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Warning: This article contains spoilers for Senna.

The Netflix miniseries Senna shows how Formula One racer Ayrton Senna became one of competitive racing's greatest champions, including his historical 1991 win in Brazil. In episode 5, the show depicts Gabriel Leone's Senna achieving a groundbreaking victory at the 1991 Brazil Grand Prix, where he competed against rival racer Riccardo Patrese. This record-breaking win in Brazil was a huge milestone in Senna's racing career, and the difficulties he faced during and before the race made it an even more inspiring achievement.

The show depicts how Senna had problems with his car's gearbox in the Grand Prix, making it harder for him to finish the race. The competition also took such a toll on his body, to the point Senna could barely move afterward. His victory under such harsh and tiring conditions symbolized his unbreakable spirit and passion as a racer, making it a key moment in the Senna miniseries.

Argentine-born Brazil-based director Hector Babenco wasted little time making his mark on the world of cinema. In just his first handful of films he was recognized by the likes of the Cannes Film Festival and Academy Awards, and was an instant crossover hit upon his arrival in Hollywood.

Below, Variety revisits the director’s body of work.

1973 – “O Fabuloso Fittipaidi” Babenco’s feature debut, this documentary covers the life and career of Brazilian formula one racing driver Emerson Fittipaldi from the beginning of his driving career through to the height of his success and international popularity.

1975 – “King of the Night” A Brazilian man recalls his life story in this, Babenco’s fiction debut. A now old Tertuliano recalls the love stories of his youth including with a sickly girl who moved half a world away, a prostitute and the three daughters of his mother’s friend.

1977 – “Lúcio Flávio” Babenco’s...

Author: David Sztypuljak

We’ve been rather blessed with wonderful motor racing documentaries and feature films over the past few years. Senna immediately comes to mind bringing unseen footage and a truly inspiring story that was beautiful to watch on the cinema screen. The likes of Tt: 3D based around the Isle of Man Tt was another that stands out introducing the fabulous Guy Martin to the world!

Today we’ve been sent the first look trailer of ‘McLaren’ – a feature-length documentary about Bruce McLaren and the man behind the company that still continues at the top flight of international motorsport to this very day. McLaren takes us through the rise, domination and legacy that Bruce McLaren was able to leave after his untimely death in a crash while testing in 1970 at age of just 32 while testing his new M8D at Goodwood.

The movie trailer gives you an...

Director: Paul Crowder; Writer: Mark Monroe; Narrator: Michael Fassbender; Running time: 112 mins; Certificate: 12A

1: Life on the Limit may be a veritable who's who of Formula 1 - featuring contributions from world drivers' champions such as John Surtees, Jackie Stewart, Emerson Fittipaldi, Damon Hill, Michael Schumacher, Jody Scheckter, Mario Andretti, Nigel Mansell, Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel to name but a few - but it's really the story of two men, Bernie Ecclestone and Max Mosley.

It's easy to be cynical about both Bernie and Max - particularly when you think about some of the things they've hit headlines for away from the track. But 1 - which uses the tension between speed and safety as its angle - sheds light on their determination to improve safety that some younger followers of motorsport - this writer included - may not have fully appreciated. Both Ecclestone and especially Mosley are...

Geez, these F1 2013 videos are coming on fast and furious (haha, cars!). In the most recent trailer for the upcoming racing sim from Codemasters, the focus is placed on the seemingly very important Ferrari 312 T2. I’m not intimately familiar with it or anything, but that doesn’t change the fact that it looks incredibly sexy coming around the bend at the beginning of this video.

Aside from slow motion car porn, the trailer is essentially a promo for the game’s new Classic Edition. In that version, you’ll be able to race famous cars, drivers, and circuits from various eras of F1 history. My knowledge on that is a bit stiff, but I imagine F1 junkies will really get a kick out of it. Other sports games have been doing this kind of thing for years, so it’s definitely a good move on Codemasters’ end.

For all...

I’m not enough of a Formula One junkie to instantly start drooling/sweating/other bodily function at the mention of a 1988 Ferrari F1-87/88C, but that doesn’t mean I’m not enough of a general geek for those things to start happening once I actually see a picture.

The car, which is shown above, is quite beautiful and so, I suppose it should be considered good news then that this very vehicle will be included in this year’s edition of Codemasters’ yearly F1 simulator, F1 2013.

