Other Titles • Driven (2001) • Champs (2000) • Formula One (1999) • Into Thin Air (2000) • Ruutulippu (2001) • À toute vitesse (2001)
Synopses for Driven (2001)
1.
Motorsport movies have a lousy track record, so it's not surprising that Driven joins the ranks of previous race-car clunkers like Grand Prix, Le Mans, Bobby Deerfield, and Days of Thunder. To varying degrees, all of these films offer spectacular racing footage (especially Le Mans), but what is surprising is that Driven was written by its star and coproducer Sylvester Stallone, who shows virtually no sign of the talent that created Rocky over a quarter-century earlier. Under the tepid direction of Renny Harlin, this superficial speedfest fulfills its primary obligation--the racing sequences are adequately exciting, despite the Cuisinart editing and a glaring lack of kinetic continuity. But whenever this adrenaline-pumped drama gets off the track, well... let's just say it's a hybrid of Top Gun and Days of Thunder, but makes those Tom Cruise vehicles look masterful by comparison.
Stallone's a retired Grand Prix champion, called back into action by his disabled crew chief (Burt Reynolds) to boost the career of a hotshot driver (Kip Pardue, the pretty-boy from Remember the Titans) who's trailing a German ace (charismatic Til Schweiger) in the current 20-race season. The female contingent consists of a reporter (Stacy Edwards, too talented for this tripe) who's writing about "male domination in sports"; Stallone's embittered, remarried ex-wife (Gina Gershon, parodying her bitchy persona); and the requisite kewpie doll (Estella Warren) who comes between Boy Wonder and the reigning champ. It's airhead melodrama all the way, so you'd better enjoy the breakneck racing scenes--including a ludicrous prototype-racer joyride through downtown Chicago--or you'll blow a piston on your straightaway sprint to the bad-movie finish line. --Jeff Shannon
2.
For years Joe Tanto (SYLVESTER STALLONE) has tried to forget -- forget his mistakes, the blown opportunities, the wasted potential, not to mention the accident on the track that almost killed him and another racecar driver. But each day the pain and scars remind Joe of the once-promising racing career he threw away. When owner Carl Henry (BURT REYNOLDS) asks him if he wants his old job back, Joe jumps at the rare opportunity for a second chance.
There’s only one catch: he has to help the rookie sensation Jimmy Bly (KIP PARDUE), who is falling from the top rankings. It’s Joe’s one chance to get back on the track … but in the name of someone else’s victory.
International box-office star and Academy Award nominee Sylvester Stallone ("Get Carter," "Rocky") wrote, produces and stars in Franchise Pictures’ Driven, which reunites him with director RENNY HARLIN, with whom he made the blockbuster action thriller, "Cliffhanger." Harlin, who has helmed some of the most dynamic action films of all time, including "Deep Blue Sea" and "Die Hard 2: Die Harder," also produces.
In addition to Stallone and film legend Burt Reynolds (Academy Award nominee for "Boogie Nights"), Driven also stars Gina Gershon ("The Insider," "Bound"), Kip Pardue ("Remember the Titans"), Robert Sean Leonard ("The Last Days of Disco"), Stacy Edwards ("In the Company of Men"), Estella Warren (Tim Burton’s upcoming "The Visitor"), Til Schweiger ("Judas Kiss"), Cristian de la Fuente (the CBS drama "Family Law") and Brent Briscoe ("A Simple Plan").
Currently in production in Montreal, Driven is the ultimate E-ticket ride: a racing movie that uses state-of-the-art film technology to simulate the driver’s point of view in excess of 200 miles-per-hour. "Driven is not just about guys driving fast," says director/producer Harlin.
For Stallone, the film, which focuses on the lives of four drivers, is also a highly personal exploration of regret, success, fame and the redemptive power of love. "Driving and racing are great symbols for many things," Stallone says. "When you think about it, each one of us engages in one type of a race or another in our lives. "
The film, which completed filming in Toronto and Chicago before moving to Montreal, is produced by Franchise Pictures’ ELIE SAMAHA ("The Art of War," "Get Carter," "The Whole Nine Yards"), along with Stallone and Harlin. Andrew Stevens ("Get Carter," "The Whole Nine Yards"), Don Carmody ("Get Carter," "The Whole Nine Yards") and Kevin King ("Get Carter," "CopLand") are the executive producers. Driven is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.
3.
Talented but unfocused rookie Jimmy Bly (KIP PARDUE) is slipping in the rankings, cracking under pressure from his ambitious promoter brother (ROBERT SEAN LEONARD). And it doesn't help that Bly is pursuing an affair with Sophia (ESTELLA WARREN), the girlfriend of his nemesis, top racer Beau Brandenburg (TIL SCHWEIGER).
With so much riding on Bly, seasoned car owner Carl Henry (BURT REYNOLDS) seeks help from former racing star Joe Tanto (SYLVESTER STALLONE), whose once-promising career spun out after a tragic accident that nearly killed him and another driver. But to steer Bly to the top, Tanto must navigate his scarred emotional past, maneuver around the hovering presence of a reporter (STACY EDWARDS) covering the male-dominated racing scene, and contend with Cathy (GINA GERSHON), his ex-wife, who has since married rival racing sensation Memo Moreno (CRISTIAN DE LA FUENTE).
Caught between success, failure, regret and the need for speed, the four competitors are driven to put the pedal to the metal in pursuit of redemption and glory.
Welcome to the human race.
4.
The on-track excitement and off-track romantic pursuits of race-car drivers form the revved-up heart of Driven, starring and written by Sylvester Stallone.
He plays a talented veteran driver who confronts the lost potential of his past when called out of retirement to mentor a talented but unfocused rookie contender (Kip Pardue), whose destructive behavior pursuing the girlfriend (Estella Warren) of his primary racing rival (Til Schweiger). Stallone's Cliffhanger collaborator Renny Harlin directs, shooting many scenes at CART races around the world using state-of-the-art technology to give viewers a strapped-in simulation of the driver's point of view. Start your engines!
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