'Speed Racer' to close Tribeca Film Fest

NEW YORK, April 2 (UPI) -- The new live-action, family adventure film "Speed Racer" has been selected to close the upcoming 2008 Tribeca Film Festival, organizers said.

Directed by the Wachowski brothers, the movie stars Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon and Matthew Fox. It is about a young race car driver's "quest for glory in his thunderous Mach 5," press notes for the film said.

Several cast members are expected to attend the special May 3 screening at the Borough of Manhattan Community College Tribeca Performing Arts Center in Lower Manhattan. The film will also screen at the Pace University Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts.

"Warner Bros. has been a big part of the festival many times over the years and we are thrilled that the Wachowskis and producer Joel Silver are bringing 'Speed Racer' to us this year to close the festival," Jane Rosenthal, co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival, said in a statement.

"The Tribeca Film Festival is a defining event in New York's entertainment culture, so it is an honor to have 'Speed Racer' chosen as the festival's closing night screening," Silver added.

"Speed Racer" is due to open in U.S. theaters May 9.