Since the late 1990s, the Gran Turismo racing games for PlayStation have brought in billions of dollars, rivaling the box-office bounties of some movie franchises.
It was only a matter of time before a movie offshoot arrived, following in the tracks of other live-action adaptations of PlayStation games, including last year’s “Uncharted.” “Gran Turismo” the movie tells the true (but unlikely) story of Jann Mardenborough, a Gran Turismo maven who became a professional racer of actual cars on actual tracks.
Mardenborough’s leap from pixels to asphalt was an effective advertisement for Gran Turismo as more than a game, but his transition wasn’t all smooth.
After Jann’s father (Djimon Hounsou) says there’s no future in gaming and brings Jann to his job at a rail yard, Jann goes off and wins a contest held by Nissan to recruit promising Gran Turismo players.
Once again Jann exceeds expectations and beats out a more TV-ready competitor for the chance to race professionally.
Persons:
Jann Mardenborough, Neill Blomkamp’s, Jann, Archie Madekwe, Madekwe’s Jann, Jann’s, Djimon, Geri Halliwell Horner, David Harbour, Orlando Bloom
Organizations:
Gran Turismo, PlayStation, Turismo, Gran Turismo maven, Nissan
Locations:
Cardiff, Wales