Eric Bana to Write, Co-Direct and Star in Biopic About

Eric Bana’s Pick Up Truck Pictures and Robert Connolly’s Arenamedia have secured rights to the story of Mike “The Bike” Hailwood, the businesses introduced on Tuesday. Bana will write the script and star in addition to co-direct alongside Connolly.

Considered one of many biggest bike racers of all time, amongst different accomplishments, Hailwood received the troublesome Isle of Man island mountain course 12 occasions. He retired from mainstream bike racing on the peak of his profession in 1967, and over the following decade he switched to skilled automotive racing.

But in 1978 he got here out of retirement, securing one of the celebrated comebacks in bike racing historical past, successful an important race on the Isle of Man in a newly-introduced bike class. He retired for good in 1979 and went into automobile gross sales; he died tragically in 1981 whereas driving together with his youngsters, when a truck made an unlawful flip and crashed into his automotive. His daughter additionally died within the crash.

The characteristic movie will inform the story of his comeback, because the nine-time world champion bike racer returned to the infamous Isle of Man TT after an 11 12 months hiatus, racing a Ducati. Run on public roads on the British Island, The Isle of Man is understood to be essentially the most harmful Motorsport occasion on the planet, with 151 fatalities since its inception in 1907.

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“We are absolutely thrilled that Eric Bana and Robert Connolly have taken Mike’s story to adapt into a feature film about his historic ‘comeback’ race win,” mentioned Hailwood’s widow Pauline Hailwood and their son David in a press release to TheWrap. “We are delighted that Mike will be depicted by Eric Bana, an actor with an immense passion and knowledge of Motorsports, Mike’s career, and a rider himself.”

Connolly and Bana have just lately accomplished the characteristic movie “The Dry,” based mostly on Jane Harper’s worldwide greatest vendor, produced by Bruna Papandrea’s Made up Stories. Bana stars within the movie, with Bana and Connolly additionally producing.

Bana’s directing debut “love The Beast” premiered on the TriBeCa Film competition in 2009, with Connolly’s credit together with “Balibo” starring Oscar Isaac and “Paper Planes.” The pair additionally collaborated on the Australian characteristic “Romulus My Father.”

Bana is represented by WME and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern. Connolly is represented by UTA and Untitled Entertainment.