Speed Racer is a 2008 sports action comedy film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is based on the 1960s manga and anime series of the same name. Starring Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, Matthew Fox, Roger Allam, Benno Fürmann, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rain and Richard Roundtree, the plot revolves around Speed Racer, an 18-year-old automobile racer who follows his apparently deceased brother's career, choosing to remain loyal to his family and their company Racer Motors, which causes difficulties after he refuses a contract that E.P. Arnold Royalton, owner of Royalton Industries, offers him. A live action Speed Racer film had been in development hell since 1992, having changed actors and filmmakers until in 2006 when producer Joel Silver and the Wachowskis collaborated to begin production on Speed Racer as a family film. Speed Racer was shot in and around Potsdam and Berlin from June to August 2007. Michael Giacchino composed the film's score. Speed Racer premiered on April 26, 2008 at the Nokia Theater, followed by its general theatrical release on May 9, 2008, by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film grossed $93 million worldwide on a $120 million budget, making it a commercial failure. It was subsequently nominated in multiple categories at the Teen Choice Awards as well as the Golden Raspberry Awards. Upon initial release, the film received mixed reviews, who praised the action sequences, musical score by Michael Giacchino, cinematography, and performances, critics were divided on its overuse of computer generated imagery, and criticized its screenplay and runtime. In subsequent years, Speed Racer has garnered a strong cult following with some commentators calling it "underrated" and a "misunderstood" film. Plot Speed Racer is a young man whose life and love has always been automobile racing. His parents Pops and Mom run the independent Racer Motors, in which his brother Spritle and his pet chimp Chim Chim, his mechanic Sparky and his girlfriend Trixie are also involved. As a child, Speed idolized his record-setting older brother, Rex Racer, who was apparently killed while racing in the Casa Cristo 5000, a deadly cross-country rally race. Now embarking on his own career, Speed is quickly sweeping the racing world with his skill behind the wheel of his brother's Mach 5 and his own T-180 car the Mach 6, although primarily interested in the art of the race and the well-being of his family. One day, E.P. Arnold