While the dominance of anthology films in the world of superheroes remains undisputed, Hollywood is finding a way to monetize another staple of popular culture: video games.
It made another $1.36 billion from “Super Mario Brothers” and now comes the live-action film “Gran Turismo” (in theaters now) capitalizing on the popularity of the Sony PlayStation car racing simulator.
While the first one was purely cartoonish fiction, “Gran Turismo” is backed by a true story. But as with most movies, liberties were taken in this one.
Here’s a breakdown of fact and fiction with the help of “Gran Turismo” star Archie Madekwe and the man who plays him, the famous video game player turned professional race car driver Jan Mardenborough.
Did Nissan and Sony really sponsor a competition to see if a talented video gamer could race a sports car?
In 2008, Nissan Europe marketing manager Darren Cox (a character named Danny Moore, played by Orlando Bloom) founded the Nissan GT Academy with Sony. The idea was to capitalize on the growing popularity of the racing simulator, where young gamers would soon become the next generation of car buyers.
“I thought, ‘Oh my God, let me try this,'” says Mardenborough, 31. “I dropped out of college because it didn’t involve driving a race car and I was working in a department store, which was annoying for me. ” . So it happened at the right place at the right time.
Did Jan Mardenborough win his first Nissan GT Challenge?
British-born Mardenborough won the third edition of the GT Academy in 2011, becoming the youngest champion at just 19 years old. The winner of the first Nissan GT Challenge was Spaniard Lucas Ordoñez, who competed successfully for several years.
Archie Madekwe plays Jean Mardenborough, a real-life British racing car driver who was discovered to be great at car video games. “Gran Turismo.”
Mardenborough says the biggest shock of winning was adjusting to the violent world of racing. “I had a youth experience, I didn’t understand politics and I didn’t know anything about self-protection,” she says. “But it was easy to leave home to do something that gave me happiness.”
Did Jan Mardenborough really finish third at Le Mans?
In 2013, Mardenborough and two other Nissan racers finished third in the LMP2 class at the famous 24 Hours in France, marking a high point in the “Gran Turismo” theme.
The actual team consists of Mardenboro. In the opening Gran Turismo Winner Ordoñez; in addition to the master Michael Crum, who does not come from the world of video games.
But to make the movie more dramatic, the writers have ensured that the three Le Mans winners are made up of Mardenborough and two fictional runners-up.
Victory is still on the horizon. “To date, this is the only (Le Mans) trophy in my room,” says Mardenborough, who today mostly races in Japan. “But this is for third place. I feel like there’s still unfinished business there. I would still love to win.”
Was Jan Mardenborough Almost Killed in a Plane Crash in Germany?
In 2015, a Nissan GT3 sports car driven by Mardenborough took off and left Germany’s notoriously challenging and deadly Nürburgring. A spectator lost his life and the driver was hospitalized.
Drivers lap the track at Le Mans in the night racing scene “Gran Turismo”. The movie is about the triumph of a young British driver caught between a group of video game players.
“Because everything is real and someone dies, we made sure that every detail of the movie is very close to reality,” says Mardenborough. “It was a big turning point in my career where it could have all ended, but it didn’t.”
Did Archie Madekwe drive the stunt car himself in ‘Gran Turismo’?
Mardenborough was called in to do the movie’s racing scenes, which he said “opened the door to filmmaking for me and that was exciting.”
Madikwe had recently gotten his driver’s license and taken a crash course in driving on the track with a professional. “This is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done and to be honest, I often threw up in the middle of shooting some of these scenes, the g-forces really taxed my body,” says the 28-year-old actor. “But doing it made me appreciate what the drivers do. One mistake and things can really go wrong. There is no reset button.”
Was Jean Mardenborough’s father really a soccer player?
He is the son of Steve Mardenborough, an English footballer who played for various clubs. Gran Turismo summarizes the often tense relationship between Jean and his father (played by Djimon Hounsou) in some of its most powerful scenes.
Mardenborough says the tension is not simulated. When he announced to his father and football-mad brother that he was applying to GT Academy, “Dad laughed and they both kept watching. My mom thought it was great. “
Why does the actress playing Jean’s mom look familiar?
Leslie Mardenborough plays Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, who fans of Netflix’s Formula 1 racing documentary series ‘Drive to Survive’ will recognize.
Halliwell has a real connection to motorsport. She is married to Christian Horner, one of the stars of the series and manager of Red Bull, the now dominant Formula One team. She and Halliwell appear frequently in the series, both on the track and at their home in the English countryside.
What cars do Jan Mardenborough and Archie Madekwe drive in real life?
In “Gran Turismo,” Orlando Bloom plays a character based on the true story of a marketing executive who creates a competition to find the best car driver in a video game and then sees if the winner can compete in real racing cars.
In the 1990s, Mardenborough finds his dream car, a blue 1995 Ferrari 456 GT with cream-colored leather that he is finally able to afford to buy, very valuable. It’s a two-door car, but it’s rare for a Ferrari to have two rear seats. “I like to joke that one day, when I have a wife and family, I can say to them, ‘Look, this works for all of us.’ And he says, ‘There’s no need to sell it.”
Madikwe is still shopping for his first car. As much as he loves the Nissan GT-R, the pivotal “Gran Turismo” scene finds him and crew chief Jack Salter (a vehicular character played by David Harbor) returning to the Nurburgring in an exotic Porsche 911 GT3 RS. “When I got in that car, I thought, ‘Okay, now I get it,'” says Madikwe. “That car made me a car fan.”
What do we know about Jan Mardenborough’s love life? Who is Mardenborough’s wife?
While his professional life is public, his personal and romantic life remains a mystery. This article attempts to uncover some of the less researched aspects of his love story.
In 2023, Jann Mardenborough has maintained a surprising level of secrecy when it comes to his private life. When you look at the news, however, there are constant rumors and inquiries about his alleged relationship with Sophie Hulme. If you carefully examine Mardenborough’s Instagram profile, you can see that there is no evidence to support the relationship.
The reason why it surprises us that Mardenborough is so protective of his relationship life is that all celebrities are known for their social relationships more than their work, but in fact, protecting privacy is a very delicate idea. Nevertheless, when we find any clues about Mardenborough’s girlfriend or wife, we will no doubt share them with his fans…
