Like a pod-race through Greendale, the Isle of Man TT race is seven shades of crazy. Every year motorcyclists hurtle around the island at mind-warping speeds trying not to crash into a post office or launch themselves off a hillside – and not always successfully. It’s cinematic to the extreme, which may be why Bleed For This' Ben Younger has settled on it for his next directorial project, an action film called Isle Of Man.
According to The Wrap, Younger will be writing and producing the race movie, as well as calling the shots. Handily, the American filmmaker is a keen motorbike enthusiast, so he should bring plenty of authenticity to the show.
If you've seen TT3D: Closer To The Edge, the gripping 2010 doc that made Guy Martin a household name (at least, in households with garages), you’ll know that this has rich potential to pin audiences back in their seats. Younger’s story will focus on an American racer who’s lured out of retirement to take a crack at the dangerous circuit.
“Isle Of Man is a muscular action film wrapped around a great character journey,” explains Bold Films' Gary Michael Walters. Adds Younger: “The TT is the last, great, dangerous race on earth and I am excited by the idea of bringing this new world to a general audience. 262 racers have lost their lives on this Island. I want to do their stories justice.”
The deal came together at the Toronto International Film Festival, with casting yet to be announced. Miles Teller, Younger’s Bleed For This star, may be one name in the shake-up.
Younger’s new film Bleed For This debuts at Empire’s gala at the BFI London Film Festival on 9 October, before its UK-wide release on 2 December.