The rest of the jargon is kind of lost on me, but I’m sure anyone more familiar with the series or the sport will eat this up. So for those folks, be sure to check out the press release below. The trailer below is both awesomely and comically dramatic, so that’s something as well.

As a casual fan I...

By Susan Lamarca

A local sneak peek of the documentary 1: The Unvarnished Story helped kick off the 2012 Formula One Us Grand Prix in Austin on November 15. The red carpet included former drivers Emerson Fittipaldi, Jackie Stewart and Brett Lunger, plus  Bernie Ecclestone, President and CEO of F1 Management and F1 Administration.

1 is an account of Formula One from the 1960s and 1970s, culled from thousands of hours of archival footage and contemporary interviews with 60 drivers and professionals. During those years, television audiences and sponsors brought business to motor racing as advancements in technology and engineering increased the performance of race cars. These decades marked the most dangerous period in the history of the sport, and many drivers were killed due to lack of safety regulations.

Producer Michael Shevloff introduced director Paul Crowder (Riding Giants, Dogtown and Z Boys) and writer Mark Monroe before the screening. After working on the...

Add documentary narrator to the list of things Michael Fassbender is probably better at than you’ll ever be.

The Golden Globe nominated actor who starred in Inglourious Basterds, X-Men: First Class, Shame, and an upcoming untitled Terrence Malick film, will now provide narration via his timbre British accent to a documentary about Formula 1 racing entitled 1.

Fassbender was picked for the job because he himself is actually a Formula 1 racing fanatic.

Official synopsis:

“Produced by Exclusive Media’s documentary feature film label Spitfire Pictures (Academy Award winning Undefeated) with Flat-Out Films and Diamond Docs, “1” is an action documentary that brings the glamour, speed, danger, and excitement of Formula One™ Grand Prix racing to the big screen. The high octane film includes never-before-seen archive footage, a rich soundtrack and the most impressive list of Formula 1™ interviewees ever assembled, including 12 world champions past and present. Their names include: Sir Jackie Stewart, Mario Andretti,...

1

Michael Fassbender has signed on to narrate Paul Crowder's new Formula One-themed documentary film "1" at Spitfire Pictures. The action documentary examines the glamour, speed, danger, and excitement of Formula One Grand Prix racing.

The film includes never-before-seen archive footage along with interviews with the likes of Sir Jackie Stewart, Mario Andretti, Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher, Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel, Emerson Fittipaldi, Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill. [Source: ]

Hard Drive

Douglas Smith ("Big Love") and Megan Follows are set to star in William D. MacGillivray's indie coming-of-age tale "Hard Drive" which is currently shooting in Nova Scotia.

Based on the novel "Ditch" by Hal Niedzviecki, the story deals with a young man’s unexpected plunge into adulthood in the digital age. Laura Slade and the jazz drummer Jerry Granelli also star. [Source: THR]

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Isla Fisher is the latest to join Dan Schechter's adaptation of Elmore Leonard's 1978 novel "Switch". Fisher would play Melanie,...

Long time Formula 1 enthusiast and Golden Globe nominated actor, Michael Fassbender, has signed on to narrate Exclusive Media's Spitfire Pictures' new documentary film 1, it was announced today by the film's producer and Exclusive Media co-chairman Nigel Sinclair and fellow producer Michael Shevloff together with director Paul Crowder.

Fassbender, is the German-Irish actor who stars in Inglourious Basterds, X-Men: First Class and Prometheus. For his acclaimed performance in Shame he won the Best Actor Award at the Venice Film Festival and was nominated for a Golden Globe and BAFTA Award. He recently completed shooting Terrence Malick's latest and untitled film with Ryan Gosling, Rooney Mara and Natalie Portman and will shortly begin production on Jane Got a Gun also starring Natalie Portman and X-Men: Days of Future Past. Here's what producers Nigel Sinclair and Michael Shevloff had to say in a joint statement.

"We are honored that Michael has...

Long time Formula 1. enthusiast and Golden Globe nominated actor, Michael Fassbender, has signed on to narrate Exclusive Media.s Spitfire Pictures. new documentary film .1., it was announced today by the film.s producer and Exclusive Media co-chairman Nigel Sinclair and fellow producer Michael Shevloff together with director Paul Crowder.

