Brad Pitt is getting in the cockpit of a real race car for his upcoming film on Formula One, according to director Joseph Kosinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer.
During a panel about the untitled film at the F1 Accelerate Summit in Miami, Kosinski and Bruckheimer shared production details of the Apple Studios movie, which stars Pitt and counts seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton among its producers.
Category: Projects
F1 film Brad Pitt and Hamilton will be ‘invasive’ at Silverstone
Lewis Hamilton and Brad Pitt’s Formula 1 film will be fully integrated into the race weekend at Silverstone. Speaking to Formula 1 investors, chairman Stefano Domenicali announced that the sport is working closely with the film’s producers, although it may become “invasive” during the race weekend.
Besides Hamilton and Pitt, producer Jerry Bruckheimer is also involved in the project. The film will be directed by Joseph Kosinski, who also recently made Top Gun: Maverick. The team will have the full cooperation of Formula 1, Domenicali made clear, although the sport itself will of course take priority.
“We’re going to start the shooting in Silverstone very soon, and you will see it will be the first movie when basically, they will be within the racing event,” the F1 president explained, quoted by Racefans. “It will be quite invasive in terms of production, it’s something that we need to control in a way, but it will be another way of showing that F1 never stops.”
Lewis Hamilton provides Brad Pitt F1 film update
Hamilton, who has also sought advice from Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer, explained: “We’re going through a process right now of selecting the character that will be alongside Brad, which is exciting.
“Basically that’s the process of watching [the auditions].
“We have recordings of them doing certain scenes and we got through it. I have sat in the office with Jerry and Joe and Brad, and we’ve been watching them and kind of given our inputs and what we think.”
“I want to make the movie, in terms of like having diversity and representation, I want it to be as Formula 1 should be in the future – or should be now, but will be in the future,” insisted seven-time F1 champion Hamilton.
“I want to see female mechanics. We would love to see a female driver. We haven’t gotten to that point just yet. But why not?
“Right now, we’ve still got the script. We’ve gone through quite a few different iterations of it. We’re still waiting for a new rewrite, and that’s the whole process. But I was doing that throughout Christmas.
“It’s exciting. I’m excited to get to the next end of the script. I was talking to Brad last night about the characters that we have coming.”
F1 team bosses meet Brad Pitt as film project takes off
The film will be directed by Joseph Kosinski, who was responsible for Tron: Legacy, Oblivion, Only the Brave and the recent hit Top Gun: Maverick.
Like the last named film the F1 project will be produced by Bruckheimer, whose lengthy CV includes the original Top Gun, NASCAR movie Days of Thunder and the Pirates of the Caribbean series.
With a screenplay by Ehren Kruger, who also wrote Top Gun: Maverick, the story revolves around a veteran driver who mentors an up-and-coming youngster.
Lewis Hamilton is closely connected with the project as a producer, and his manager Penni Thow is also involved. Apple Screen is underwriting the project.
All team bosses were invited to the F1 hospitality building in Austin today to meet Pitt, Bruckheimer and Kosinski, with Stefano Domenicali among those also present.
Essentially the gathering was an opportunity for the Hollywood guys to give the teams an idea of what they plan to do.
The meeting focused on a demonstration of the technology used in Top Gun: Maverick, and specifically how CGI was successfully combined with real action footage.
The teams will have individual meetings with the film people over the remainder of the Austin weekend. It’s not yet clear whether they will be asked to supply current or near current cars for use in the production.
Kosinski stressed recently that shooting real cars in action will be a key part of the production.
Although details are still being discussed, F1 is expected to offer full co-operation, including sanctioning filming on race weekends.
Director Joseph Kosinski Promises Similar ‘In-Camera Thrills’
Fresh from box office triumph with Top Gun: Maverick, director Joseph Kosinski promises similar “in-camera action” on his forthcoming racing car movie.
Kosinski says he will be using effects created solely by the camera — to make viewers feel like they are behind the wheel at 200mph, in the film with the working title of Formula One – to star Brad Pitt and co-produced by seven-time world champion racing driver Lewis Hamilton.
“Certainly seeing people react to an in-camera, authentically captured film like Top Gun makes us all feel good that our approach works and is appreciated by audiences,” he told The Wrap.
