[andrew r]

It's Speed Racer!

Christina Ricci Scores Date With Speed
Christina Ricci is joining Matrix creators adaptation of the 1960s cartoon Speed Racer.
Reuters

Christina Ricci is joining "Matrix" creators Larry and Andy Wachowski's live-action adaptation of the 1960s cartoon "Speed Racer."

Emile Hirsch, Susan Sarandon and John Goodman already have boarded the high-octane Warner Bros. project, which is based on the anime series created by Tatsuo Yoshida for Japanese audiences and later imported to the U.S.

"Speed" centers on a young race car driver, Speed (Hirsch), and his quest for glory in his thundering, gadget-laden vehicle Mach 5. Ricci will star as Speed's girlfriend Trixie, his formidable ally on and off the track.

The show revolved around Speed's family. In the big-screen adaptation, Goodman will play Pops, a race car owner and builder. Sarandon is on board as Pops' wife, the backbone of the family as well as the Mach 5 Go Racing Team.

The Wachowskis, who are writing and directing, are eyeing a summer shoot in Berlin with a summer 2008 release.

The casting is a change in direction for Ricci, who has tended to star in such indie-oriented fare as "Monster," "Penelope" and the recent "Black Snake Moan." She also appeared on ABC's "Grey's Anatomy," a turn that earned her an Emmy nomination last year.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

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