Matthew Fox, who portrays Jack on Lost, is currently filming the big-screen adaptation of Speed Racer over in Germany.  Fox plays Speed's nemesis, the evil Racer X.  Now, Racer X has a love interest.  Nayo Wallace (The Brothers, Sleeper Cell) has been cast as Minx, Racer X's girlfriend.  She joins an already high-profile cast that includes Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, Susan Sarandon, John Goodman, Scott Porter and Shaft himself, Richard Roundtree.

Speed Racer, before one makes negative judgments on a live-action remake of an old Japanese cartoon, is a project that is being made by some legitimate filmmakers.  The Wachowski Brothers, the enigmatic team behind the Matrix films and Bound, are directing the project.  This is their first movie since finishing the Matrix trilogy. 

And, yes, the fact that this film is being made is a bit ridiculous.  The original Speed Racer was from the 60s and, well, it's about a cross-country rally called The Crucible.  But, this is a Wachowski Brothers film, and that's important.  From the information that is out there, the Brothers look to be jumping into this project full-bore.  They wrote the script themselves and will certainly look to break new ground in computer effects, as they did with The Matrix.

One of the things they're doing for the racing scenes is using an actual car for Speed's Mach 5.  Rather than actually race it though, they're going to suspend it in mid-air in the studio, and use computer effects to provide the rest of the scenery.  It's almost assured that with Speed Racer, audiences will see some car chases unlike anything that's come before in film.  Lost fans have to be excited to see Matthew Fox in a big-budget action film.  This could really catapult his film career.

Speed Racer is scheduled for a May 9, 2008 release.   


-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
Source: Variety
(Image Courtesy of IMDB)