state of tension because he believed that
was where his best performance came from.”
The more Hemsworth delved into Hunt’s backstory,
the more he was hooked. He says: “The best stuff I
found was in the archive footage, little snippets before
and after the interviews, when no one realized they were
rolling. There are flashes of who James was. There was
such fascination in his eyes, a thirst for life. Everything
caught his attention. He was like a little kid. They own
the environment they’re in and have a need to explore
– 31 –
Lauda is laser focused on the job ahead.
Lauda tries to get inside Hunt’s head.
the world and to be indulgent.” Hemsworth pauses: “He
didn’t want to drive for second or third place. It was
of them. I think they brought out the best and worst
in one another. They forced each other to look in the
win or nothing. After James won the championship in
1976, he pulled back from it all. I don’t think he felt the
same passion.”
Hemsworth wasn’t sure if all of the tales of the
infamous playboy were fact or lore. “In Hunt’s biography,
it says he’d been with 5,000 women,” he notes. “There’s
a classic story in which all the flight attendants who
came into Japan were staying at the same hotel James
was. This was just before his big race at Fuji for the
World Championship. He spent the night with each of
them at different times…or at the same time.”
The performer’s research into Hunt’s life—not to
mention the sets, costumes and vehicles—made his
transformation into 1970s Hunt a comfortable fit. “The
period certainly suits my character,” he says. “James
belonged in that era. Everything was passionate and
indulgent. As Ron kept saying, it was a time ‘when
the sex was safe and driving dangerous.’ Now, it’s the
other way around. Everything has become so censured
and sanitized. It always helps an actor when you’re not
trying to convince yourself who you are in that world,
when everything around reminds you of it.”
Captivated by the contrast between Hunt and Lauda
that Morgan underscored in his screenplay, Hemsworth
grew to understand what drove them both. He notes:
“There was a bit of yin and yang going on with the two
mirror and think, ‘Am I approaching this the right
way?’ Today, Niki will say James was one of the people
he respected the most.”
When trying to dissect the character of Lauda,
Howard was surprised by the memories that process
evoked. “Niki reminds me of the astronauts who
I worked with on Apollo 13,” he says. “He is very
scientific, technically astute but with just enough
sense of adventure, a willingness to risk everything
and push it to places others didn’t. In a lot of ways,
Niki represented a new breed of professional athlete.
He made it a business, yet the competitive fires were
clearly there.”
As news spread among the acting community of
Morgan’s script, Lauda was asked who might portray
him in the film. He dryly quipped to Oe3 public radio:
“Everyone who has had his right ear burnt off can
already start making plans.” Jokes aside, the sports
legend voiced his approval of German-national and
Spanish-born Daniel Brühl as his on-screen persona,
especially after meeting the actor in Vienna. “I liked
the guy from the first day,” commends Lauda. “He was
down to earth and a real talented guy.”
The multilingual Brühl is an emerging presence in
European cinema and television who received raves
for his international breakthrough role in the 2003
– 32 –
Golden Globe-nominated Good Bye, Lenin!. He made
his English-speaking film debut in 2004’s Ladies in
Lavender and came to international attention with his
performance of German sniper Frederick Zoller in
2009’s Inglourious Basterds.
For Howard, Brühl’s casting was also a simple
choice. “Daniel’s done a lot of movies that I’ve seen,
and Peter had known his work for a long time,” the
director says. “When I met him, he was clearly that kind
of actor-chameleon who loves to create a character. I
knew he’d do a great job with an Austrian accent, and
physically, with a little makeup work, I knew he could
easily resemble Lauda. Getting Daniel and Chris to
play these roles was a spectacular break for a director.”
Brühl admitted some trepidation in portraying a
racing legend. “I thought, ‘How could I possibly play
Niki Lauda? That’s a tough part.’ He’s a guy who’s so
different than me, and he’s still very present in Germany
because he is a commentator on Formula 1 broadcasts,”
the actor says. Still, he went to the audition with no
expectations and was thrilled when he learned that
Howard had offered him the part.
With his desire for total preparedness, Brühl fell in
step with the Rush team. “At first, I watched a lot of footage and interviews,” Brühl says. “There’s so much you
can see about him. The production company delivered
all the material I needed, and I read his autobiography,
which is a real page-turner.”
