Hunt Vs Lauda: The Next Generation [DVD]

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Well, personally it was the fact I was recovering from a major car accident and going into the filming of this I was in the early stages of brain injury rehab. I didn’t share my struggles with many people and continued to travel and work 12-16 hour days whilst struggling to stand up sometimes. I’d be on a plane one minute, doing brain rehab the next, then running round with a camera on my shoulder directing a team. It wasn’t easy. But it was worth it.

Freddie Hunt knows what you’re going to say. Yes, the spitting image. Yeah, it’s a bit spooky – sometimes his mother would look as if she’d seen a ghost. And yep, it’s mostly the hair, but also the good looks, the rakish manner, the clipped accent. Like father, like son… To fund that, though, he needs to keep winning motor races. The goal is to win the Le Mans 24 hour race in 2026, to mark 50 years since his father’s championship win. It’s ambitious, he concedes, “but I think that’s a pretty good story, don’t you?” It was great. I also had to put my preconceived ideas aside and as a Director go in with a journalistic mindset to discover what is new, where the fresh stories were coming from and how these two guys Freddie Hunt and Mathias Lauda could captivate an audience in their own right. For me it was about getting the audience to connect with these two characters and, by the time the final race came on screen, to be shouting the name of the guy they wanted to win. It was wonderful journeying into the past, but more than that, it was about creating a story right now with these two individuals who in their own right are epic racing drivers, stepping out of the giant shadows cast by their fathers.A petrolhead but committed environmentalist (he thinks fossil fuels should be banned for transport but allowed for recreation), Freddie has a girlfriend, fellow racing driver Aimee Watts. When he moved from Wiltshire he knew nobody on the island, nothing about building work and spent 12 months without heating or electricity. Ha, it’s funny really I have been enthralled by the smell of petrol and the sound of engines for as long as I can remember. It was never really anything to do with gender or the politics surrounding it, but rather the feat of human and mechanical excellence, the passion, the drive and I suppose the danger. It is something that has always impassioned and excited me.

He would like children (“no more than two, it should be banned to have more”), and to make enough money to buy a full farm and rewild it. I often forget this, but I was physically handicapped – until I had an operation to remove my adenoids, for the first two or three years I was mostly deaf, which affected my balance. I was a dribbling mess and constantly crashing into things.”

Personally, I found the first half of the documentary to be the most interesting, as it focuses more on Freddie and Mathias, and their respective fathers; however, I imagine those who are really into motor racing will better connect with the second half, when the docu-film devotes its time to the race. Either way, there’s enough dialogue and racing action to satisfy different tastes, and at around 80-minutes in length it doesn’t outstay its welcome. I did a lot of partying when I was younger, but it’s self-destructive, isn’t it? Good fun in the moment, but alcohol is a really toxic poison. I still can’t get my head around how it’s legal, as it makes you feel s--- and do stupid things when you’re drunk.” I like to think I know what men want [laughs]. No, I don’t know really, I think part of me is very male in personality – if that is even such a thing anymore… I think perhaps I have more traits that would be traditionally thought of as masculine. I like celebrating strength and success, I love beautiful women and great physiques, cars, fitness… I see nothing wrong with celebrating hard work and the achievement it brings. Whether that is in the form of winning races, entrepreneurship or celebrity, I enjoy showcasing the best of what a person can be. It is this spirit that is captured in a lot of the films I make, if that is male-skewing so be it, but I am a woman and I love being inspired by powerful individuals undertaking inspiring challenges. They are a close family, but there’s cruelly few of them. “Dad’s three other brothers all died as well. So I’ve really got to look after my health because the Hunt male life expectancy isn’t very high at the moment…” Freddie says, with a dark chortle.

However, I will say, that while Hunt vs Lauda: The Next Generation is an easy to watch docu-film, and accessible for all, ultimately it is geared more towards racing enthusiasts. Those who are fans of this sport, or who love to devour anything connected to racing will get the most out of it. The premiere was a great success, a lot of very renowned individuals in the room, how did you feel showcasing your work to such a great bunch of industry professionals?He attended five private schools in as many years before finishing with a stint at the local state school in Midhurst, West Sussex. At the time he was a promising polo player: “Mum and I decided to spend that money on horses instead.” After the operation, he came home and asked what that noise was. “It was birds singing, I hadn’t heard it before.” A pause. “So yeah, that, then Dad dying, then school was absolute Japanese POW camp to me…”

Freddie is now firm friends with Mathias Lauda, the racing driver son of Niki, James Hunt’s Austrian rival during the testy 1976 season. Together they have made a documentary, Hunt vs Lauda: The Next Generation, rekindling the competition. I actually relished the opportunity. It is not often you can sit in a room full of your peers and get their full attention for an hour an a half. To think I had the likes of Dean Baker [Tom Hardy’s business partner of Hardy, Son and Baker], Adam Matalon [famous US producer], David Polemeni [Director at BMG] and the like all transfixed on my work, it is exciting and exhilarating. A marvellous opportunity. Of course there are nerves because nothing is perfect, but industry insiders know how damn difficult it is to make a film, especially on a lower budget and I know they would utterly respect that. So I truly enjoyed the moment and felt very blessed to be in that position. Charlotte Fantelli Freddie Hunt Mathias Lauda and Producers

Side guide

Any motorsport fan knows these iconic surnames, none are more noteworthy in motorsport history. Therefore, when I was approached by Jose Thomas, the guy who had the vision to make a ‘Rush V2’ with the sons of the two legends James Hunt and Niki Lauda, it piqued my interest immediately. I got to work pulling apart the story, delving deep into the characters and shaping what I knew would be a deep dive into the worlds of these two iconic motorsport families and tell the story in a whole new way – one generation on.