GO! SPEED RACER GO!

Excerpted from today’s Daily Variety:

“DodgeBall” star Vince Vaughn has gotten Warner Bros. revved up again about “Speed Racer,” a live- action adaptation of the Japanese cartoon series. Project casts him in the role of Racer X.”Speed Racer” has remained a viable title at the studio, despite a decade of false starts. The pic almost got to the starting line with such directors as Gus Van Sant, Hype Williams, Alfonso Cuaron and Julien Temple — the latter of whom had Johnny Depp ready to star before the vehicle stalled because the budget was too high. Vaughn revived it by pitching a streamlined take that concentrated more on character and a family angle than budget-busting race scenes.
“I’ve been a fan of the show since I was a kid and I always liked the theme of the protective older brother who can’t reveal his identity,” Vaughn said.