Then came the prospect of a personal meeting
with Lauda. Naturally, Brühl was nervous to meet the
man he would portray on screen. “Knowing that Niki’s
very frank and honest I thought, ‘Hopefully, he’s going
to like me and we’ll get along,’” Brühl recounts. “He
called and invited me to come to Vienna. Then he
said, ‘Just bring hand luggage in case we don’t like
each other.’ Fortunately, we did, and I could ask him
whatever I wanted. He was so open and generous with
his time.”
The famously precise Lauda recalls their time
together: “I asked him, ‘Is it difficult to play me?’ He
said, ‘Yes, because you are alive and you are known
through television and other things. People know how
you talk and what you do, so it’s very difficult for me
to really play you.’ So, he came to Vienna to learn the
Austrian language and my way of speaking English. He
did a really good job to be the real Niki Lauda.”
Although Brühl studied his character assiduously,
there were aspects he was hesitant to probe in his
meetings with Lauda, lest the inquiry be too personal.
He was surprised, however, with the answer he got
when he screwed up the courage to ask Lauda about
the fiery crash at Nürburgring. “The interesting thing to
me is that he doesn’t remember the accident at all,” the
actor says. “It’s almost supernatural to me, one of the
most fascinating aspects of my part, and it’s something
I can’t understand.”
Hunt returns the favor.
– 33 –
James and Suzy share a tense meal.
The contrasting appearances between Lauda and
Hunt were corollary to the drivers’ approaches to their
craft. Likewise, Brühl and Hemsworth take different
approaches to acting. “We come from completely
different directions,” Brühl offers. “I have the highest
respect for Chris’ work because it’s so physical. He
plays superheroes; that’s a lot of work. I come from a
different direction, so the rivalry was believable. But
their journey ends with them almost being friends. That
worked out perfectly with Chris and me, as we share a
sense of humor, laughed a lot and teased each other.”
However, the rivalry doesn’t end there. “I must say, I find
myself rather sexy in the movie,” Brühl laughs. “James
was the lady killer, but Niki is quite cool as well.”
Equally so, Hemsworth felt comfortable working
with Brühl. “Daniel and I were at similar places in our
career,” he explains. “It’s still exciting and new to us.
We’re not jaded by it all. It was a much more organic
space to work in. You’d think it would’ve helped if we
didn’t get along off set, so we could work that into our
roles. But, I find it the opposite. He is hugely talented
and committed. It was also nice to have somebody in
the same mindset with whom to bounce ideas around.”
Producer Grazer felt the two actors’ energy onscreen from the first day. He commends: “Chris is a
gigantically charismatic, sexy guy who conformed his
body to what Hunt looked like. He’s magnetic. And
Daniel was amazing in Inglourious
Basterds. He’s an unbelievable actor. It’s
always challenging to find two people
who can compete with one another,
who can raise each other’s game not
only in the film but on the set. These
two actors are confident within their art
form and were able to challenge each
other for their best performance.”
Also impressed with Hemsworth
and Brühl’s total immersion into their
characters—and their performance in
the mandatory Formula 3 preparation
course—was ALASTAIR CALDWELL, Hunt’s team
manager and chief mechanic in 1976, and a technical
consultant during filming. “The physicality is almost
laughably good,” Caldwell nods. “Chris looks like
James. He’s the right size, the right coloring. Daniel’s
even more perfect. His body language, size, everything’s
almost eerie.”
Supermodels and
Teammates:
Supporting Cast
No man is an island, and each of the talented costars elevated the performances of the Rush troupe. To a
person, the supporting cast was committed to not doing
impressions, but capturing the essence of the characters
they were honored to portray.
Olivia Wilde, known to audiences from her work on
the medical drama House, M.D., as well as such films as
TRON: Legacy and Drinking Buddies, plays Suzy Miller
Hunt, the famous model whom James marries, then
neglects. The actress jumped at the chance to work with
Howard. “Ron is incredibly collaborative,” she gives.
“He trusts his actors and crew, hiring the right people for
their parts in the machine and then he lets it roll. That’s
why there are all these lightning-in-a-bottle moments
that make his films so effective. He understands both
– 34 –
the emotional and technical side of acting, marrying
those two challenges to bring a character to life and get
it into the film appropriately.”
