Faster

Written and directed by Mark Neale

Narrated by Ewan McGregor

Starring Valentino Rossi, Max Biaggi, Gary McCoy, John Hopkins,

Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz, Kenny Roberts, Barry Sheene

IMDB rating 7.8

‘Often thrilling, always compelling’

- Scott Foundas, Variety

STORY

From California to Catalunya to Cannes: how and why FASTER happened.

by Mark Neale

We started filming FASTER at the Catalan grand prix in 2001 (the one that ended with Rossi and Biaggi having a punch-up). In those days filming meant using actual film. It was the only way to shoot proper slow motion back then and the results were gorgeous.

In 2002 we brought the first high-definition cameras to the races. We also used Super 8 and miniDV to create the visual mix you see on screen.

Three of our team came from the worlds of music videos and experimental film: cinematographer Grant Gee,  cameraman Jerry Chater (also editor of Hitting the Apex) and myself.  We were on a mission to make motorcycle racing as cool as possible. Helping to jack up the rock’n’roll level were cutting-edge composers tomandandy (Resident Evil, Natural Born Killers) and flat-out rockers Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Ewan McGregor’s voice didn’t do any harm either, though we had no idea at the outset that he would end up being our narrator

Having said all this, we were there to serve our subject.  FASTER is a love letter to the sport. The strengths of the film are the characters, the stories, the action and the spirit of motorcycling. But the style matters. We had to make it look, sound and feel good.

It started with a chance meeting in 1998. I met Ian MacLean in Los Angeles shortly after I’d moved there from London when I was still making music videos. Ian’s father Bob ran the Red Bull Yamaha WCM team with Peter Clifford.  What are the chances of bumping into a MotoGP team boss’s son in LA of all places? We discussed the idea of a film with Bob and Peter. They talked to Dorna Sports, who run MotoGP.  At the time Dorna was planning MotoGP’s move to America.  A film for the American market could be helpful. Luck and timing.  And - it’s a very big ‘and’ - independent financing, which Ian put together.  It took a couple of years but by 2001 we were ready to go.

The film was almost done when I finally managed to get in touch with Ewan McGregor through a friend of a friend. I sent Ewan a rough cut of the film and he called me back the next day.  The day after that we were on a flight to Birmingham,  Alabama where he was filming Big Fish.

At our recording session, Ewan mentioned that he was going to be at the Cannes Film Festival. I knew the festival was between the Spanish and French rounds of the MotoGP championship. I invited the teams and riders to Cannes. They came. We organized a MotoGP burn-up along the seafront at Cannes. It ended up on TV all over the world.  We all lived happily ever after. 

Well - not exactly. I’m leaving some things out. It was complicated. Making the film. Doing Cannes. Getting distribution deals. Everything. We almost lost our shirts. We almost lost our minds. 9/11 happened in the middle of it. None of it was easy. But I loved it, and I still love it, and I’m so glad we did it.

CANNES Burn-up at the Cannes Film Festival, May 2003