Whoever said there was no “I” in “team” clearly wasn’t into racing, where teams are often inexorably intertwined with the identities of the men who founded them. That goes double for McLaren, whose namesake founder is getting the full feature film treatment in a new movie coming to theaters this year.
Previewed in this trailer clip, McLaren tells the story of the Kiwi racing driver, constructor, and team principal who started the racing empire that still bears his name.
The documentary apparently employs a mix of archival footage and interviews to tell the story, not unlike Asif Kapadia’s Senna, rather than dramatic recreation like Ron Howard’s Rush – both of which also put the McLaren team on the silver screen.
An apparent New Zealand production through and through, McLaren is directed by Roger Donaldson – whose past work includes The World’s Fastest Indian, another film about a speed-obsessed New Zealander. Among the producers are Matthew Metcalfe and Fraser Brown, who are currently collaborating on the production of Wayne, a movie about Australian championship motorcycle racer Wayne Gardner.
Brown’s production company FB Pictures, according to his IMDB profile, “specialises in high-end feature film and branded content for a global audience.” So we wouldn’t be surprised to find out that the McLaren Group was bankrolling the film’s production, but particularly with Universal Pictures on board, it look any less compelling as a result. We’ll look forward to seeing the completed film when it’s ready, though.