The actress found her character—who went on
to have a torrid love affair with Richard Burton—the
perfect foil for Hunt. She suggests: “Suzy is everything
James would have wanted at that high point of his
career, when everything was exciting and new. Then, as
time goes on, things become more difficult. They have
to grow up, and we see Suzy become more conscious
of what she needs in order to be happy. She can’t live
for James and take care of him as he needs. She has to
take care of herself.”
While many co-stars clamor for more screen time,
Wilde has a refreshing take on her part. She shares:
“Sometimes, you read a scene and don’t understand the
significance of it in the story. But when you shoot it,
you understand why it’s a vital piece. In my supporting
role there’s one scene in particular that felt that way:
when Suzy watches James win the championship. It’s
everything he’s ever wanted, and she wants it for him.
She has an incredibly emotional reaction to it, and you
sense her love for him. It humanizes him, and certainly
her as well. That was the moment when I felt proud
of what we had done with that small slice of the story
because it’s not just a failed love affair.
There was something tragic about what
they tried to do but couldn’t. Still, there
was a part of their love that survived,
nonetheless.”
Hunt wasn’t the only driver to
feel the passionate love of a gorgeous
woman. Romanian-born Alexandra
Maria Lara, known for her work in
such diverse projects as Anton Corbijn’s
Control, Francis Ford Coppola’s Youth
Without Youth and Stephen Daldry’s The
Reader, was brought aboard to portray
Lauda’s wife Marlene. Lara echoes
Wilde’s sentiments about their captain:
“Ron’s amazing because he has this incredible energy
that makes younger people look rather lazy. There were
so many details he had to concentrate on that needed
to be perfect. At the same time, he laughs a lot and is
a very warm person as well. He makes an actor feel
comfortable, free and good on the set. I was absolutely
blown away. I really loved working with Ron.”
In contrast to the jetsetter that was Suzy Miller,
Marlene Lauda is the ever-supportive wife and
partner, even after her husband’s disfiguring accident.
“We shot some very intense scenes in the hospital
after the accident,” Lara provides. “As difficult as it
was for her to imagine her husband risking his life
on the track again, she had no choice but to say, ‘You
have to carry on.’ That was incredible to me because
at first Marlene thinks she has lost her husband, that
there was no chance of surviving this tragic accident.
The whole experience must have been so traumatic
and heartbreaking. But she was the type of woman
who understood his passion and didn’t stop him from
getting back into the car.”
Of course, not all of Marlene and Niki’s time
together was tragedy. “We also shot a scene where
they spend some wonderful days together before the
accident,” provides Lara. “He relaxes a little bit, maybe
– 35 –
Marlene and Niki share a tender moment.
for the first time. It’s a moment in which he realizes he
has something to live for besides racing.”
Coincidentally, Lara and Brühl share the same
agent, but they’d not worked together before. Still, their
chemistry clicked from the beginning. “I was very
impressed after the read-through,” Lara says. “They
can be quite a dry thing normally, many people sitting
around the table, but Daniel gave a good impression
of how he would play the part. In my opinion, it’s a
brilliant performance.”
Italian-native PIERFRANCESCO FAVINO, who
co-starred in Howard’s Angels & Demons and was last
seen in World War Z, was brought on to portray Lauda’s
competition at Ferrari, infamous Swiss driver Clay
Regazzoni. Coincidentally, Favino had done an Italian
television film about Enzo Ferrari and was familiar
with this world. Eager to once again work with Howard,
the performer advises Regazzoni was a childhood hero:
“I remember him from his big moustache and the fact
that he was Swiss-Italian. We were all great fans of
him.” As he researched more of the F1 world, Favino
became fascinated by the “hyper-human heroes who
face the possibility of death—and the adrenaline rush
that comes with it—every day.”
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’s Christian McKay plays
Lord Hesketh, a major influence in James Hunt’s early
racing career. Alexander Hesketh, the Third Baron
Hesketh, was a motor racing enthusiast who used money
from a large inheritance to fund Hesketh Racing. Hunt,
who was about the same age as the baron, started with
Hesketh in Formula 3 and eventually moved up with a
Hesketh car to F1, until his patron ran short of funds. The
flamboyant lord and his team were perfect fits for Hunt.
McKay remarks that he was intrigued by the jingoism
and ancient rivalries Morgan elucidated in his script. He
says, “Lord Hesketh is one of those rather wonderful,
larger-than-life characters that you couldn’t invent. We
met people who knew him who said he was even more
outrageous than I’m playing him, which is quite a thing.
