Michael Mann's next film could be an adrenaline-fuelled motor racing tale about the legendary 1966 Le Mans grand prix, a fierce battle between Ford and Ferrari, which saw the former become the first American team to achieve victory in France, reports Variety.
Based on the book Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans by AJ Baime, the film was at one point set to feature Brad Pitt, though no final casting decisions have yet been made. The story centres on the efforts of Henry Ford II (Ford chairman and grandson of company founder Henry T Ford), with the help of visionary executive Lee Iacocca, and former racing champion Carroll Shelby, to overturn European domination of car racing.
Ferrari was the leading force in Le Mans racing in the 60s, under the great Enzo Ferrari, and the Italian firm's cars epitomised style and muscular elegance. Beating the company on its own turf would be a sign that Ford, which had been slipping behind its European rival, was set for a revival in fortunes.
The jacket of Baime's book reads: "Go Like Hell transports readers to a risk-filled glorious time in this brilliant portrait of a rivalry between two industrialists, the cars they built, and the 'pilots' who would drive them to victory, or doom."
Variety reports that Go Like Hell is being assembled at 20th Century Fox. Mann's most recent film was the 2009 Depression-era crime drama Public Enemies, starring Johnny Depp as notorious bank robber John Dillinger.
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