I also wanted Christian to meet Bob,”
he said. “He’s an icon from that era and
is actually named in the film. So we’d
do driving instruction in the morning,
then we’d spend four or five hours
every afternoon talking to Bob about
his experience. One thing I didn’t know
is that Bob and Ken Miles were close
friends—the insight we got from that
was amazing. Christian learned a lot
about who Miles was from Bob.”
Hill expounded on why he thinks the
epic story of the 1966 Le Mans and the
heroic drivers behind it are important
to remember: “Motor racing is full of
endless good stories to be told. But this
one happens to be one that the public,
especially the public who’s not inter-
ested in racing, can align with. We all
know what Ford is, and we all know what
Ferrari is. Who’s to say what people’s
perceptions are of each, but to see a
brand that one wouldn’t necessarily
associate with racing at its best, going
out to take on a truly exotic and estab-
lished racing brand like Ferrari, is one
that people might enjoy watching.”
Foust had a similar opinion. “This
movie is about an era when the perfor-
mance of race cars and the speeds theyvehicle built specifically for it. We did
two takes, and there are pieces from each
in the film because some aspects worked
better than others. In the second take,
that Ferrari actually righted itself and
T-boned the camera car, which slammed
into a concrete barrier and a tire wall. It
was a very severe impact, but the driver
ended up fine.”
Retaining continuity and accuracy
was another massive focus. “There
were historical points that had to be
correct, like how the cars crossed the
line in a one-two-three format,” Foust
said. “Wearing all of the actual period
gear, helmets, and gloves, plus driving
cars that weren’t remarkably friendly or
particularly comfortable, made it a lot
like how driving an old race car would
probably feel.
“How the cars looked was important,
too,” Foust continued. “Each scene would
have an hour number. If it was hour two
of the race, then the cars would be fairly
clean, but the next shot might be hour 20.
So all the cars would have to come in and
get dirtied up as if they’ve been driving
overnight. Then the next shot might be
hour five, so they’d all have to get cleaned
again for that. There was so much done to
keep continuity between shots.”
The stunt crew provided driving for
the most intense sequences, but leading
actors Damon and Bale spent time
behind the wheel, too. “Christian was
hands-down the best actor I’ve ever
trained to drive,” Nagle said. “He did
an amazing job.” The production team
wanted the method actor to get a sense of
what it means to be a race car driver, so he
was sent to Bob Bondurant racing school.
For Nagle, the benefits were twofold. “I
guided the training to what I needed, but
could achieve were vastly outgrowing
the safety measures being taken in
the cars and out on the track,” he said.
“That was a time when every racer
knew someone who had died racing.
These guys were gladiators. They lived
an amazing life, but at that time the pay
didn’t outweigh the danger, so I have to
imagine they were truly riding the wave
of their passion and competitive spirits,
which makes it very human.”
Indeed, Ford v Ferrari revolves
around cars but focuses on people.
“We’re in an era where it’s probably
easier to raise money to start an auton-
omous race series than it is to start a
series with actual drivers,” Foust said.
“And from a business case ... it’s more
valuable to promote technology that
eliminates the driver. But at this point,
just like in the movie, racing relies on
the human in the seat.”
Between stunt-packed driving
sequences, Ford v Ferrari reminds us
of the intrinsic human motivation to
overcome adversity and find victory. QHalf race car, half tripod,
camera rigs like this put
viewers right in the action
at Willow Springs.