He spent his family’s entire fortune on Formula 1. Later,
this incredible character became chief whip in the House
of Lords for John Major’s government.”
STEPHEN MANGAN, of Billy Elliot fame, costars as Alastair Caldwell, Hunt’s chief mechanic
at McLaren who served as a technical and historical
realism consultant on Rush. Mangan had both the
advantage and the added challenge of having the real
Caldwell’s presence on set: “It was fantastic to have the
real guy right there. Fantastic and slightly annoying,
because if you get anything wrong he’ll go, ‘No, it
wasn’t like that.’ So I’d have to say, ‘We’re making a
film, not a documentary.”
British sitcom Green Wing’s JULIAN RHINDTUTT was cast as Anthony “Bubbles” Horsley,
Hunt’s chief mechanic at Hesketh. “Bubbles was
one of James’ principal mechanics in the early part
of his career and remained a confidante throughout
his racing life,” Rhind-Tutt says. “They were a very
close-knit team, and I think Bubbles viewed Lauda the
same as James. He was part of the rivalry and one of
the strategists for Hunt’s tactics. I didn’t get to meet
Bubbles before filming, but we have done a lot of
research into the team dynamics and the group that
was supporting James. We hope we’ve captured the
flavor of that camaraderie.”
Providing the on-screen racing commentary is
Cloud Atlas’ALISTAIR PETRIE, who portrayed
legendary driver-turned-analyst Stirling Moss. “Moss
was retired by the time Hunt and Lauda were racing in
1976 but he was still very much a part of that world,”
Petrie says. “He showed James Hunt the ropes and, I
think, a few good times in Monaco. Formula 1 is built
on the rivalries. There are team rivalries in other sports
but with racing, it’s a man in a car against another man
in a car. Hunt and Lauda’s rivalry was one of the most
famous. I think the public took to their relationship
because of the nature of a sporting rivalry, which we all
love to live vicariously through.”
Rounding out the team is Goya’s Ghosts’ DAVID
CALDER, who portrays Louis Stanley, the colorful
– 36 –
chair of British Racing Motors; The Hunger Games:
Mockingjay’s NATALIE DORMER as Gemma, Hunt’s
extremely attentive nurse; and The Bourne Ultimatum’s
COLIN STINTON as American racing entrepreneur
Teddy Mayer.
Historical Accuracy:
Design and Locations
With a global television audience of more than a
half billion, Formula 1 is the highest class of singleseater auto racing in the world. Sanctioned by FIA,
the “formula” refers to the set of rules with which all
participants’ cars must comply. Under the leadership of
director Bernie Ecclestone, who turned F1 into a billion
dollar business, the 1970s saw even greater commercial
success for the enterprise.
The F1 championship season consists of a series of
races known as the Grand Prix that are held on purposebuilt circuits and public roads. The results of each race
are combined with a points system to determine the
annual World Championships, one for the drivers and
one for the car manufacturers.
Although it began in Europe, F1’s popularity has
transcended continental boundaries, with races now
also held in the Americas, Asia and Oceania.
No surprises here, but a period film about an
international sport required top talent, dedication,
extensive research, long hours and hard work. To
accomplish the myriad tasks ahead, the filmmakers
recruited a talented and dedicated crew who were
inspired by the work ethic of their director. “It was
arduous, unbelievably demanding on everyone but
we’re thrilled with what we got and how much of the
flavor of Formula 1 we were able to capture,” Howard
says. “We also captured a lot of the prerace moments,
life in the paddock, the culture of Formula 1. And
I believe we’ve re-created this period in a way that
captures the glamour, the daring and the excitement of
a very colorful time.”
With the deft hand he brought to the ambitious
Slumdog Millionaire, production designer Mark Digby
knew he had an incredibly challenging shoot ahead of
him with Rush. By integrating all racing and support
vehicles into historically accurate environments, he
had the Herculean challenge of reimagining racetracks
Hunt and Lauda stay neck-in-neck, race after race.
– 37 –
from Europe to Japan. “We had to create 12 to 15
different races each year from 1974 through 1976,”
says Digby. “In addition to the racecars, there were
lorries and caravans, ambulances and other support
vehicles. There was the paddock area at each of the
tracks where the mechanics work and bunting and
signage to indicate we’re in a different country at a
different Grand Prix…since we didn’t travel all around
the world to do our filming.”
