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“The closer you are to death, the more alive you feel. It's a wonderful way to live. It's the only way to drive.”
Racing Against Reality: Ron Howard's High-Speed Drama
Ron Howard's Rush (2013) dramatizes the intense 1976 Formula One rivalry between James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl). The film garnered attention for its stylized portrayal of the racing world, though Howard's approach to the true story sparked debate about historical accuracy versus cinematic entertainment. Join us—Pete Wright and Andy Nelson—as we continue the Car Racing series with a conversation about Rush (2013).
The Racing vs. The Reality
Pete and Andy explore how Howard's direction prioritizes dramatic tension over historical authenticity, particularly in the portrayal of Hunt and Lauda's relationship. Pete, an F1 enthusiast, notes that the film's decision to amplify their rivalry undermines the fascinating complexity of their actual collegial off-track relationship. Andy appreciates the performances but questions the narrative's divided focus between the two drivers.
Technical Execution and Storytelling
The hosts debate Howard's racing sequences, with Pete finding them overly stylized and "Michael Bay-esque," while Andy acknowledges their effectiveness for general audiences unfamiliar with F1. They discuss how the film's voice-over narration and character development choices impact the overall storytelling.
Key Discussion Points
  • The film's unclear protagonist focus, splitting attention between Hunt and Lauda
  • Daniel Brühl's acclaimed performance and physical transformation
  • The film's handling of the racing team dynamics and season structure
  • Howard's visualization of the sport compared to earlier racing films
  • The relationship portrayals, including Olivia Wilde as Suzy Miller and Alexandra Maria Lara as Marlene Lauda
  • The balance between racing sequences and character development
  • The simplification of F1's complex point system and team strategies
  • The impact of Howard's stylistic choices on the film's authenticity
Final Thoughts
While both hosts appreciate elements of Rush, particularly Brühl's performance, they agree the film sacrifices some of the most interesting aspects of the true story in favor of more conventional dramatic beats. The conversation highlights how the film serves better as general entertainment than as a faithful portrayal of F1 racing history.
We have a great time talking about it, so check it out then tune in. The Next Reel—when the movie ends, our conversation begins!
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Creators and Guests

Host
Andy Nelson
With over 25 years of experience in film, television, and commercial production, Andy has cultivated an enduring passion for storytelling in all its forms. His enthusiasm for the craft began in his youth when he and his friends started making their own movies in grade school. After studying film at the University of Colorado Boulder, Andy wrote, directed, and produced several short films while also producing indie features like Netherbeast Incorporated and Ambush at Dark Canyon. Andy has been on the production team for award-winning documentaries such as The Imposter and The Joe Show, as well as TV shows like Investigation Discovery’s Deadly Dentists and Nat Geo’s Inside the Hunt for the Boston Bombers. Over a decade ago, he started podcasting with Pete and immediately embraced the medium. Now, as a partner at TruStory FM, Andy looks forward to more storytelling through their wide variety of shows. Throughout his career, Andy has passed on his knowledge by teaching young minds the crafts of screenwriting, producing, editing, and podcasting. Outside of work, Andy is a family man who enjoys a good martini, a cold beer, a nice cup o’ joe. And always, of course, a great movie.
Host
Pete Wright
#Movies, #ADHD, & #Podcasting • Co-founder @trustory.fm🎥 The Next Reel Family of #Film Podcasts @thenextreel.com🎙️ Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast @takecontroladhd.com📖 Co-author of Unapologetically ADHD • https://unapologeticallyadhdbook.com

What is The Next Reel Film Podcast?

A show about movies and how they connect.
We love movies. We’ve been talking about them, one movie a week, since 2011. It’s a lot of movies, that’s true, but we’re passionate about origins and performance, directors and actors, themes and genres, and so much more. So join the community, and let’s hear about your favorite movies, too.
When the movie ends, our conversation begins.

Pete Wright:

I'm Pete Wright.

Andy Nelson:

And I'm Andy Nelson.

Pete Wright:

Welcome to the next reel. When the movie ends Our conversation begins. Rush is over. That race should never have gone ahead. The closer you are to death, the more alive you feel.

Trailer:

You're James, aren't you?

Trailer:

Yes. Who's that?

Trailer:

Niki Lauda. It's just been signed by Ferrari.

Trailer:

This is a nobody. Look at the way he's driving like an old man. Right now with zero incentive, why would I drive fast? Because I'm asking you to.

Trailer:

This is an incredible battle between these two great drivers.

Trailer:

Next time, I'll have you.

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Lord Trent, you're just a party guy. That's where everybody likes you.

Trailer:

Yes. I know I'm terrible.

Trailer:

No. You're not terrible. You're just who you are at this point in your life. To be a champion, it takes more than just being quick. You have to

Trailer:

really believe it. I've been waiting for this my whole life.

Trailer:

I can beat this guy. Trust me. Be consistent. Dependable. Dependable.

Trailer:

Will he

Trailer:

put his life on the line the day that really matters?

Trailer:

Welcome to the racing grudge match of the decade. World champion Nikki Lauda, trapped in a searing inferno of 800 plus degrees.

Pete Wright:

Alright, Andy. Here we go. Talking about some real guys now.

Pete Wright:

Real guys in f one. James Hunt, Nikki Lauda, Nikki Lauda. Some of the greats in f one history, and one of them was on fire.

Andy Nelson:

Yeah. Right? Yeah. Well and this was interesting because we've seen we've seen car wrecks in the films so far that we've been talking about. Like, every film, I think, has so far featured an accident in some sort or another.

Andy Nelson:

Some more deadly than others. I I don't think we've had something really kind of hit to this point where it actually, like, explodes. They're on fire and everything. And I thought it was interesting because through the announcer's expository bit that we had in Le Mans, like, we hear them talking about how these people have to even wear fireproof underwear. Like, they're wearing, like, full fireproof suits that have to withstand, you know, 8,000 degree temperatures or whatever it is for x amount of time because of the likelihood of bursting in flames, which we see here.

Andy Nelson:

And we see how awful that situation can actually be and difficult when, you know, you've got a huge track. And how long does it take the emergency vehicle and the fire extinguishers to actually get to that point in the track where the accident is in order to put out the fire so that they can actually rescue the person.

