It will arrive in Italian cinemas on June 25 and then debut on Apple TV+ for streaming. A decidedly ambitious feature film. A sports action movie set in the real world of Formula 1.
“The greatest promise ever made.” This phrase not only previews a plot, which tells the trials of the character Sonny Hayes, played by Brad Pitt, but also the challenge undertaken by director Joseph Kosinski and his top-notch producers to create a film capable of realistically reproducing all the speed, emotions, and adrenaline of the world of Formula 1. Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, Joseph Kosinski, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, Brad Pitt, and Jeremy Kleiner, “F1 – The Movie” will arrive in Italian theaters on June 25 and then on Apple TV+ streaming. A decidedly ambitious feature; judging by what was said during last week’s live online press conference from Mexico City, the protagonists are confident they have hit the mark. Filming was done thanks to collaboration with the FIA and Liberty Media in various real locations, starting with Silverstone during the 2023 British Grand Prix. Brad Pitt and Damson Idris took to the track dressed as drivers, so much so that the atmosphere felt more like a sporting event than a movie set. This allowed a total immersion into the racing universe, faithfully reconstructing the atmosphere generated during real Grand Prix. “Joe had this plan,” Brad Pitt said during the meeting, “to integrate us into the racing season and really put us behind the wheel of the cars. It’s a dream come true; for decades I have tried to make a racing film, car or motorcycle. I am very grateful for the experience it gave us, getting into the cars, living the Formula 1 racing season ecosystem in contact with drivers and teams was truly extraordinary.”
A unique, unforgettable experience lived by a great enthusiast, as the American actor emphasizes: “I am a fan of this sport, it’s like a religion to me. It’s incredible what these guys can do. The precision, the timing, the resistance to G-force, it’s amazing. For us to experience this was fantastic; I would like to try to explain what it feels like to experience G-force, but it’s impossible, it’s great, I don’t know how to describe it. Making this film was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I will never forget.”
“F1 – The Movie”: collaborations and technique — A challenge for the two lead actors, Brad Pitt and Damson Idris, but as anticipated, especially for the film crew. “You can’t recreate the energy, the sound, the crowd, so we had to shoot during the races. The collaboration was really incredible, extraordinary,” said the director who in 2022 directed “Top Gun: Maverick.” A collaboration that also relied, besides the valuable help of the Ferrari driver, on Mercedes, which provided two modified Formula 2 cars specially made to look like real Formula 1 cars, and the Carlin Motorsport team, which provided facilities and experience of F2 and F3 drivers. “Working with Lewis,” Brad Pitt explained, “was very important; he is a very smart person, he knows this world perfectly, he helped us develop the story, the screenplay, and told us about his experiences. All of this allowed us to put the film together.” A challenge highlighted by producer Jeremy Kleiner: “I have a lot of respect for Joe and Jerry (Bruckheimer) who had the ambition to make everything real by creating a new technical system. Joe is an engineer and designed a new camera and planned the logistics minute by minute to shoot on the track while preserving the cinematic intensity and adrenaline. Incredible.”
To faithfully tell what happens during the races, director Joseph Kosinski relied, of course, on technology: “To capture what happens in a single-seater car we created a new camera system that is very light and very small. We took the system developed for Top Gun and miniaturized it, made it as small as we could. Four cameras focused on the faces of the two drivers and on the track, four moving cameras, an innovation developed specifically for this film. Mercedes made all this a reality; these guys were able to drive the cars during a real race weekend between practice sessions and qualifying with the audience watching, a presence you feel when you watch the film. It’s not just acting, Brad was really focused on keeping the car between the curbs.” Here the American actor adds: “The idea of being in the car, dealing with G-force, the impact on the body, is something you cannot fake. Joe (the director) said this is the most immersive film ever made about racing. It involved me, Lewis, everyone. We started a special training to be able to drive like a real F1 driver, a training that lasted practically two years.” “I drove somewhere in California,” said Damson Idris, the actor who plays Brad Pitt’s teammate to be “straightened out” — “on simulated circuits and with the guys on real tracks. I also downloaded the Formula 1 game. Then intense training started at Silverstone, Palm Springs, Houston, Texas, to learn how to drive a Formula 1 car.”
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