Fassbender is the German-Irish actor who stars in Inglourious Basterds, X-men: First Class and Prometheus. For his acclaimed performance in Shame he won the Best Actor Award at the Venice Film Festival and was nominated for a Golden Globe and BAFTA Award. He recently completed shooting Terrence Malick.s latest and untitled film with Ryan Gosling, Rooney Mara and Natalie Portman and will shortly begin production on Jane Got A Gun also starring Natalie Portman and X-men: Days Of Future Past.

.We are honored that Michael has agreed to lend his voice to our film. He is one of the most...

This coming week offers some special offers for Austin Film Society (Afs) members with discounts to special screenings. Afs Selects series is partnering with the Violet Crown Cinema to present Smashed with a $2 discount on tickets purchased by phone or at the box office during the run of the selection excluding the first show of the day. Find out more about this film later in this article.

To kick off the opening weekend of the inaugural United States Grand Prix in Austin, Afs members can enjoy $5 off the $15 regular ticket price for a sneak peek screening at The Paramount on Thursday, November 15, of a new documentary, 1, featuring interviews with Formula One icons including Mario Andretti, Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton. Using rare archive footage, 1 features the drivers who raced during the dangerous era in the from the 1960s into the 1970s, and fought to improve safety standards for their sport.

Indycar and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway have announced a first-of-its-kind movie-themed collaboration with DreamWorks Animation for the Company’s upcoming animated feature film Turbo, which is scheduled to be released on July 19, 2013.

DreamWorks Animation’s Turbo is the story of an ordinary garden snail with an impossible dream: to win the Indy 500. When a freak accident gives him extraordinary speed, Turbo sets out to try to make his impossible dream come true. Ryan Reynolds will lead an all-star cast including Paul Giamatti, Michael Pena, Luis Guzman, Bill Hader, Richard Jenkins, Ken Jeong, Michelle Rodriguez, Maya Rudolph, Ben Schwartz, Kurtwood Smith, Snoop Dogg and Samuel L. Jackson.

“The Indianapolis 500 is a one-of-a-kind live event that has fascinated people of all ages for many, many years and Turbo is a character whose biggest ambition is to add his name to its list of international champions,” commented Jeffrey Katzenberg, Chief Executive Officer of DreamWorks Animation.

Dreamworks Animation have just announced a collaboration with Indycar for a feature length animation set for release next year called Turbo.

Following their great success with the Shrek films, and its recent spin-off Puss in Boots, the Kung-Fu Panda films and the sublime How to Train Your Dragon the studio are looking to the racetrack for their next film which is summed up neatly as thus,

[T]he story of an ordinary garden snail with an impossible dream: to win the Indy 500. When a freak accident gives him extraordinary speed, Turbo sets out to try to make his impossible dream come true.

Comparisons to Pixar’s Cars will no doubt follow from this announcement but Dwa have a decent line in original content and there’s sure to be a whole host of talent eager to lend voices to this production, not to mention a ton of merchandise. The film already...

According to reports, actor Alex Pettyfer ("Beastly"), will play race car driver James Hunt in the DreamWorks adaptation of author Tom Rubython's "Shunt: The Story of James Hunt."

"...James Hunt is remembered more for his girlfriends and wild personal exploits than for his skills in a race car. But the excesses of his glamorous life cannot hide the fact that he was, in many people’s opinion, the fastest driver on the Formula One circuits in the 1970's.

"In an era dominated by the likes of Emerson Fittipaldi, Niki Lauda and Ronnie Peterson, Hunt stood out in terms of raw speed.

"This is the story of a man who started his racing career penniless, earned millions in a lifetime of success, but, in an astonishing twist of fate at the end of his life, died exactly as he had begun – penniless..."

Click the images to enlarge...

Alex Pettyfer, star of the upcoming I Am Number Four , Beastly and Now , is attached to play race car driver James Hunt in DreamWorks Pictures' adaptation of Tom Rubython's book, "Shunt: The Story of James Hunt." The book is described as follows: James Hunt is remembered more for his girlfriends and wild personal exploits than for his skills in a race car. But the excesses of his glamorous life cannot hide the fact that he was, in many people.s opinion, the fastest driver on the Formula One circuits in the 1970s. In an era dominated by the likes of Emerson Fittipaldi, Niki Lauda and Ronnie Peterson, Hunt stood out in terms of raw speed and his seemingly effortless ability to plant a Formula One car on pole position. In this full and comprehensive account of the...