Gamer Levels-Up Into Real-Life Racer In 'Gran Turismo' Trailer

Are you ready for Gran Turismo?

Source: Sony Pictures

We’ve seen a million movies based on a true story but none like Gran Turismo, which tells the ultimate wish fulfillment tale of teenage gamer Jann Mardenborough whose stellar gaming skills won a series of Nissan competitions to become an actual professional race car driver.

Source: Sony Pictures

Check out the trailer below:

Directed by Neill Blomkamp, Gran Turismo stars David Harbour, Orlando Bloom, Archie Madekwe, Darren Barnet, Geri Halliwell Horner and Djimon Hounsou.

“…my first thought was, ‘Wait, how do you make a film out of a racing simulator?’ But I read the screenplay and I personally own three [Nissan] R35 GTRs–I have a personal obsession with Nissan and the whole Nismo lineage—so I was immediately intrigued as a car lover,” said Blomkamp in an interview with Playstation.Blog.

“I’ve also been very close to video games in a lot of ways throughout my career, and I had never come across something like Gran Turismo where the movie itself treats the game as a game. It’s based on a true story about Jann Mardenborough who learned to drive playing the game before driving professionally in real life, competing against other real drivers. It’s just an amazing story.

Another reason I signed on was because my stuff tends to be a lot darker and more dystopian, as you mentioned, but this movie felt, well, very inspirational. It had never crossed my mind that I would direct a movie where the audience would leave the theater feeling uplifted and inspired. This was really appealing to me.”

Gran Turismo speeds into theaters August 11.