Ford v Ferrari snagged a Best Picture nomination at the 2020 Oscars
Could this be the jolt that car movies have been looking for to be taken seriously?
Late last year, a little car movie came out that attempted to tell the story of how Ford took on Ferrari at Le Mans -- it was called Ford v Ferrari, btw -- and unlike almost every car movie to come before it, it was good.
In fact, it was so good (as an actual movie and not just two hours of pandering to nerds like me) that it managed to grab itself an honest-to-gosh Oscar nomination for Best Picture. Just think about that.
That's a big deal. Sure, car movies have been nominated and even won Oscars in the past, but never in the top category. I mean, Bullitt -- a reasonably bad film with a great car chase -- won one for best editing. James Garner's Grand Prix won three, but again for things like best editing, best sound and best sound effects. Note that none of these have anything to do with the quality of the plot or the acting.
In case you missed out on all the hype surrounding the film, Ford v Ferrari tells the story of Carroll Shelby, Ken Miles and Henry Ford II and their attempt to beat Ferrari at its own game after being slighted by company founder Enzo Ferrari during Ford's attempt to purchase the company.
The film focuses on the relationship between Shelby and Miles -- something which is truly exciting, as Ken Miles has always been one of the most underrated racing drivers in history -- and does it in a way that not only appeals to car nerds and race fans but regular moviegoers, too.
It's a long shot, but maybe the success of Ford v Ferrari will spur the industry into creating more movies like it, sort of like what happened with comic book movies after the Avengers was so successful. Fingers crossed.
