Ron Howard to direct Formula 1 movie 'Rush'?

Ron Howard has reportedly been lined up to direct a Formula 1 movie.

The project, titled Rush, is currently in development and will chart the rivalry between world champions Niki Lauda and James Hunt in the 1970s.

Green Zone director Paul Greengrass had originally been attached to the project, according to the Los Angeles Times's 24 Frames blog.

However, two anonymous production insiders claim that he has since departed to pursue other projects.

A representative for Howard told Entertainment Weekly that his adaptation of Stephen King's Dark Tower books would still begin production early next year.

Lauda, who is a triple Formula 1 world champion, almost lost his life in a serious accident at the 1976 German Grand Prix which left him with severe scarring from burns.

He now works as a motorsports commentator for German broadcaster RTL.

Hunt, who was famed for his playboy lifestyle and eccentricity on and off the track, won the world championship once in 1976 with McLaren.

He later worked alongside Murray Walker as a commentator for the BBC, but died of a heart attack in 1993 at the age of 45.

Peter Morgan, who collaborated with Howard on Frost/Nixon, has written the script for Rush.

The movie is currently being pitched to Hollywood studios, and it is envisioned that shooting will begin in Europe later this year.

It was reported last year that I Am Number Four actor Alex Pettyfer hopes to play Hunt in a self-produced adaptation of Tom Rubython's biography Shunt: The Story of James Hunt.