Adding to the authenticity was location filming
at the British tracks Brands Hatch, Donington Park,
Cadwell Park and Snetterton and at Germany’s notorious
Nürburgring. Filming was also done at Blackbushe
Airfield, a former drag racing venue in the U.K.
The most emotional part of the production for the
crew was filming at Nürburgring, the site of Lauda’s
horrifying crash. “We went to the actual spot where
the incident occurred,” Howard says. “The first time
I went there to scout, it was chilling. It was almost
like entering a church, knowing Niki and what he
went through and that we were going to re-enact
it and re-create it. On the days of shooting, the
adrenaline was pumping so we were not thinking so
much philosophically. We were a little more practical,
but everybody innately understood that there was
something extraordinary about the opportunity to film
there and the responsibility that involved.”
The director is most grateful for the chance to film
in some extraordinary places during his long career.
He reflects: “I’ve been lucky to film remarkable reefs
in the Caribbean for underwater scenes in Splash and
Cocoon, the Louvre for The Da Vinci Code, sacred
places for Angels & Demons, weightless simulation
facilities at NASA for Apollo 13 and Nixon’s Western
White House for Frost/Nixon. Nürburgring was another
one of those experiences like the Louvre, like NASA,
where you are frankly just thankful that you are doing
a job that allows you these experiences. It was a huge
thrill and, most important of all, we got a great scene
shooting there.”
In addition to the emotional impact, Howard took
away from the shoot a better understanding of the
expertise needed to negotiate one of the world’s most
challenging racecourses. “I’m a neophyte, but I could
tell the skill level required to excel at a place like this
as we moved through that undulating, twisting track at
Nürburgring,” Howard says. “It was like standing on a
great golf course. You don’t have to participate in the
sport to sense there’s something unique, specific and
remarkable about a place.”
Howard is not a complete novice when it comes to
films about fast cars. He starred in a pair of low-budget
car-chase comedies in the mid-’70s, Eat My Dust and
Grand Theft Auto, writing and making his directorial
debut in the latter. The director also got a firsthand
look at another famous racetrack. Shortly after filming
wrapped, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway invited him
to drive the pace car for the Brickyard 400, a NASCAR
race held annually at the legendary track. NASCAR
star Jeff Gordon hosted Howard during his first visit to
Indy and introduced him in a prerace drivers’ meeting.
Rush proved to be a labor of love for Howard. In
returning to an era he knew well in the milieu of a
sport with which he was unfamiliar, he found endless
overcomes. Still, he gives that this was one of his
easiest films. “The obstacles presented in making Rush
were considerable,” the director sums. “The weather,
re-creating the ’70s, replicating historical races:
challenges were big and plentiful. But from a casting
standpoint, this was one of the easiest films I’ve ever
done. Everything came together.”
Reliving the Golden Age:
Autos and Camera Work
Howard prides himself at not repeating his work,
and logically, every film he undertakes requires a
unique set of challenges. Because of the enormous
amount of research the team needed to wrap their heads
around the racing world during this time period, filming
– 38 –
Rush proved to be akin to shooting Apollo 13. The level and I was pushing my crew to their limits.” He pauses:
to which every single department immersed itself in “But that pretty well describes the sport, doesn’t it? I’ve
F1 and the period—its visual richness and technical
learned quite a bit about these historic F1 cars, and
details—was simply astonishing. From the on-site
they’re beastly death machines, rolling coffins. When
crews and tireless stunt doubles to the Oscar®-winning you strip away the oddly colored panels, there’s nothing
editing team of Mike Hill and Dan Hanley structuring
there but a ticking time bomb with gallons of fuel under
the film in the bay, the shoot proved to be an incredibly your backside.”
collaborative effort on the part of everyone involved.
While the filmmakers couldn’t afford to take
The filmmakers realized that without dramatic,
death-defying risks with their cars, they did have to
realistic racing scenes, Rush could be left at the starting recognize that the passion for authenticity among
line. “We spent a huge amount of time figuring out
F1 fans would require extraordinary effort to satisfy.
the racing,” producer Eaton says. “Part of it is because
Co-producer JIM HAJICOSTA spent a year during
coverage on television these days is so advanced that development of Rush attending classic F1 motor sport
you’ve got to add something else from a filmic point of events and networking with associations, motor sport
view. We spent a lot of time doing tests, and we looked engineering firms, owners and drivers of the F1s of
at film of a lot of historic races. We created previsuals the 1970s. He attended events across Europe to source
to re-create these moments conceptually. There was
the correct cars and, in some cases, have them restored
a huge desire on all our parts to get the detail and for the movie’s scripted races. He also recruited many
authenticity right.”
