Famed British directors Ridley and Tony Scott- the men responsible for movie hits such as Blade Runner, Gladiator and Top Gun – have put their weight behind a TV series project set in the world of motor racing of the fifties and sixties, with a focus on Le Mans.
The brothers’ Scott Free Inc organisation will join forces with production companies Headline Pictures and Sennet Entertainment in creating The Drivers, with funding from Freemantle Media Enterprises.
The series is based on the book, Shelby: The Man, The Cars, the Legend written by Cobra/GT40 expert Wallace A Wyss, and according to FME “…tells the true story of wild young drivers from the US, Germany, France, Italy and Britain, friends and rivals, amateurs risking everything for a shot on the tracks.” Sounds good!
The Scott brothers have already produced successful TV series such as cop show Numb3rs, and The Good Wife. Tony Scott has had a crack at motor sport before, with the critically panned 1990 Days of Thunder Tom Cruise movie.
Series such as Mad Men have demonstrated that there’s an appetite for period TV drama.
“I grew up in the North of England at a time when Stirling Moss was a hero,” said Ridley Scott. “Everyone wanted to be a racing driver. This is a hugely ambitious project and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to tell the story of these iconic and legendary men who risked everything to win at Le Mans. It’s an epic story of courage and ambition and a history of racing which has never been told on such a grand scale.”
David Ellender of FME said: “Having Ridley and Tony on board brings something really special to the project. They are indisputably two of the best filmmakers in the world today and their involvement raises the bar on this project to a much higher level of storytelling and production. Their vast international success combined with their British background puts them in a unique position to understand characters and stories from both sides of the Atlantic.”
No more details are forthcoming, but one presumes there will be lots of money to be made by owners of period race cars who are willing to loan them out…
Adam Cooper F1 
I would like to be first in line to pick up a copy of that. No pushing! I’m first.
Holy awesome!