Following rumours that first aired last year, the Canadian media is reporting that Jacques Villeneuve is to attend a meeting in Montreal next week, at which time he will announce plans for a movie based on the life story of his father, the legendary Ferrari driver, Gilles Villeneuve, who was killed at Zolder (Belgium) in May 1982.

Gilles' untimely death still heavily affects the former World Champion, who in the early days of his F1 career steadfastly refused to talk of his father.

Although Gilles is still idolized, particularly in Canada and Italy, the news that the movie is to be a Hollywood production will fill his many fans with dread since Hollywood is hardly known for its understanding of motorsport and what drives the men that participate.

Although the production company behind the movie is Canadian, a spokesman confirmed that the film will be "Hollywood" with "well known" stars playing the major roles. In the early 1990s there were plans to make a similar movie based on Gilles' life, with fellow Canadian Michael J Fox playing the lead role.

The fact that Jacques is announcing the movie, surely gives it greater credibility, though it is hoped that he will keep a close watch on the production to ensure that the story doesn't get the full Hollywood treatment.

In the past there has been talk of a movie based on the life of Enzo Ferrari, while Ayrton Senna was also supposed to be the basis of another Hollywood production.

Ironically, the most recent motorsport related movie to come out of Hollywood was the God-awful 'Driven' - often known as drivel - in which Sylvester Stallone recreated his famous 'Rocky' role but this time clad in Nomex.

One of the first reviews of the film was done by Pitpass editor Chris Balfe's good friend, John Lane, close friend and former sponsor of Gilles, who gave the movie its nickname. We await his comments on this new announcement.

In the meantime, if this movie must be made, let's just hope that someone who really knows and cares about the subject matter is heavily involved and that we don't end up with the usual Hollywood pap.