Pete Wright:

So we've talked about some movies that, you know, you didn't care for as much some in our driving series so far.

Andy Nelson:

Le Mans, certainly not.

Pete Wright:

Yes. That was a rough one. Both of the movies that we've talked about have had, you know, had their strengths when it comes to to looking at driving. Le Mans had it was a experimental, experiential film. It was very much about the experience of being at Le Mans, driving Le Mans, and not actually speaking or having any sort of what would what do they call it?

Pete Wright:

Story. And Grand Prix is very much, sort of exemplary racing experience. And, you know, Frankenheimer doesn't care for women. Let's just leave it at that. It's not a great it's there's not a great story at the the on the other side of of the racing.

Pete Wright:

How did this one hit you? Ron Howard, modern take on racing slightly more or in terms of modern racing movie techniques, even though it's telling a a period story. What'd you think?

Andy Nelson:

Well, again, it's the first actual, like, based on a true story story. I mean, the other ones have featured real racers in real races and all of that, but this is the, you know, first one where we're actually recreating a historical period to tell a story about particular characters at a point in time. The other two also were present day of their eras, you know, '66 and '71. So here we are in 2013 telling a story that took place in 1976, and it definitely felt like a Ron Howard biopic. You know, it felt pretty safe.

Andy Nelson:

I mean, honestly, I enjoy the character work by the two actors. Like, I thought they did a great job, portraying these two characters and the rivalry and the different ways that they acted and reacted, toward each other and everything. I was a little disappointed by the actual race footage. I mean, honestly, it's a modern film. And so I think that he moves through the races, like the entire series of the f one season pretty fluidly.

Andy Nelson:

Like, you've got some great ways to kind of edit these stories together or edit these races together where you're getting little glimpses of one, and you're getting text on the screen to talk about, you know, land of one or hunt one or whatever the case may be. And you're kind of getting this sense of the scope of the entire season as opposed to like, you kind of get that in in Grand Prix a little bit where you're focused on a race, and then you go to another race, and then they talk about a race. Like, you kind of get it. But here, it's like, you actually have some modern storytelling in the way that you move through the races, and you get a I don't know. I I guess for me, I had a pretty good sense of the way that the season the way that it all worked, you know, and and maybe it's because I'd already seen Grand Prix, and I had already a sense of the how the Formula One Grand Prix system operated.

Andy Nelson:

But, so I I think that they do a pretty good job with that, but I it's hard to say that this was really designed to be a racing film where you watch for, you know, the excitement and the creativity done on the racetrack.

Pete Wright:

Yeah. I I found myself frustrated with this movie. I I agree with everything you said, which is I I think Howard does a good job of demonstrating the sport of f one. Right? The way that like you said, the way we move through a season, the way we move through different locations, how that works.

Pete Wright:

There were a couple of things that frustrated me, and I wanna start with the filmmaking part. I think because it's a modern movie, what we get is a a sort of Michael Bay approach to the flash of the cars, and it is deeply distracting for me the way he shot those cars. It was it was just sexed up distraction of motor vehicles. And I don't think it adequately conveyed the kind of sort of terror rush that comes from being in the car. I don't think it did as good a job, of even of the last two movies of demonstrating the car because it just felt too too much to Michael Bay.

Pete Wright:

And I kept thinking back to Apollo 13. Right? What was it about Apollo 13 that I think Ron Howard did very, very well as a filmmaker that was just lost in rush. I I was so distracted. It was it there was nothing in it that was that that felt grounded cinematically.

Pete Wright:

Like, there was nothing in it that felt like it was giving me a taste of reality. It was just all heightened, heightened, heightened, heightened, and, I never once felt like I was able to understand the emotional reality of where we were. I think voiceovers when you talk about a voiceover and why I hate voiceover, this movie is case example number one. I hated, hated, hated the voiceovers in this movie. I would it made they made me viscerally angry at what I was watching.

Pete Wright:

I just wanted them to shut up and show me. Shut up and show me. And that was incredibly distracting. So those element those choices are Howard choices and script choices. And they don't impact for me the performances because I do think I while I have some issues with the performances, it's not because of how these two guys delivered them.

Pete Wright:

It's because I am more aware as a fan of f one, you know, what that relationship what the relationships of the drivers are. And this movie didn't really capture, what those things were for me as a fan. So that was that was frustrating, but for a different reason. I think that both the guys did really great. And, you know, our our pre show chat for members, we talked about, you know, Insane Teeth in in film.

Pete Wright:

And what's so interesting about Daniel Bruhl, his performance as Niki Lauda is spot on. And, actually, like, if you look at Lauda in this era, like the post rec era, Daniel Brule is a spitting image of the guy. The spitting image. It's really incredible. And and so hats off to makeup that actually created that to the teeth, to the ear, the the face, everything.

Pete Wright:

I mean, I think Daniel Brule really carried it. So, you know, it's it's a hit and miss movie. And and unfortunately for me, it misses in many of the areas that are most important to me as a as a racing fan.

Andy Nelson:

Well, let's let's talk about the racing first, and then we can talk more about, like, the characters and and kind of the the rest of it. But I just think as far as the racing goes, it stood out to me that Howard was trying to find ways to do some creative work on the track. Like, there were a lot of shots that he captured that were essentially, like, extreme close ups and often, like, on the ground, like, next to blades of grass that are just next to the track. Right? Things like that, where you're looking at something extreme close-up of the world around the track, the space that the track is in.

Andy Nelson:

And you kind of see that shot of these blades of grass here as the cars go zipping past at incredibly high speeds. And that happens a number of times that I I it just made me think about, okay. What is he trying to say here? Is he trying to show us, like, give us a sense of how how it fits into the world? Like, I couldn't figure out why those particular shots were kind of so featured, you know, other than he's just trying to play with the camera and come up with unique angles.

Andy Nelson:

Like, is there more to it? Or or is it that basic of a reason to kind of shoot things that way?

Pete Wright:

I mean, to me, it felt like this was Ron Howard's MTV era. Like, what can I do to hyper saturate the lighting, to give us slow motion and extreme close ups and blades of grass, all to to make a music video? Right? That's just I'm just making a music video right now.