of the drivers—including former Grand Prix winner
The challenge was not only to get the detail right
JOCHEN MASS—and managed the F1 department
but to present it in a way that no one had ever seen
during production, working with an expert on classic
before. Cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, who car replicas, STUART MCCRUDDEN.
was awarded a much-deserved Oscar® for his work on
Owing to very high cornering speeds that are
Slumdog Millionaire, was up to the challenge. “Anthony
achieved through the generation of large amounts of
is one of the most innovative cinematographers working
aerodynamic down force, F1 cars are among the fastest
today,” states producer Fellner.
“For one scene, I believe he used
more than 30 cameras, shooting all
the different elements, pieces of
the cars, the drivers.”
Mantle isn’t one to rest on
his laurels. He gives: “You must
increase ambitions with every film.
You have to push the envelope to
get the most out of every story,
every scene. I’ve never had so
many lenses out in my life. They
were all over the place: on the cars,
under the cars, up the tailpipes, on
CHRIS HEMSWORTH as Hunt and RON HOWARD block a sequence.
the roof, under the roof. It was mad,
– 39 –
Hemsworth also received a deeper
understanding of the man Hunt was
when he climbed into a racing machine
to shoot key scenes. “You get to
understand how much power these
guys had at their fingertips or feet,”
he gives. “You’re inches from the
ground; you’re strapped in. It’s a little
cocoon—or coffin even, as it says in
the script. You’re driving 170 miles
per hour, right at the edge. Anybody
in extreme sports where there’s a
constant threat of death, there’s got to
be some outlet for that as well. There’s
DANIEL BRÜHL as Niki Lauda and RON HOWARD discuss a scene on set.
an incredible amount of adrenaline but
circuit-racing cars in the world. Indeed, they race at
also a vulnerability that comes with it.
speeds of up to 360 km/h (220 mph) with engines
“On the days we drove and weren’t going anywhere
limited in performance to a maximum of 18,000 near the speeds that the real drivers do, that straightaway
revolutions per minute (RPM). The cars are capable of made you think, ‘Oh, my God,’” the performer
lateral acceleration in excess of 5G in corners.
continues. “I could see where the addiction comes from,
To place the audience in the drivers’ seats, Howard
the love for that adrenaline because it’s unlike anything
and Mantle attached cameras to the racers’ helmets.
else I’ve ever done or experienced. Senna talked about
Hemsworth recalls what that was like: “It was quite
it. It was the closest he ever felt to God when he was
heavy on one side and then they had to weight the other
driving at that speed, and that was when he truly felt in
side, so you’ve got this great amount of weight on your
the moment, and one with it.”
head. It gets right in there on the eyeball, your pupil
Daniel Becomes Niki:
shifting in and out and little bits of light that it catches.
They had reflections of the grandstand and people in it,
Prosthetics and Makeup
in your eye. That’s how close it was. Can you imagine
that on a 60-foot screen? It’s an impressive shot. You’re
The portrayal of Niki Lauda’s post-Nürburgring
right in the drivers’ eyes, which will be awesome.”
disfigurement required much time in makeup with
It was interesting for Hemsworth to be integrated
Academy Award®-winning prosthetic makeup designer
into the role of camera assistant. “Ron and Anthony did MARK COULIER. “Of course, we needed prosthetics
tricky things with the smaller handheld cameras, which and that made me nervous at first,” Brühl says.
they placed in various parts of the sets,” he conveys. “The funny thing was that after the first test, Mark’s
“There’s an element of having just crept into the room
assistants said he might get nominated in a half hour
and you’re overhearing something. They used some for an Oscar® for The Iron Lady. Mark started making
’70s lenses so it has a real period feel to it. Anthony is
the prosthetics while some other guys got bottles of
beautiful with lighting. I kept calling him Rembrandt, champagne. We sat there following it through the
the master of lighting, in there painting away.”
Internet while I was half-burnt. He got the Oscar® and
– 40 –
I knew I was in good hands.” The actor extends his
good words to DP Mantle. “It’s incredible that Anthony
comes in so close with his cameras to the prosthetics
and you still can’t see it. You still believe my face is
totally burnt. Amazing work.”
