Eric Stoltz to direct 'Racing Patriots' and French
star Samuel Le Bihan will star in Nazi-era motion picture.
LOS ANGELES, CA (April 26, 2010) –
Producers and brothers Dana MacDuff and Brandon MacDuff’s Oakdale Pictures,
Producer Patrice Bonneyrat’s Durendal Media Pictures, Inc., Producer Laurent
Tolleron’s Cartel Productions (Paris, France), Producer Pierre Morel (“Banlieue
13”, “Taken”, “From Paris with Love”), and four time Emmy Winner Producer
Jarratt Carson have signed Actor/Director Eric Stoltz (“Caprica”, “Mask”,
“Killing Zoe”, “Memphis Belle”) to direct “Racing Patriots”, a feature film
written by Frederic Helmer and based on a story by Dana and Brandon MacDuff.
French actor Samuel Le Bihan (“Brotherhood of the Wolf”, “Jet Set”, “He
Loves Me… He Loves Me Not”) will be playing the role of “Robert Benoist.”
Action-packed, full of intrigue, adventure, patriotism and sacrifice,
“Racing Patriots” is the story of three race car drivers from that wild and
wooly era of Grand Prix racing before World War II. Two were French and one
was English, but all were champions and heroes to the French people. “A
story with real life people who were more courageous and flamboyant than any
fictional characters,” said Patrice Bonneyrat, Producer.
Winston Churchill instituted the Special Operations Executive (SOE) to recruit and train
undercover operatives to go deep inside enemy held territories to disrupt
and sabotage the Nazis in expectation of the liberation of Europe. This is a
tale of their exploits, under the noses of the Gestapo and brilliant Nazi
anti-terrorist experts during the nightmare of occupation.
“Racing Patriots”, will be a French/American/Indian
co-production, filmed in France, England, and the Czech Republic with
principal photography to begin in Winter 2010.
“This is the story of great French patriotism by courageous men, their
families and many others who risked everything to free their beloved country
from the clutches of Nazism,” said Brandon MacDuff, Producer
“Racing Patriots” is attracting an A-list roster of talent behind the camera
already, including: Director of Photography Michel Abramowicz (“The Thing”,
“From Paris with Love”, “Taken”), Production Designer Hugues Tissandier
(“The Messenger”, “The Dinner Game”, “The Visitors”), Special Effects
Supervisor Mark Weatherbe (“Sherlock Holmes”, “Dark Mirror”, “Sands of
Oblivion”) Stunt/Performer/Coordinator and Fight Choreographer Olivier
Schneider (“Unknown White Male”, “Public Enemy #1”, “Rush Hour 3”) Picture
Car/Motorcycle Coordinator Justin Kell (“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of
the Chrystal Skull”, “Star Trek XI”, “G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra”) and
Robert Malachowski. Famed race car driver and star of the TV show "Victory
by Design" Alain de Cadenet will serve as a technical advisor.
The three main characters are: “William Grover-Williams,” an Englishman
living in Paris, World Champion and winner of the first Monaco Grand Prix in
1929, “Robert Benoist,” the great Delage / Bugatti driver, WW1 flying ace
and 1927 World Champion and “Jean Pierre Wimille,” the great Bugatti driver
and winner of the 1937 and 1939 24 Hours of Le Mans. Casting for these main
characters will begin in September 2011. In addition, the international cast
of characters includes strong female true-life heroines “Violette Szabo”
(French/English), “Princess Noor Inayat Khan” (Indian/American), “Virginia
Hall” (American), “Violette Morris” (French) and “Mathilde Carré” (French).
“The world as those three racing drivers knew it was changed on 14 June of
1940, when Hitler’s army marched on Paris. Our heroes loved France and this
was something that they could not and would not allow to happen without a
fight,” commented Dana MacDuff, Producer.
