Jann Mardenborough during a photocall for the movie Gran Turismo in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.Photo:Sipa via AP Images
Sipa via AP Images
Jann Mardenboroughfelt strongly that theGran Turismomovie include his 2015 crash that killed a spectator during a race in Germany.
Gran Turismostars Archie Madekwe (Midsommar) as Mardenborough, now 31. The film traces the British athlete’s real-life path toward racing stardom, which started as he used his skills learned from theGran Turismovideo games to transfer to real-life racing at Nissan and Sony’s GT Academy.
Part of Mardenborough’s story includes a fatal 2015 accident that happened while he competed at the VLN Endurance Championship at the Nürburgring racing complex. His vehicle took flight and crashed through a fence separating the track from spectators; multiple spectators were injured and one died, according to aBBCNews report at the time.
Mardenborough toldDriving.co.ukthat he felt “it would have been a disservice for the audience” to not include a depiction of the accident.
“It’s my life. It’s part of my story,” he said. “I made sure all of us that were with the production — the producers, [screenwriter Jason Hall] — that that was how it went down. Because it needed to be correct, because somebody lost their life in this accident. And the movie does a great job of that."
Archie Madekwe in GRAN TURISMO.Gordon Timpen /Columbia Pictures / Courtesy Everett
Gordon Timpen /Columbia Pictures / Courtesy Everett
“So it had to be in there,” he said.
Gran Turismo’s narrative places the accident at a different point in Mardenborough’s career. The film portrays it as happening in Mardenborough’s first professional race after signing a contract with Nissan; in reality, the 2015 crash happened more than three years after his pro career began.
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Jann Mardenborough posing at the 2014 GP3 Series Round 5, Budapest, Hungary..Thursday 24 July 2014.Sam Bloxham/Formula Motorsport Limited via Getty
Sam Bloxham/Formula Motorsport Limited via Getty
Mardenborough recently discussed the incident during an appearance on the radio showThe Breakfast Club. He said the film’s depiction of the crash “technically [shows] exactly how it happened.”
“Once I got asked [to participate in the movie] it would have been easier just to say, ‘No, I don’t want that in there,' " he said. “But I’m doing everyone else a disservice, because if that wasn’t in there, the storyline’s very linear. It [would not be] true.”
Jann Mardenborough at the 2014 GP3 Series Round 5, Hungaroring, Budapest, Hungary, Sunday 27 July 2014.Sam Bloxham/Formula Motorsport Limited via Gett
Sam Bloxham/Formula Motorsport Limited via Gett
“It’s not easy. With the Nurburgring in particular, I’m very happy with the way it’s done,” he added onBreakfast Club. “Sony and I were aligned on that it needs to be correct because of the situation what happened. Somebody lost their life in that accident, so technically it’s exactly how it happened and also emotionally in those scenes afterwards, that’s what it was like. It’s dark.”
The athlete also recently told the U.K.‘sDaily Expressthat including the scene in the film “shows that progression in one’s life and career isn’t linear.”
“It’s never a straight line, there’s peaks and troughs,” he told the outlet. “And it’s how you deal with those that determine whether you’re destined for some greatness or not. It’s how you deal with the dark times.”
Along with Madekwe, the film’s cast includes Orlando Bloom, David Harbour, Djimon Hounsou and Geri Halliwel Horner.
Gran Turismois in theaters Friday.
source: people.com
