Adam Driver, Michael Mann, and the cast of Ferrari are gearing up for their world premiere Thursday night at the Venice Film Festival. Ferrari is one of the few films to receive a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement, meaning Driver and his costars can promote the film during the strikes. At Ferrari’s press conference in Venice, Driver expressed his support for the strikes while calling out huge studios like Netflix and Amazon for failing to meet the needs of the actors and writers.
Driver said (via Hollywood Reporter), “Why is it that a smaller distribution company like Neon or STX International can meet the dream demands of what SAG is asking for in this pre-negotiation but a big company like Netflix and Amazon can’t?
“Every time people from SAG go and support a movie that has agreed to these terms — the interim agreement — it just makes it more obvious that these people are willing to support the people that they collaborate with, and the others are not,” Driver continued. “So when this opportunity came up, it seemed like — understanding the interim agreement — a no-brainer for all of these reasons of why you want to support your union.”
Mann also expressed his support, saying, “Individually and collectively we all stand in total solidarity with SAG and the writers guild strike as well.”
What to Expect in Ferrari?
Driver stars as Enzo Ferrari, the Italian race car driver and founder of the car manufacturer featuring his iconic last name. Based on the 1991 biography by Brock Yates, the film takes place during the summer of 1957, with Ferrari on the verge of bankruptcy. Despite complications in his personal life, Ferrari risks it all to save his company as his team prepares for the Mille Miglia race across Italy.
Besides Driver, Ferrari’s cast includes Penélope Cruz, Shailene Woodley, Gabriel Leone, Sarah Gadon, Jack O’Connell, and Patrick Dempsey.
Ferrari is directed by Mann and written by Troy Kennedy Martin. Neon and STXinternational will distribute the film. After its premiere in Venice and airing at the New York Film Festival, Ferrari is scheduled to be released on December 25, 2023.