As with every detail of the film, Howard strove
for authenticity on Lauda’s disfigurement. “There’s a
section of Niki’s scarring within the hospital that the
general public didn’t see,” says Emmy Award-winning
makeup and hair designer FAE HAMMOND. “Ron
really wanted to make a very big point of those. So
there are a couple of scenes when we really feel the
pain, the agony and the horror that went on. Mark was
very clever. We probably had about eight stages of the
makeup. It was very important to get it as correct and
accurate as possible.”
The makeup and prosthetics team was also tasked
with the more subtle challenge of making the actor
look like the young, unscarred championship driver
whose distinct image was well-known. “We added
some false teeth for Daniel to give him that sort of
‘ratty’ shape,” Hammond explains. “Daniel sports a
rather fine set of teeth, which we had some fun with.
There are physical elements of Daniel that are so
strongly there in the real Lauda but Daniel’s head has
a slightly different shape,
so you can’t just put Lauda
hair on Daniel. You have to
find a space that balances
the rest of his face and
body shape. I think it
worked really well.”
Howard and his costume designer, Julian Day, wanted
to celebrate the era. To accomplish, the production
utilized two fashion houses: Gucci and Salvatore
Ferragamo. Gucci provided the clothes for Hemsworth
and Wilde and Ferragamo provided the clothing for
Brühl and Lara.
Explains Day, who gained much attention for his
work on Nowhere Boy: “Both houses were extremely
helpful, and I’m grateful to them. I went to Florence and
met with the creative head of Ferragamo [Massimiliano
Giornetti], and we talked about the characters. I
designed some clothes with their help from their
archival collections. I went to Rome and did the same
with Gucci and met with Frida Giannini. In some ways,
Gucci is more flamboyant, which suits James’ character,
whereas Ferragamo is slightly more conservative, in a
beautiful way. That suited Niki.”
As the style of the ’70s was unique and colorful
on and off the track, historical verisimilitude had to be
achieved by the wardrobe department as well. “If you
take 1976, the year most featured, and look at Niki’s race
suits, the advertising is all over the place,” shares Day.
“That’s because he would be sponsored by such-andsuch at one race, then that patch would come off and
be replaced by another one for another race. To avoid
Dressing
the Times:
Gucci, Ferragamo
and Nomex
Much of Rush takes
place off the track, and
OLIVIA WILDE as model Suzy Miller in Gucci.
– 41 –
race suits, gloves and balaclavas.
That, naturally, had to be adjusted for
filming, Day shares: “Because the
suits back then were so heavy, and
the suits nowadays are the weight of
a shirt, we came up with a look that
was authentic but not as heavy as the
original uniforms.”
Competition wasn’t only fierce
among the racers, but between the
houses financing them. Explains
Day: “At the time, Ferrari and
McLaren were the top teams, so
®
®
Two-time Academy Award winner RON HOWARD and Oscar -winning cinematographer
McLaren would see what the Ferrari
ANTHONY DOD MANTLE shoot a scene.
team was looking like…then they
confusing the audience, I had to keep the suits basic went out and got new uniforms and would have new
and consistent, and as Niki became more successful, adidas trainers for each race.”
we put more advertising on him. I did the same with all
Day worked on differentiating the fashions at
the drivers, certainly also for James.”
different Grand Prix races and circuits. He went from
Day—who used to spend time on the Formula 1 two extremes: Fuji, where it rained, had a crowd
circuit as a kid—also had the challenge of capturing that needed to be dressed in muted blacks, browns,
’70s couture without falling into cliché. It was grays, blues and wet-weather gear; in contrast, the
important for the designer to honor F1, as his father fashion at Brazil, where samba dancers and grid girls
used to reproduce models of the racing cars. In fact, wore bikini tops and shorts and high heels, showed
a John Day model car is featured in Rush. “When you
fashion that was much more colorful. He provides:
look at footage or photographs from the racetracks,
“The crowd is just as important as the principals;
you see a lot of primary colors,” Day says. “Ron and I
they’re the backdrop to everything. The idea was
felt these colors would work well for the race aspect of that you go to a Grand Prix and it would be all day.
the film. Off-track, I’ve gone for more muted, smoky
You’d take your picnic hamper, bag, a wet-weather
colors to reflect an idea of seeing life through a haze coat, and over the process of the day if it got warmer,
of cigarette smoke because it seemed like everyone
you’d start taking it off. Of course, people would tie
smoked in the ’70s.”
