Earlier this year, rumours began to rev up about Guy Ritchie being approached to direct a remake of ‘80s car race action comedy The Cannonball Run. Nothing has been heard of the idea for months, but now comes word from Vulture that US car company General Motors is considering throwing some cash at the idea, looking to invest in the film while flooding it with their product.
No deal has been done yet, and things are still at the discussion stage, but you can see why the company might want to get involved – in exchange for real funds, they would get essentially a two-hour advert for their vehicles along the lines of Transformers, but without all that pesky robot nonsense to get in the way.
Ritchie is not formally attached yet either, but he’s apparently interested and at the head of the line, with a plan to set the film at least partially in Europe and with his old Snatch mucker Brad Pitt in the starring role.
And there apparently even competition for the opportunity to make the movie, with Real Steel’s Shawn Levy also throwing his driving gloves into the ring, pitching the idea that Ben Stiller could star. Chances are, though, that his busy schedule might keep Levy out of contention.
While we’re not exactly sure cinema truly needs yet another remake, let alone one of The Cannonball Run, if the money’s there, you can bet Warner Bros. would stamp on the accelator for the idea.