Fremantle’s new documentary “Luca: Seeing Red” takes on the former Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo. But it’s not just about Ferrari.
“That was one of the conditions. First – it won’t be just about Ferrari. Second – it won’t be fiction. You don’t want to see an actor playing Kimi Räikkönen, you want to see Kimi Räikkönen. Third – it won’t be about my private life,” di Montezemolo tells Variety in Cannes.
“If you’re passionate about racing and cars, you’ll see them. You’ll see Enzo Ferrari, Michael Schumacher, Niki Lauda’s accident and his face, scarred by fire. But this film is also about Italy.”
Popular on Variety
As well as di Montezemolo’s other ventures, from the launch of yacht racing team Azzurra – “People named their daughters after it!” – to co-founding train transport company Italo and spearheading the final concert of Three Tenors.
“It was difficult to convince Pavarotti. He said: ‘Why do I have to share [the stage] with these two guys? I can do it myself’,” he laughs, recalling the event that united Pavarotti with Plácido Domingo and José Carreras.
“This movie has given me the possibility to reflect on all the things I’ve done.”
Joined by “Top Gear’s” Chris Harris, in the doc, di Montezemolo’s looking back on a long road that started in the 1970s when Enzo Ferrari hired him as an assistant.
“I was only 25 years old, but I’ve always liked to take risks and put my face up front. I won 19 Formula One championship titles, but I know how much work is behind these victories. You have to pick the right people and have clear goals, but I’ve been lucky to have art in my life, my family and my friends. Apart from maybe your health, these are the absolute priorities.”
While the film – presented to buyers at Mipcom – offers “a nice mix of archive and new material,” some of the glamour remains intact.
“Ferrari is a myth,” states di Montezemolo.
“Even Räikkönen, when he started to race for Sauber and McLaren, told me Ferrari was always his dream [he won the 2007 Formula One World Championship while driving for it]. There’s this beautiful shot of a red Ferrari in the film, in Bologna’s square called Piazza delle Sette Chiese. We are showing different Italy from that stereotypical [combo] of Florence, Venice and Rome.”
Director Manish Pandey, also behind award-winning “Senna,” notes: “For me, this film is about two things. The background is Italy, of course, but it’s about loyalty and about family. That’s the common theme in every single frame. There’s a key line right at the end: ‘Apart from my family, Ferrari is the most important thing in my life’.”
“To tell this story, you need to understand Luca and you need to understand Italy. That’s why we put him together with Chris, who sees Luca as a father figure,” he says, calling the third act of the film “essential.”
“You see him always saying ‘yes’ to the Agnellis [behind Fiat], and then they give him the impossible job. And that’s suddenly when Chris is in the film. There’s a turning point. He spends two thirds of the story listening. But in the last act, he’s absolutely a part of the drama. And it’s a difficult one: it’s a corporate assassination, happening right in front of you.”
The film was already shown in Rome and in London.
“Obviously, this is not a fictional Formula One movie with Brad Pitt. But [theatrical partner] Everyman Cinemas saw it and loved it. They put it in 30 cinemas and 18 of these screenings were completely sold out,” says Pandey. In Rome, it was shown to selected audience at the Parco della Musica Auditorium.
“I was so happy that 900 people came there for me, and not for some actor or actress. I didn’t expect it,” adds di Montezemolo. “In Rome, when people watch a film, they usually talk to each other or comment. Now, it was silent.”