Andy Nelson:

Do you remember any other shots in races that stood out? And I guess to that end, as far as, like, how the races went themselves, were they easy to understand? Because I mean, I will say that's something that he did do well is, like, it was pretty easy me for me to figure out, like, the way that they put the editing of the races together as far as who's in the lead and all of that. Like, whereas Le Mans and sometimes in Grand Prix, it's like, I know there are people out there who are racing, but I can't tell who's in which car or anything. And I think that somehow they they made this one feel like, okay.

Andy Nelson:

I'm following this.

Pete Wright:

Yeah. No. I I I think it's a hit it's hit and miss with their that too. Right? I I think he does a fair job in some of the tracks.

Pete Wright:

In other tracks, he's he's doing things like like restructuring the way the track works. And

Andy Nelson:

What do what do you mean by that?

Pete Wright:

Well, the way the thing is is cut together, if you this is the thing about f one. Like, every season, you go to some of the same tracks over and over and over again. And if you watch these races every season, you, as a fan, get to sort of memorize the tracks, and you expect certain turns at certain places. And Howard just erases some of that, right, in some of the the biggest sequences in the film. So you don't actually you can't watch this and reconstruct it as if it was a real race.

Pete Wright:

That is not the case with the other two movies. I think the other two movies actually do it very well to the period where you actually can watch the thing and feel like you're at a race. It's hard to do that with Rush.

Andy Nelson:

Well, but and and I suppose this is a question about, like, how things like this work in the world of film. Because, again, we've talked about Bullet on our show, and that was like, you can't recreate the car chase in Bullet on the streets of San Francisco because the roads that he's on don't lead to the other roads that happen to be in the next shot. Like, it doesn't play out that way. And so does that matter more in the world of a car race? Because it didn't matter to me.

Andy Nelson:

I don't know these tracks for anything. And so I just had an understanding of how the race was actually going. I don't think it ever bothered me. Just like, you know, I mean, I've lived in San Francisco, and I don't really care that the the streets don't match up in those races. But I guess maybe for race fans, this might be a line that is a harder thing to cross.

Pete Wright:

Well, the the problem is as a as a race fan, you watch this movie and you think, oh, I get it. Ron Howard did not make this movie for me. That's okay. That's okay.

Andy Nelson:

Okay. Interesting.

Pete Wright:

He he made this movie for the MTV, like, lulls of making an exciting music video. That's that's fine. I can move past that. But what that also says is once we're on the track, it's you know, I I lose that sense of emotional connection to these guys in a way that is that is not it's not wholly satisfying. It it's so much more about mood than than motorsport at this at this point, this movie.

Andy Nelson:

And and that's an interesting point because it's a it's a biopic. We're watching a biographical story about a particular racing season that stands out because of this rivalry that was on display between Hunt and Lauda over the course of the season. But I wonder if I wonder if that like, what makes what matters the most in portraying a rivalry like that in the film? Is it the racing, or is it is it the material off the track? Or is it all of it?

Pete Wright:

Well, this is the this is the problem with all of these movies that we've we've talked about. When you go into the subject area and you know something about it, it can be very frustrating when that is that is dismissed for the purposes of cinema. When you don't know anything about it, it just seems great and dramatic. I would say that the the dismissing the racing parts is as important as what they did to the relationship between Hunt and Lauda, who, you know, by all reports, were collegial off the track. This was not an off track rivalry that the movie needed to amp up to make more than it was.

Pete Wright:

Right? They were intensely combative on the track, but off the track, they were like all the other drivers. And that's part of the mystery of f one to me is how these guys I think they did the same thing in Grand Prix that how these guys are able to continue to maintain a relationship off the track that is so wildly different than on the track since they're racing each other every single race. Right? It's the same people.

Pete Wright:

And I think that's part of of the magic of of f one. And I think Howard, you know, for the interests of making a a making the movie, he made a made a movie movie, and and took a lot of shortcuts.

Andy Nelson:

Well, and that's I mean, going to the story of the actual characters. I mean, I think that's something that frustrated me the most when I learned about it is how much they actually ended up fictionalizing this rivalry between these characters. And Ron Howard obviously made chose to make the movie with the script as it was. But I mean, Peter Morgan wrote the script and, I don't know, chose to amplify. Like, maybe he didn't feel that this rivalry was strong enough to actually carry the film and wanted it to actually seem bigger.

Andy Nelson:

And so seemed to use Landa's character as kind of, like, a way like, his personality as a way to force this this rivalry to be even bigger. And, I mean, maybe he was as much of a jerk as he's portrayed off the track with everybody. Like, maybe that's just kind of his character. But the fact that, like, at one point, they had shared a flat together. They were good friends.

Pete Wright:

Right. And

Andy Nelson:

as you said, it's like, all of portrayed in this film. Like, they are portrayed essentially as rivals off the track and on the track. And it just doesn't sound like that was reality. And so and I know biopics or or or, you know, any script, you're always gonna be making changes to a true life story to enhance it and to bring out different elements. And, you know, we talked about social network early on in in our show, and obviously, there were a lot of changes made to that story as far as kind of what type of person Zuckerberg was.

Andy Nelson:

You know? So, I mean, it's the writer's, you know, ability to kind of, like, craft a story that you can still kind of buy in some sense. And I don't know. I guess, I I just felt like there there had to be a better way to kind of explain that these two could still get along fine off the track, but it really was that rivalry on the track that makes this thing thrive. And so it just it just seemed so forced when I learned that that, oh, they really had to come up with all of these off the track attitudes and arguments and things to kind of, like, make a film.

Pete Wright:

Right. And here, I think you just said it. Why it's so frustrating? Because the you know, making the choice to simplify their relationship into just rivalry is a choice that actually undersells the radical complexity of their relationship as men and as competitors and as colleagues. The fact that off the track they could have this relationship that was good actually amplifies the experience post accident of how they're able to resolve the guilt and the shame that Hunt undoubtedly felt at at have being a party to this, watching his off track friend deal with such on track trauma.

Pete Wright:

I think that is a a really interesting experience. But but just making this minimizing it to the absolute base of men fight, men race, men on fire, it does a disservice to that legacy, and that's frustrating to me. I you know, was Lauda a a jerk? I people say like, there are reports that he was a jerk. I think the what what really existed was he was incredibly peculiar and and and precise and had very high expectations of everyone that worked with him and around him.

