The numbers on the Wachowski Brothers' Speed Racer continue to swell with the addition of Lost's Matthew Fox. Fox is now preparing to get his anime on as Speed's mysterious rival Racer X. In the original cartoon series, which was pretty much the same thing every week, Speed battled unrelentingly for racing glory and always faced Racer X, who has a secret connection to the young driver. Fox will be required to do a lot of chin acting, since most of Racer X's face is covered with a mask. Fortunately God has been generous with Fox in the jaw department.
The film has also gained a sidekick for Speed in Australian actor Kick Gurry, whose parents really took a gamble on him being the coolest kid in the playground or having the crap kicked out of him. In fact, just the words Kick Gurry seem like handing a name for a cruel new pasttime to the notoriously evil under 11s. Gurry will play Speed's hippy assistant Sparky.
Speed Racer shoots this summer in Berlin and will be released Summer 2008.