Speed Racer

Speed Racer is a 2008 film that is a live action film adaptation of the 1960s Japanese anime series Speed Racer. The film is written and directed by the Wachowski brothers, who also serve as co-producers. The film had been in development since 1992, changing writers and directors until producer Joel Silver and the Wachowski brothers collaborated to begin production on Speed Racer as a family film so the directors could reach a wider audience.

Actor Emile Hirsch was cast as Speed, the hero of the animated series, and Christina Ricci portrays Speed's girlfriend, Trixie. Speed Racer was shot between June and November 2007 in Potsdam and Berlin, Germany at an estimated budget of $100,000,000. Most of the filming took place at Babelsberg Studios in Potsdam, where the footage was shot entirely against greenscreen.. The Wachowski brothers also filmed in high-definition video for the first time, using a layering method to put both the foreground and the background of scenes in focus to have a real-life anime appearance. Marketers have prepared toys and video games to coincide with the film's release. Speed Racer premiered on May 3, 2008 as the closing film at the Tribeca Film Festival, and was released on May 9, 2008.