Pete Wright:

And that if if you did not understand that, it made him come off like a jerk. But, actually, he's he was demanding. He was incredibly demanding. And that was the that was the the sort of trade off. But it's not like the man never smiled.

Pete Wright:

Like, he was he he was such a a caricature of all of the things that people said about him and not really didn't really feel like who he is if you kinda dive into to more robust reporting.

Andy Nelson:

Yeah. And it's it's interesting, because I think that Brule actually gives a a nice performance of the character. Like I said, I enjoy him and Hemsworth as these two characters, and I think they they portray them in in in a way that I can buy these characters. It's just it it was kind of disappointing to learn that they kind of had to come up with this whole, you know, fake thing to kind of make it make it actually play in a cinematic way. Yeah.

Andy Nelson:

You know? And, you know, I I don't know. It's interesting because, like, Niki Lauda's still alive or was at the time that they made the film. And so perhaps they were able to get more of a perspective from him and James Hunt, you know, he died, like, I don't know, within ten ish years after the all of this happened. Like, he didn't go on too much longer after this.

Andy Nelson:

Had died at the age of 45. And so is it more Lauda's perspective than Hunt's? And I that was that goes to another problem I had with this film is I I felt like Peter Morgan putting it together couldn't figure out who he felt like the protagonist was. Is it Lauda? Is it Hunt?

Andy Nelson:

I don't feel like he knew. I feel like he had a hard time deciding. And so, you know, and it's not like any film with a rivalry, whether it's like a romantic rivalry, like, you know, I mean, that's kind of the nature of these characters is you get to know both characters, and then you see how they come together. And so it's not so it's good that we're learning so much about both of these characters, but I just kept feeling like, especially because we have, like, the voice over from Daniel Brule early in the film, and then we go over to James Hunt, and we're getting his voice over now. And I'm like, well, okay.

Andy Nelson:

Whose story? Like, who's who's our storyteller? Who are we kind of latching onto here? And I just felt like he never was quite sure. And I I think that's an issue with it that I had because it felt like in the end, it was supposed to be Lauda's story.

Andy Nelson:

It like it sound it felt like he's supposed to be our protagonist. He's the character we should be following. But then you get to award season, and they clearly didn't think so because it was a supporting actor that he was predominantly nominated for, which we'll talk about when we get to that point. But it was just weird. It's like, how like, is it only because it's Chris Hemsworth versus Daniel Brule?

Andy Nelson:

I don't know. But I just I struggled with that, and that made it harder for me to ever really connect with the characters who who are, like, the heart of the story. They're carrying this thing.

Pete Wright:

Absolutely. I think the I think that is a a central failing of the movie is its lack of commitment to to the principal character in this thing, and that's Nikki Lauda. This is the Nikki Lauda story that would have been a fantastic story with James Hunt and other drivers moving in and out of that relationship. Right? Like, this thing is about a guy who was incredibly, horrifically injured and came back.

Pete Wright:

That's what more of a hero story do we need? And, I I don't think they figured that out in time.

Andy Nelson:

And not just came back. Came back that same season, like

Pete Wright:

Yes.

Andy Nelson:

You know, like, a month later or something. Like, it's it's crazy how he was so driven. And, I mean, I I liked the way they portrayed, like, his drive partially is pushed because he's watching Hunt winning all of these other races. And so he's just like, he's kind of furious. And it's just like, I have to get back in there because I can't let this man win.

Andy Nelson:

And I liked all of that. But again, it's just because it as you said, it should feel like the Nikki Lauda story, but it doesn't always. And I think that's that makes it hard to ever feel like he's who we're following completely.

Pete Wright:

Yeah. Right. Did you did you get any sense of the actual strategy or the team makeup of these things? Like, could you tell me without looking who Lauda and Hunt were driving for? Like, what team did they represent?

Andy Nelson:

Well, yeah. Well, I knew that Hunt was driving for McLaren because they kind of make a deal about that, about as he's trying to find the team. And and Lauda's driving for Ferrari because we have that whole thing where he goes and and sits with the guys and does the little press thing where, you know so, I mean, there are a few times like that.

Pete Wright:

Yeah. Okay. Alright. That's good. I I think it's important because I think one of the grand criticisms, which I share of this movie, is that they do not give us again, because they made the choices, the economic like, narrative economy, choices of narrative economy around picking the rivalry over anything else is you don't get a sense of the team makeup and the fact that there was really some other interesting dynamics going on that season from Andretti to Tyrell to Lotus.

Pete Wright:

Like, there were some great teams, and they were really doing some interesting things in this season. And it was just all shoved aside because sometimes that strategy, it's such a part of f one. And I, you know, I I read a review this morning that was Ron Howard as an American coming into an f one story made a NASCAR movie and didn't know it. And and NASCAR and f one are very different. Very, very different.

Pete Wright:

And and that's a thing that, you know, maybe you know, maybe you don't know, but it's frustrating for fans. And I think that's why it didn't get quite the the fan nods that that other movies that treat their stories with greater sort of respect get.

Andy Nelson:

Well and you say all that and as not a racing fan, like, I don't even know what that means when you say that. Like, I'm just like, okay. NASCAR versus Rebbe. Sure. Okay.

Andy Nelson:

Yeah. Like, it's all car racing to me. I wouldn't know the difference. But I will say to your point, like, I know there are other racers. I mean, other people have lines, like, in the scene when when, Lauda's trying to get them to to not race because the track is too wet.

Andy Nelson:

Like, there are other racers who are popping up and speaking and things like that. Like, I know there are people, but, like, I don't know who any of them are. Like, I I know that they mentioned a few other racers here and there, but it's never ever the focus. And I just have to think that Howard decided, and maybe Morgan decided in his script, we have to focus on these two characters. It's all about them.

Andy Nelson:

The other characters are all part of the background of this story, and it's not as important to focus on any of them or any other rivalries or anything else because it doesn't relate to what we're trying to tell here in this rivalry between Lauda and Hunt.

Pete Wright:

Yeah. That's that's the cost of the movie we got.

