How long does it take before a friendship between a celebrity CEO and ex-con-turned-FBI informant turns awry? Director Nick Hamm will take us on a comedic and wild ride around friendship, greed, and betrayal in “Driven,” which was the closing film of the 2018 Venice Film Festival.
Inspired by actual events, the film follows the rise of John DeLorean, automobile mogul and mastermind behind the DeLorean DMC-12 (of “Back to the Future” fame) and his friendship with Jim Hoffman, an ex-con. Hamm tells Venice that he wants to bring an entertaining and comedic “rock-n-roll adventure” through this biopic. And it’s definitely fueled by actors with some action and comedic roots with Lee Pace (“Guardians of the Galaxy”), who plays DeLorean and Jason Sudeikis (“Colossal,” “Horrible Bosses” ), who plays Hoffman.
READ MORE: ‘Driven’ With Jason Sudeikis And Lee Pace Stalls, Crashes & Burns [Review]
Hamm, who has had a pretty eclectic run of working on romantic comedies, documentaries, and dramas, isn’t new to working with rivalry-inspired biographical stories. He directed the drama “The Journey” that focused on real-life political enemies, Ian Paisley, and Martin McGuinness. With “Driven,” he works with a similar narrative, but this time a comedic and venturous one, on a complex and toxic friendship between two people from different walks of life.
Having had quite the superhero and fantasy streak lately with roles in ‘Guardians,’ “The Hobbit” series, and in the recent “Captain Marvel,” Pace will be playing his first biopic role since “Lincoln.” Sudeikis has been involved in many comedic projects and smaller TV gems like “Portlandia” and “Eastbound & Down.” It’s definitely intriguing to see what kind of chemistry these two will bring.
Starring alongside the duo is Corey Stoll (“House of Cards“) as FBI agent Benedict Tissa, Judy Greer (“Ant-Man“) as Hoffman’s wife Ellen, and Isabel Arraiza (“The Oath“) as DeLorean’s wife, Christina.
Here is the full synopsis:
1974. Jim Hoffman is your average family man – hard-working pilot, father, doting husband. Oh, he’s also a drug trafficker. And when Jim is caught smuggling cocaine, FBI agent Tisa sees an opportunity to entrap his elusive supplier. Jim’s informant duties are side-tracked when he befriends his neighbor, motoring designer John DeLorean. Bedazzled by DeLorean, Jim finds himself in the inner circle at the launch of a car that promises to revolutionize the motor industry. But when DeLorean’s dream runs out of fuel, and Tisa’s nowhere near getting his guy, Jim is caught between two desperate men willing to do anything to succeed.
