Antonio Banderas and Alec Baldwin are set to star in a Lamborghini biopic, coming from Andrea Iervolino and Monika Bacardi’s AMBI Media Group.
Banderas will star as Ferruccio Lamborghini, founder of the famous luxury car. Baldwin will play his rival Enzo Ferrari.
Academy Award nominee Michael Radford (“The Merchant of Venice,” “The Postman”) will direct the film, based on the book “Ferruccio Lamborghini. La storia ufficiale (The official story),” by the car founder’s son Tonino Lamborghini.
AMBI’S Andrea Iervolino and Monika Bacardi, who are financing and producing, optioned the book rights.
Academy Award winning writer-director-producer Bobby Moresco (“Crash,” “Million Dollar Baby,” “The Black Donnellys”) has been tapped to write the script.
Filming will take place in Italy and other locations around the world. The title is set to debut to buyers at Cannes. The working title of the project is “Lamborghini – The Legend.”
“The life and story of Ferruccio Lamborghini is potently epic in so many ways,” said Andrea Iervolino in Thursday’s announcement. “The screenplay that Bobby penned is a true masterpiece that reflects this story and now Antonio, Alec and Michael will bring it to life in a way only they can — original, sexy and universally commercial.”
Monika Bacardi added, “We can’t think of any actors better equipped to take on the roles of Ferruccio Lamborghini and Enzo Ferrari than multidimensional leading men Antonio Banderas and Alec Baldwin. This story of Lamborghini is not only about cars, corporations and remarkable careers. There is a particularly fascinating, but lesser-known private life of Lamborghini, and a beautiful love story that will be fun to see brought to life by Antonio.”
Tonino Lamborghini says his book is “the only text perfectly respectful of the real life of my father, despite of numerous legends and anecdotes written or told by other people looking for a moment of celebrity. I really believe this film can translate into images and words the great humanity of Ferruccio and transmit to the viewers worldwide my father’s personality: a man full of energy, charisma and passion.”
The film will cover Ferruccio Lamborghini’s entire life, from when he got his start making tractors to his moves into military cars during World War II and into his luxury supercar days. It will also delve into his personal life and romantic relationships. “His love of women, celebrity lifestyle, and the business of car making made for prodigious drama in Lamborghini’s life and these pursuits and experiences will be just as much a part of the movie as the cars themselves,” read the press release.
Banderas is represented by Paradigm Talent Agency. Baldwin is represented by CAA. Michael Radford is represented by Primary Wave Entertainment.