Andy Nelson:

Yeah. Well, and I guess that boils down to, like, is it a is it a story depicting the racing season from 1976, or is it just a story about the rivalry between these two characters? And they chose the latter. It's not a story about the racing season of 1976. Like, we never really like, I don't think like, you mentioned those other names, like, don't think if they were actual characters ever in the film, I don't think I'd be able to tell you who they were or where they popped up.

Pete Wright:

Well, we sure got Clay Regazzoni, the other Ferrari driver. Right? We got him. I think we got we had a Jody Schechter. Jody Schechter would have been was on the podium with them whenever there were podium shots, never had a line, but was, you know, in the championship standing finished third, like, was the other guy to beat constantly and never really got a got a call out.

Pete Wright:

So

Andy Nelson:

Yeah. Because it wasn't his story. Like, he's not part of the rivalry between these two specific characters.

Pete Wright:

Two guys. But he was in reality. Right? Like, that's the thing. He was in reality.

Pete Wright:

And, and I think

Andy Nelson:

What was his name again?

Pete Wright:

Loose on Jody Schechter.

Andy Nelson:

Jody Schechter. Okay. Is it like s c h e?

Pete Wright:

It is s c h e c k t e r.

Andy Nelson:

Yeah. I mean but it's interesting because, like, the Hunt Loud Arrivalry, like, they have it has its own Wikipedia page. Schechter is also not even mentioned on that. So in the the scope of what they call the rivalry, it's just Yeah. Those two characters.

Andy Nelson:

And that's again, that's what they just chose to focus on. These two characters, no one else matters. Other than their love interests, which we do have in this film, and it's worth talking about because that was kind of a key element. I mean, we've had we've had women in the lives of all of our characters so far in the films. We have Olivia Wilde as Susie Miller, and then we have Alexander Maria Lara as Marlene Naus Lauda, who becomes Nikki's wife.

Andy Nelson:

How do those stories work for you?

Pete Wright:

No. No. No. You have to do this because I'm the one who gets angry at the racing. You're the one who has to comment on the the relationships with the women.

Andy Nelson:

I actually didn't mind it here. I I liked it. I thought that they played pretty well. I actually enjoyed the way that Niki Lauda meets Marlene and, like, the way that that relationship develops. It's a very interesting depiction when they're kind of falling in love.

Andy Nelson:

He like, the way that he spells out what the realities are like for being with a guy like him, all of that was actually, I liked that as that love story. It was really interesting. It played well. And what I love so much about it, as somebody who is so fervent about his love of the race and his his scientific knowledge about how to make things work, he actually has that moment, and this is after he's crashed and been burned and come back. He has that moment when he's racing where he it's getting wet, and he kind of has a moment where he's just like, he had there's a flash, a visual flash of her face, and we realized that he is finally realizing that he cares more about her at this particular point and wants to live.

Andy Nelson:

And so he stops and quits the race and goes off with his wife. And I thought that was actually a very interesting kind of journey for that character.

Pete Wright:

What's interesting is that that that moment, I think, represents his entire methodology, around driving and risk better than any other. Right? The fact that we had to wait so long in the movie to get it, you know, is is an interesting question. Why? But also not that interesting because, of course, it has to be the last minute decision for dramatic purposes.

Pete Wright:

But he was so pragmatic, and I think that moment was done in a way that humanized him so far beyond his otherwise, you know, robotic portrayal in the script, that I really loved it. I genuinely loved it when he dropped out of that race. I think that was the right way to to handle the filmmaking of that bit.

Andy Nelson:

Well and, yeah, it speaks to, like, this is a person who recognizes the realities of this world. And and as violent and brutal as it can be, realizes like, I've already gone through this once. I tried to get them to stop the race. They wouldn't. Here we are in the same situation.

Andy Nelson:

We shouldn't be racing. I'm gonna stop because it's dumb. We should not be out here in a potentially suicidal situation where people are going to die. Pretty interesting.

Pete Wright:

It's fascinating.

Andy Nelson:

Yeah. And then we have Olivia Wilde, who is a an interesting character. She is Nikki's wife who isn't necessarily she like, they're kind of I mean, he's a party animal. He only really wanted to marry just to say that he got married. Like, he's kind of that sort of guy and can't really settle down, and she recognizes that, and she's traveling a lot too.

Andy Nelson:

And so, of course, she ends up off with, Richard Burton, which I thought was an interesting little twist. And did you read that they actually had intended to shoot a scene where Richard Burton confronted him?

Pete Wright:

I I did not catch that bit. That's great.

Andy Nelson:

And it would have been Russell Crowe playing Richard Burton. I thought that was kind of interesting. That would have been kind of a fun scene to see.

Pete Wright:

Do you know what? Whatever you think of Russell Crowe, he could pull the Richard Burton. Like an angry drunk Richard Burton, that's Russell Crowe. We've just found it. And I just wanna correct.

Pete Wright:

I think you said Nikki. She was Nikki's wife. She was

Andy Nelson:

Jane's sorry. Yeah. Yeah. Sorry. Yeah.

Andy Nelson:

Well, if one thing we know about this series, I'm calling everyone the wrong name to cut her off.

Pete Wright:

So I I didn't care for the casting of Olivia Wilde in this part. I didn't care for it. I didn't feel any sort of natural chemistry between the two. And I think if anything, especially in the beginning of their relationship, there was chemistry. And I don't think she pulled it off, right, and with Chris.

Pete Wright:

And I am a fan of Olivia Wilde and her work. I just didn't it just didn't fit for me.

Andy Nelson:

I guess it didn't have as much of an issue because she ends up leaving the picture not too long after they've already, you know, gotten married and everything. And so it didn't end up being too much of a problem for me. It just felt like another kind of free spirit person. And she kind of says to him, like, you never really, you know, were here for getting married, and may but maybe she wasn't either. You know?

Andy Nelson:

Maybe she's just as much that free spirit who just wants to kind of, like, go out and party and explore and whatever. You know?

Pete Wright:

Right. Right.

Andy Nelson:

Any other characters? I mean, there's not really a lot. It's really just such a focus on these particular key characters. You know?

Pete Wright:

Yeah. I think the movie it's as, you know, as big as the movie purports to be. It's actually a a pretty small movie. It's a small movie in terms of of where the lens is is pointed for us, and it it's exciting. There's a lot of exciting stuff going on.

