LOS ANGELES, Oct 17 — The two actors are joining forces to produce Driven, a TV series chronicling the rivalry between car makers Henry Ford II and Enzo Ferrari in the 1960s. The news was announced by IM Global Television at Mipcom, the global market for entertainment content that recently opened in Cannes, France.
Hollywood loves getting its teeth into stories of jealousy between celebrity rivals. After the Feud anthology on FX — with a first season exploring the rivalry between actresses Bette Davis and Joan Crawford — a new 10-episode series will explore the competitive relationship between the two car makers Enzo Ferrari and Henry Ford II.
The two men had diametrically opposed visions of the car industry, with the Italian making high-end luxury vehicles for the elites and the American heading an empire based on mass-produced cars for one and all. The two nevertheless had one thing in common: their competitive nature. When Enzo Ferrari turned down a buyout offer from his rival as negotiations reached advanced stages, the Ford heir decided to get even on the racecourse, launching a bid to topple the Italian manufacturer at Le Mans.
This story that shaped the motor racing world will be written by Zak Schwartz (Taken, Person of Interest) and produced by Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones) and Channing Tatum (Kingsman: The Golden Circle) via their respective companies, Estuary Films and Free Association. As yet, it’s not clear whether the two actors will star in the series.
Peter Dinklage, known for playing Tyrion Lannister in HBO’s hit fantasy series, is also on board to develop Quasimodo, a series about the character from The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. Like in the Victor Hugo novel, the story is set in 15th-century Paris. Again, the announcement made at Mipcom in Cannes doesn’t specify whether Peter Dinklage will also star in the series.
The show is one of several new projects from Atrium TV, a new association of international streaming and telecommunication platforms, such as France’s Orange, Deutsche Telekom in Germany. — AFP-Relaxnews
