Is the Gran Turismo movie based on a true story? Yes. Here's a full fact-check of the film

While the market dominance of movies plucked from the superhero realm remains undisputed, Hollywood is finding a way to make money off another pop culture staple: video games.

There’s the recent $1.36 billion haul by “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” and now comes “Gran Turismo” (in theaters now), a live-action film playing off the popularity of the Sony PlayStation auto racing simulator.

While the former was purely a cartoon fantasy, “Gran Turismo” is powered by a true story. But as with most movies, liberties have been taken.

Here’s a breakdown of fact and fiction with an assist from “Gran Turismo” star Archie Madekwe and the man he’s playing, video game ace turned-professional race car driver Jann Mardenborough.

Did Nissan and Sony really sponsor a contest to see if a skilled video gamer could race a sports car?

In 2008, Nissan Europe marketing executive Darren Cox (a character based on him named Danny Moore is played by Orlando Bloom) launched the Nissan GT Academy with Sony. The idea was to capitalize on the growing popularity of the racing simulator, whose teenage players would soon become the next generation of automotive buyers.

“I thought, what the heck, let me give it a try,” says Mardenborough, 31. “I had dropped out of university because it didn’t involve driving race cars and was working at a department store, which was soul-sucking. So this happened at the right place and right time.”

Did Jann Mardenborough win the first Nissan GT Challenge?

British-born Mardenborough actually won the third incarnation of the GT Academy in 2011, and became its youngest champ at just 19. The winner of that inaugural Nissan GT Challenge was Spain’s Lucas Ordoñez, who raced successfully for a number of years.

Mardenborough says the biggest shock of winning was adjusting to the cutthroat world of racing. “I had the inexperience of youth, didn’t understand the politics, didn’t know about self-preservation,” he says. “But to leave home to do something that brought me joy was easy.”

Did Jann Mardenborough really come in third at Le Mans?

In 2013, Mardenborough and two other Nissan racers did place third in the LMP2 class at the iconic 24-hour race in France, which is a thematic high point in “Gran Turismo.”

The real team consisted of Mardenborough; inaugural Gran Turismo contest winner Ordoñez; plus one racing veteran who did not come from the video game world, Michael Krumm.

But to make the movie more dramatic, the writers made the three Le Mans winners consist of Mardenborough and two of the fictional runners-up.

The victory still looms large. “To this day, that (Le Mans) trophy is the only one in my room,” says Mardenborough, who today races largely in Japan. ”But it’s for third place. I feel there’s still unfinished business there. I’d still love to win it.”

Did Jann Mardenborough almost die in a crash in Germany?

In 2015, a Nissan GT3 sportscar driven by Mardenborough got airborne and left the notoriously difficult and deadly Nürburgring track in Germany. A spectator died, and the driver was hospitalized.

“Because it was all real, and someone died, we made sure the movie is very true to life in all the details,” says Mardenborough. “It was a big turning point for my career, where it could have all ended, but didn’t.”

Did Archie Madekwe do his own stunt driving in ‘Gran Turismo’?

Mardenborough was called in to do the racing scenes for the movie, which says “opened me up to a how movies are made, which is thrilling.”

Madekwe had only recently received his driver’s license and got a crash course in track driving with a professional. “It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, and honestly, I often would have to kind of throw up in the middle of shooting some of those scenes, the G-forces were that severe on my body,” says the 28-year-old actor. “But doing that made me appreciate what drivers do. One mistake and things can go really wrong. There’s no reset button.”

Was Jann Mardenborough’s father really a soccer player?

He's the son of British soccer player Steve Mardenborough, who played for a range of clubs. “Gran Turismo” mines the often-tense relationship between Jann and his father (played by Djimon Hounsou) for some of its most powerful scenes.

Mardenborough says the tension wasn't contrived. When he announced to his father and soccer-crazed brother that he was applying for the GT Academy, “my father laughed, and they both just kept watching. My mother thought it was fantastic.”

Why does the actress playing Jann’s mother look familiar?

Lesley Mardenborough is played by Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, who will be recognized by fans of the Netflix Formula 1 racing docuseries “Drive to Survive.”

Halliwell has a true motorsports connection. She's married to Christian Horner, one of series' stars and team principal for the currently dominant F1 team, Red Bull. He and Halliwell make frequent appearances in the series, both at the track and at their home in rural England.

What cars do Jann Mardenborough and Archie Madekwe drive for real?

Mardenborough cherishes his 1990s dream car that he was finally able to afford, a 1995 Ferrari 456 GT in blue with cream leather. It’s a two-door car, but rare for a Ferrari in that it has back seats. “I like to joke that one day when I have a wife and family, I’ll be able to tell them, look, it fits all of us, no need to sell it,” he says.

Madekwe is still shopping for his first vehicle. While he likes the Nissan GT-R, a pivotal “Gran Turismo” scene finds him and crew chief Jack Salter (a composite character played by David Harbour) returning to the Nürburgring in an exotic Porsche 911 GT3 RS. “Getting into that car, I thought, OK, wow, now I get it,” Madekwe says. “That car made me a car fan.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Gran Turismo' movie fact check: Is Jann Mardenborough film accurate?