Pete Wright:

And I I think if you can let the popcorn do the talking, it's it's a good it's a good couple hours, but it's it's not a terrific racing movie.

Andy Nelson:

Well yeah. And, you know, and even as far as, like, a character film where we're kind of learning about the these two characters, I mean, it does give us a sense of the rivalry. But, again, it's kind of falsifying bits and pieces of that. And I just don't know, I don't know. In the scope of that sort of thing, I just don't find it really as as interesting or engaging.

Andy Nelson:

And maybe it really wasn't that interesting and engaging to begin with, and and they were trying to find a way to make it more interesting and engaging, and it just they didn't. And so it ends up being, okay. You know, interesting interesting to now know that there was a rivalry in this particular season, but, and awful to, you know, see what had actually happened to, to Lauda. But, you know, yeah, it just wasn't overly exciting.

Pete Wright:

I I think there's room to for continued exploration of Lauda's comeback. I think it is that month is fascinating to me. This movie, I think, got distracted by Chris Hemsworth.

Andy Nelson:

Do you so you think that they should make a Lauda film that isn't necessarily focused on the rivalry, but just really on the recovery and coming back?

Pete Wright:

Well, you know, I don't think you can tell a a Lauda story without the rivalry, but I think the movie you know, I stand by that comment. I think the movie got distracted by by the James Hunt parts, which are vastly less interesting and less compelling than the Lauda stuff. He's he's a secondary motivating character and doesn't surely doesn't deserve his own voice over. He doesn't deserve hero moments. So many hero moments in this movie, Andy.

Pete Wright:

So many hero shots of people putting on helmets and taking off helmets in silhouette. I I mean, it was just egregious hero moments.

Andy Nelson:

I mean, it was interesting to kind of, like I know it's it's through voice over at the end, but it was interesting to kind of, like, have that moment where they bump into each other again. And you get Lauda's voice over as he's talking about how that was it for Hunt. Like, Hunt won the one time as if he just needed to prove that he could do it, and then just kind of just didn't really seem to get motivated and and learning about how he actually ran out of money, fell into alcohol addiction. And that story that he talks about, that Lauda talks about how he ran into him on with a on a bicycle with a flat tire, that's where he was at that particular point. And Lauda actually gave him some money, and Hunt ended up rebuilding his life, got it back on track, and that's where that's how he ended up cleaning himself up and actually becoming a TV broadcaster.

Andy Nelson:

And I think that's really interesting. And the fact that they don't really, like, talk about any of that is kind of like surprising.

Pete Wright:

It's an important coda in their relationship. Right? But once you decide that this whole thing is antagonism between these two guys and not the collegiality between these two guys, you can't really showcase that kind of a of an element at the end because it doesn't serve the story.

Andy Nelson:

Yeah. Yeah.

Pete Wright:

I mean, he won by a single point in Japan. A single point. He was a great driver. He wasn't the greatest driver.

Andy Nelson:

Yeah. And I will say that's something I still haven't learned from any of these movies is the point system. And I don't know if it matters to me, like, as an audience, you know, to to really understand, like, how is it just one point per place in the race? Like, I I don't understand how any of that works or makes sense. And when they say that at the end, like, he ended up winning by one point, I'm like, okay.

Andy Nelson:

I don't know how that happened, but okay. One point. Like, it's just one of those things that I kind of have to shrug off because I'm just like, they were close. You know? Yeah.

Pete Wright:

They don't they don't none of the movies have really done a great job of that. And the the way the point system works is is, you know, it's not really complicated, but it is obscure because, you know, where you finish gives you a certain number of points. Anything below a certain point in the standings gets no points. So they use the term like, oh, he's in the points. Meaning, he got some points for himself and for the team, and then he's not in the points means he's usually below the top 10 and didn't get any points.

Pete Wright:

He raced for nothing. It just cost him money to race. So these guys in that top 10 places or, you know, in the '76 season, I don't know, top eight places or something, they they got points. And but it's a diff it like, for your first, you get a whole bunch of points. Second, you get fewer points.

Pete Wright:

It's not just one point for a win.

Andy Nelson:

Okay. Okay. And and then in the scope of, you know, even the Nikki Lauda story, it really isn't. Again, just proving that it really is focused on the rivalry because, like, we get a note at the end that he I think he'd go on and do more racing and win and stuff like that, but it's just like, that's not the focus. Like, anything after that exchange at the airport, like, just is kind of dismissed as voice over, not super important.

Andy Nelson:

And I mean, I will say it was nice to actually see some real footage of these guys at the end of some of those moments. So at least you could get kind of get a sense of it. But

Pete Wright:

Neat transitions too, for sure.

Andy Nelson:

Yeah. You're just not really getting a sense of the of anything that happens after this. Yeah.

Pete Wright:

Yeah. So frustrating, bombastic movie that does, I think, a disservice to the actual history. And I'm sorry for that, Ron Howard.

Andy Nelson:

Yeah. Well, I don't know if we have anything else to say, do we? Any other points? Any other thoughts? I'm good.

Andy Nelson:

Well, we will be right back. But first, our credits.

Pete Wright:

The next reel is a production of True Story FM, engineering by Andy Nelson, music by Duff Music, Ty Simon, custom melody, aureole novella, and Eli Catlin. Andy usually finds all the stats for the awards and numbers at d-numbers.com, box office mojo Com, I m b b Com, and Wikipedia.org. Find the show at truestory.fm, and if your podcast app allows ratings and reviews, please consider doing that for our show.

Andy Nelson:

There's this letterbox user. Yeah. That one. Who always seems to be one step ahead of me. All log in nineteen thirties German expressionist film like M or the Cabinet of Doctor.

Andy Nelson:

Kaligari thinking, I'm being all sophisticated, only to find out they've already reviewed it and left a bunch of insightful comments. And don't even get me started on their obscure Japanese New Wave picks like Eros and Massacre or Funeral Parade of Roses. I mean, I thought I was doing pretty well with my movie watching this year. I've already hit one thousand hours or so, and we're barely halfway through 2025. But then I made the mistake of checking their stats, and they're already at a whopping fifteen hundred hours.

