One of the things I think is key to growing a sport is seeing it on the big screen and seeing it done well. Feature films have a big effect on the popularity of a sport or even an industry. I call it the Hollywood bump.
One example that leaps to mind might not be widely known, and the only reason I am familiar with it is because my wife has been in the wine business for as long as we have been married. Back in 2004, the wine industry was doing reasonably well after a few really good vintage years before the millennium. Napa cabernets from the late 1990s were, and still are, highly rated and highly prized, but after the movie “Sideways” came out in 2004, the wine industry saw a bump in general, an increased interest in pinot noir in particular, and, thanks to one line in the movie, a decreased interest in merlot.
The industry saw a similar bump when the movie “Bottle Shock” came out in 2008. That movie actually was based on the true story of the “Judgment of Paris,” a contest in 1976 in which wines from California came out on top in a blind taste test against French wines.
Baseball movies boost interest in baseball. Same goes for golf movies. Movies about boxing or restaurants or food trucks or football or Wall Street all will draw attention to the subject and spike interest and, potentially, sales, though it is usually temporary.
For racing, which is as much a sport as it is an industry, the big screen has been pretty beneficial over the last several years. A few movies in particular have been noteworthy: “Gran Turismo,” “Ford vs. Ferrari,” and “F1 the Movie.” Those three movies did more for racing than the entire “Fast and Furious” franchise ever could, because as I wrote in the very first sentence of this screed, they did it well. Let’s focus on “Ford vs. Ferrari” and “F1.”
“Ford vs. Ferrari” was based on the book, “Go Like Hell” by A.J. Baime. I was given that book by my daughter’s friend’s mom after she finished reading it. She was not into racing at all, but loved the book because the story was so good and it was so well written. A big part of why the movie was so good is because the story was so compelling, and, most likely, because it was true.
Hollywood nailed it with FvF. They focused on the story, the emotional context, nailed the technical details (most of them), showcased the highs and the lows of racing and the visceral noises that only big American V8s and Italian V12s can deliver. I had already seen the movie when I witnessed my high-school-age son and his friends watch it a couple of times over the course of a guys’ weekend they spent at our house. They loved it.
“F1 the Movie” also delivers, but probably to a lesser extent than FvF. If you know anything about F1, the story is deeply implausible, but they get most of the details right. The cinematography and the camera work is spectacular. Seeing it in IMAX is next-level theater. Come to think of it, “The Art of Racing in the Rain” also had a somewhat dubious premise, but the author was a racer, and he made it work.
Like Christian Bale’s “perfect lap” monologue in “Ford vs. Ferrari,” Brad Pitt delivers something similar when he talks about those rare laps where you see everything, your heart rate slows down, and how no one can touch you because you are “flying.” Those two monologues crystallize racing in the mind of the viewer, because they capture that rare moment that we, as drivers, are all out there chasing. It’s what we all aspire to.
To a racing driver, the perfect lap, that sensation of flying are as tangible as any lap time, and I am glad the people who made those movies captured that sentiment. I hope the Hollywood bump comes with it. The more people racing with NASA, the better.