it around their waist. That idea of making people
Form followed function when it came to the F1 look as real as possible was important to both me
races and safety. Driver safety (as much as possible)
and Ron.”
was everything. The original race suits were very
While it would have been easy to devolve into
heavy, with three layers of Nomex and fireproof
stereotypical ’70s clothing, Day is quick to remind the
underwear serving as the foundation of the uniform.
reader that the era had something for all. He muses:
To achieve that look, Day went to a company called “Everyone has their own opinion of how ’70s fashion
OMP Racing—which has been producing race wear looked. There were a lot of big collars and paisley
for almost three decades—and created all of the film’s
patterns, but when you actually look at pictures from
– 42 –
that time there was also a very normal side to the
fashion. I wanted to create a good brushstroke across
everything, so there’s depth to it and not everyone
looks the same. When you’ve got 5,000 extras, you
want everyone to look like an individual…not a huge
block of ’70s-looking people.”
For Rhind-Tutt, this ’70s sartorial flashback
was an added thrill. “It was like being at those long
family parties when I was a little kid with the sister’s
boyfriend in flares,” Rhind-Tutt recalls. “At that time,
I was looking up to all the fashions. In Rush, I get to
wear all those clothes that the grown-ups were wearing
then. It was quite cool.”
Sounds of a Decade:
Music of the Film
With their collaborations on blockbusters from
The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons to more
intimate projects such as Frost/Nixon, Howard and
Hans Zimmer, a Grammy, Golden Globe and Academy
Award® winner, once again joined forces for the sounds
of Rush. Indeed, Zimmer composed 19 of the 24 songs
for this spectacular big-screen re-creation of the F1
world of 1976.
In describing what he hoped Zimmer would
accomplish through his music, Howard comments:
“From the beginning I knew Rush would be a
deceptively complex score. Hans so often finds creative
impetus by closely examining the central characters,
not only as written and directed but also as performed.
He understood all the paradoxes in the characters, and
the Rush score is another very impressive creation by
the maestro.”
With songs from David Bowie (“Fame”), Steve
Winwood (“Gimme Some Lovin’”) and Dave Edmunds
(“I Hear You Knocking”) to pieces from Mud (“DynaMite”) and Thin Lizzy (“The Rocker”), the Rush
soundtrack reminds the audience of the signature
sounds that accompanied the era, and why it was such
a time of reinvention and revolution.
Balancing the racers’ simple desires with their
frenetic-yet-controlled behavior on the track was a
challenge for Howard and Zimmer as they created
the soundtrack to the film. Whether in the intimate
moments in which James finds himself alone with
his pet budgies and Niki first meets Marlene or
James’ loose-cannon tantrums and the raging inferno
at Nürburgring that forever changed Lauda’s life,
Zimmer captured the spirit of the world in which they
lived and raced.
Zimmer’s work had another fan on the production.
“When I was watching the movie with the Formula 1
community, I realized what a fantastic job Hans has
done,” says Lauda. “I was simply blown away. Part of
the standing ovations go to him.”
****
Universal Pictures and Cross Creek Pictures
present, with Exclusive Media—in association
with Imagine Entertainment—a Revolution Films/
Working Title/Imagine Entertainment production
of a Ron Howard film: Chris Hemsworth in Rush,
starring Daniel Brühl, Olivia Wilde, Alexandra
Maria Lara, Pierfrancesco Favino. The film’s casting
is by Nina Gold, and its costume designer is Julian
Day. Rush’s music is by Hans Zimmer, and it is
edited by Dan Hanley, ACE, Mike Hill, ACE. The
production designer is Mark Digby, and the director
of photography is Anthony Dod Mantle, ASC,
BSC, DFF. Rush’s co-producers are Anita Overland,
Jim Hajicosta, and its executive producers are Guy
East, Nigel Sinclair, Tobin Armbrust, Tim Bevan,
Tyler Thompson, Todd Hallowell. The epic actiondrama is produced by Andrew Eaton, Eric Fellner,
Brian Oliver, Peter Morgan, Brian Grazer, Ron
Howard. Rush is written by Peter Morgan, and it is
directed by Ron Howard. © 2013 Universal Studios
www.rushmovie.com
– 43 –