Andy Nelson:

How is that even possible? Do they not sleep? And it's not just the quantity. Their reviews are always so well written and thought provoking. They've got this one review of eight and a half that has over, like, a thousand likes and hundreds of comments.

Andy Nelson:

Meanwhile, I'm over here struggling to get even a dozen likes at my most popular review. But you know what? Having this rival on Letterboxd has actually been a great motivator. Every time I see they've watched some new Iranian New Wave film or left a brilliant review, it pushes me to up my own game. I find myself seeking out more challenging and diverse films and really putting effort into crafting my reviews and engaging with the community.

Andy Nelson:

And the crazy thing is, I think they might be feeling the same way. We've started having these back and forth conversations in the comments of each other's reviews and other people's, recommending films and debating interpretations. It's like we're developing this weird sort of mutual respect even as we continue to try to one up each other. That's the magic of Letterbox, though. It has a way of connecting people through their love of film even if they start out as rivals.

Andy Nelson:

And with so many incredible movies to discover and discuss, there's always room for a little friendly competition. If you're not already on Letterbox, you're missing out on all the fun. And, hey, if you upgrade your membership to pro or patron, you get some sweet perks like no ads, personalized all time and annual stats pages, being able to filter your activity feed, and more. If you're a listener of the next reel, you can even get a 20% discount when you upgrade, whether you're new or renewing. Just use the code next reel or head over to the next reel Com / letterbox to join in on the action.

Andy Nelson:

Trust me. The movie watching journey is always a thrilling ride, but it's made even more exciting when you've got a rival to keep you on your toes. So come join the Letterbox community and find your own friendly nemesis. Who knows? Maybe you'll be the one leaving them in the dust as you blaze through your watch list and drop hot takes on the latest cinema gems.

Pete Wright:

Well, sequels and remakes, Andy. This one didn't get very far.

Andy Nelson:

No. I mean, it's fairly recent. It's not like, you know, people have seen this and said, oh my goodness. We have to make the real Nikki, Lauda story or things like that. But there is a documentary.

Andy Nelson:

If you want to get more of the real world of this situation, you can watch Hunt versus Lauda, f one's greatest racing rivals. Have you seen that?

Pete Wright:

No. I can't believe it.

Andy Nelson:

Yeah. I can't either.

Pete Wright:

I know. I don't feel good about it.

Andy Nelson:

Stop judging. Jesus. Well, I look forward to your review of it to see exactly how it stands out. If you get a better sense of their rivalry than from this film.

Pete Wright:

Yeah. It's on the watch list. Alright. How to do it award season?

Andy Nelson:

This film had six wins with 66 other nominations. Nice little six six six there. Over at the Saturn Awards, sci fi, fantasy, and horror, you know, they've definitely branched out into just genre films in general, and we certainly have that here as it was nominated for best action adventure film, but lost to Fast and Furious six. It was nominated for best editing, but lost to gravity, best makeup, but lost to prisoners, and best supporting actor. Again, this is that thing.

Andy Nelson:

Actor versus supporting actor, Daniel Bruhl. He ended up getting a lot of supporting actor nominations. And here, he lost to Ben Kingsley in Iron Man three. Over at the BAFTAs, it it did win best editing.

Pete Wright:

You didn't even stop for a last break on that to Ben Kingsley in Iron Man three? Are you kidding? I mean, it's appropriate that Howard lost to Fast and the furious because he was trying to make a fast and the furious movie and failed.

Andy Nelson:

I would say he wasn't even trying that. But yeah. I don't think he really cared that it was about cover raising. But fair. Over at the BAFTAs, it won for best editing, lost best sound to gravity.

Andy Nelson:

Again, Brule was nominated for best supporting actor, but lost to Barkhad Abdi and Captain Phillips. And it was nominated for the Alexander Corda Award for best British film, but lost to gravity. And, you know, this is that frustrating world of film financing. Gravity and Rush are both considered British films. Come on, people.

Andy Nelson:

Like, seriously, this ridiculous. At the SAG Awards, again, Daniel Bruhl nominated for best supporting actor, lost to Jared Leto in Dallas Buyers Club, and it was nominated for best action performance by a stunt ensemble, but lost to lone survivor. You know, I was trying to do a count. There were I think Daniel Bruhl ended up with 18 nominations, and more than half of those, like, 12 of them were supporting actor. And some of the other ones were like, you know, best German actor by one of the German things and and best newcomer and and some some weird things.

Andy Nelson:

But I think only three of them were best actor. And, of course, Chris Hemsworth got none.

Pete Wright:

Yeah. Well, he's doing fine.

Andy Nelson:

He's doing just fine.

Pete Wright:

Alright. How to do at the box office? Did Howard get any money?

Andy Nelson:

Yeah. He had a budget of 38,000,000 or 51,700,000.0 in today's dollars for his period formula one film. The movie opened 09/02/2013 in London, and then a limited release on five screens September 20 in The US opposite prisoners, battle of the year, the three d IMAX rerelease of the Wizard of Oz. And it would expand the following week, jumping to number three in the box office where it would stay in the top 10 for two more weeks. The movie went on to earn 26,900,000.0 domestically and 71,200,000.0 internationally for a total gross of 133,500,000.0 in today's dollars.

Andy Nelson:

That lands the film with an adjusted profit per finished minute of $665,000, making a decent profit.

Pete Wright:

Okay. I mean, it's flashy. It looks good on a big screen. Did

Andy Nelson:

you see this one in the theater when it came out?

Pete Wright:

No. No. Okay. So had

Andy Nelson:

you seen it before? Yeah. But you had seen it? Okay.

Pete Wright:

Yeah. I don't think the I don't think I was as angry the first time I saw it. I've since really gotten more into f one, and so now I realize that all of my frustrations were retroactively justified. Yeah. The voiceover, man, the moment it starts, I'm like, this is this is gonna be a long slog.

Pete Wright:

Yeah. No kidding.

Andy Nelson:

Yeah. It was very mediocre is kind of where where I landed with him. So I'm like, alright. There it is. So alright.

Andy Nelson:

Well, we will be right back for our ratings. But first, here's the trailer for next week's movie, James Mangold's twenty nineteen film, Ford v Ferrari.

