I LOVED the movie, “Rush.”
Starring Chris Hemsworth in a role that didn’t have a mythical hammer in it, and Daniel Bruhl, who transforms himself into an arrogant yet meticulous German F1 World Champion, Rush brings us back to the 1970s and highlights the not-so-trivial rivalry between English playboy James Hunt and Austrian machine, Nikki Lauda. Made with a relatively cheap budget of USD 38 million, a pinch versus other blockbusters with budgets roaring up to the 100s of millions, Rush was such a thrill from start to finish.
An F1 race, with all its fun, fare and glory is an expensive business. In an article that writes about the economics of Formula 1 racing here, owners of F1 teams spend billions to support the sport. You’d have to be very rich to even own a team, and it’s not unlikely that team owners come from industries outside of racing (e.g., aviation, beverages, chemicals, etc.). As they say, owning and supporting an F1 team is like throwing water into a bucket with a large hole on the bottom. It just keeps on draining away your hard-earned money.
By how much exactly?
According to FormulaMoney as cited in this article, team owners’ total bill damage can rack up to USD 1.61 billion! That’s a whole LOT of money!
But is it worth it?
It kinda is — the 20 races of Formula One are watched by more than 500 million television viewers per year. Formula One per se is only ran by around 300 people, but given its legacy spanning over 40 years, Formula One does not own its own circuits but is sponsored by a multitude of teams, each of which spend over USD 100 million per season just to compete its races globally. On-car team sponsorship for example ran up to USD 840 million according to Formula Money.
Regardless, Boyfriend and I rushed to watch this movie because of the following reasons:
- First, it would be curious to see a historical snapshot on how F1 drivers were in the 1970s.
- Two, it’s directed by Ron Howard, director of the Da Vinci Code, A Beautiful Mind, Cocoon, Apollo 13, and other spectacular movies.
- And lastly, hey, it’s F1! Need we say more?
I came away pretty impressed.
Hemsworth and Bruhl put together spectacular convincing performances (though Olivia Wilde was just there).
I was left cheering for the Austrian asshole Nikki Lauda who was a know-it-all in and out the F1 track, but arguably deserved to be there. Lauda really placed all stops to ensure he competed and won the F1 championship. No screw or detail was left untouched and his methodical discipline should be a model for us all.
Meanwhile Hemsworth, with his bad boy long hair, was also excellent was James Hunt. I couldn’t help but wonder however how many women he’s slept with in his life, how much drugs he’s snorted off his nose, and how much alcohol he’s drank. Hunt was just an anomaly who was an excellent driver and had tons to prove.
Here is the real Hunt and Lauda, both of whom were spectacularly depicted in the movie.
Anyway, movie nights are always a pleasure. It’s even more of a pleasure if you’re there with someone you love.
I cannot help but keep on poking Boyfriend to not be an asshole playboy like Hunt, and not to forget common social graces like Lauda. Actually, to be honest, if I have a son, I would love to name him Nikki in lieu of Nikki Lauda’s story.
Anyway, it’s Friday. Hope all is well with you. Have a great weekend everyone!
