David Harbour Compares Gran Turismo To Hoosiers Rather Than Other Video Game Films

Video game adaptations have often missed the mark, and many have found it difficult to conjure up a viable storyline that brings the elements fans love from the games to the big screen. It has only been in recent years that they've taken a turn, with players and viewers praising films like "Sonic the Hedgehog" and "Werewolves Within" as true to the game and having an intriguing story.

David Harbour, who counts himself as a video game lover, feels the reason why most video game film adaptations don't work is obvious. "Part of that reason is because what we love about video games is that we're the player playing them... we're controlling the action," he told IGN. "We don't necessarily want a director and a team of people to control our point of view, to tell us what the story is within it. We ourselves want to carve that story for ourselves."

Director Neill Blomkamp agrees, affirming that he didn't want to make a film about a racing simulator, but he loved Jann Mardenborough's story. "Jann's story is unbelievable because he went from playing Gran Turismo in his parents' house on a console – like a driving system console that he built – to placing third at Le Mans," Blomkamp said. "It was this very organic merging of a video game backbone with a real-life, real-world set up and characters that work organically."

"Gran Turismo" races into theaters on August 11, 2023.