Trailer:

Look out there. Out there is the perfect lap. You see it?

Trailer:

I think so. Most people can't.

Trailer:

Carroll Shelby, maybe? Leia Coke, Ford Motor. Suppose Henry Ford the second wanted to build the greatest race car the world's ever seen to win the twenty four hours of Le Mans. What's it take?

Trailer:

Well, it takes something money can't buy. Money can buy speed. What in about speed? You need a pure racer behind the wheel of your car. Ask Ken Miles.

Trailer:

I don't trust him an inch. We heard he's difficult. No. No. Ken's a puppy dog.

Trailer:

No. Whatever it is, Shell, no. Trust me. You're gonna build a car to beat Ferrari with a Ford. Correct.

Trailer:

And how long did you tell them that you need it? Two, three hundred years? Ninety days. This isn't the first time Ford Motor's gone to war. We know how to do more than push paper.

Trailer:

Go ahead, Carol. Go to war. Thank you, sir. Do you think you can beat Faron? Fuck it, Charlie.

Trailer:

We're lighter. We're faster. If that don't work, we're nastier. We're gonna make history. You ready?

Trailer:

I was born ready, mister Shelby. Hit it.

Pete Wright:

Look. Let's not kid ourselves. If you're here listening to a full podcast about Rush, a biopic about Formula One drivers from the nineteen seventies, you're already one of us. You care about the cinematography. You have opinions about Ron Howard's choices.

Pete Wright:

You maybe even know what Nurburgring means without having to look it up. So if you're already that far in, why not go all the way? Become a member of the Next Real family of film podcasts. Members get periodic bonus episodes, early access, the extra in episode content we don't release publicly, ad free versions of select shows, access to our livestream recordings, and special channels in our Discord community where we talk about everything from movies to, yes, obscure f one trivia. You'll also get your own personal podcast feed so you can listen to it all in one place like a real grown up person.

Pete Wright:

It's $5 a month or $55 a year, and it directly supports the shows you listen to here at True Story and the film podcasts of the next reel. No sponsors, no ads for meal kits we don't use, just us, making stuff for people who actually care about film. Head to TrueStory.fm/join and sign up today. You're already in the pit lane. Let's get you on the track.

Andy Nelson:

You know what? A few things that I forgot to mention about the show. They're very short. But one, new fear unlocked, having to have my lungs vacuumed. Oh.

Andy Nelson:

Good god. No. Thanks.

Pete Wright:

She's done. He when when he says, you know what the worst thing was about my recovery? Having my lungs vacuumed. And I was like, I think everyone watching could have answered that for you, Nikki. That's the most obvious thing you could say.

Andy Nelson:

Good god. That was awful. And the other thing was this is the second of our racing films that ends with them with one of them flipping the other off in a friendly way. And I'm like, is this a racing thing? Like, this is how the blips are.

Andy Nelson:

Yeah. The friendly the friendly flip.

Pete Wright:

I'm gonna start flipping you off at the end of every podcast because you just didn't make that a thing.

Andy Nelson:

Or no. I guess I guess whoever flips, the other one just has to nod and

Pete Wright:

smile. Yeah. Right. Yeah. First to flip.

Pete Wright:

First to flip. FTF. Letterbox, Andrew. That's what we're doing now. True.

Pete Wright:

The next letter what is our URL? Letterbox.com/thenextreel. That's where you'll find our HQ page. And we would love to see how you apportion your hearts and stars to this movie. Andy, where what are you gonna do?

Andy Nelson:

I mean, it's not as hard a watch for me as Le Mans was, which just really felt like it was never going to end. But it felt so generic and, like, disconnected from the characters because it was trying to make everyone our hero. I you know, I feel like this is kind of one of those, like, straight up the line sorts of, like, two and a half no heart sort of movies for me. Like, that's, I think, where I'm gonna sit with this one.

Pete Wright:

I struggle with this because it's no heart. I know that I'm not giving the movie a heart. But is it two stars and a heart, three stars and a heart? I think it's it's probably gonna land at three stars and no heart. And that three stars is mostly because of how I felt about Daniel Brule.

Pete Wright:

I think he did a fantastic job just portraying this character and and elevating, otherwise, some pretty banal content.

Andy Nelson:

I he was great. It was hard to get past his fake teeth, but he was great otherwise. Yeah. Well, that averages out to 2.75 stars over on our account on Letterboxd, which will round up to three stars and no heart. That's over on our account on Letterboxd at the next reel.

Andy Nelson:

You can find me there at Soda Creek Film. You can find Pete there at Pete Wright. So what did you think about Rush? We would love to hear your thoughts on this one. Hop into the Show Talk channel over to our Discord community where we will be talking about the movie this week.

Pete Wright:

When the movie ends.

Andy Nelson:

Our conversation begins.

Pete Wright:

Letterboxd giveth Andrew.

Andy Nelson:

As letterboxd always doeth.

Pete Wright:

Okay. Can I I'm gonna do I'm gonna read a review? I'm gonna go first, and it's gonna include words that don't make any sense to you, but it makes me smile. So I just I'll get it out of the way. And you can laugh and nod if you want just to acknowledge that I exist, but you don't have to.

Andy Nelson:

I I know that you you just found a movie written by a real race fan, so this is gonna be exciting.

Pete Wright:

This is Brie who writes five with five stars in the heart. I am going to be the most psychotic person on the planet when they make one of these about Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Andy, I'm so down with Brie. So down. That's all.

Pete Wright:

We don't need to litigate it. You just need to know I read it.

Andy Nelson:

That's the whole review?

Pete Wright:

That's it. That was the whole thing.

Andy Nelson:

Okay. I was expecting more race stuff, but

Pete Wright:

Nope.

Andy Nelson:

Still five stars and that's I I don't I don't understand that. Nope. Doesn't matter. Not against smiling.

Pete Wright:

Not and smile. That's your job. You had one job. Alright. What's yours?

Pete Wright:

I went low.

Andy Nelson:

I half star by Liana. A film about formula formula one racing that I describe as a high speed chase to boredom. If you think watching f one is thrilling, you'll love this race for the finish line of mediocrity.

Pete Wright:

Brilliant. Finish line of mediocrity, please. Thanks, letterboxed.