How Lewis Hamilton and Apple brought F1 racing to the movie screen
CUPERTINO, California :Racing legend Lewis Hamilton, a producer on an upcoming movie starring Brad Pitt as a fictional Formula 1 driver, wanted the film to show the reality of what it looks, feels and sounds like to speed around a track at 200 miles per hour.
To avoid having Apple's "F1 The Movie" seem "faked" by Hollywood, Hamilton provided input on details such as when drivers should brake or shift gears. The film will be released in theaters by Warner Bros on June 27.
"I really wanted to make sure the authenticity was there, and it worked for both the younger and the older audience, and then making sure that the racing was true to what it is," Hamilton said in an interview with Reuters Television.
"All the other drivers, all the teams, are relying on me to make sure that it does," the seven-time world champion added.
In the movie, Pitt plays a driver who comes out of retirement to mentor a young hotshot portrayed by Damson Idris. Co-stars include Javier Bardem and Kerry Condon.
Portions of the film were shot during real-life F1 events in Abu Dhabi, Mexico City and other Grand Prix stops. The filmmakers would shoot on the tracks during short breaks in the races. Pitt and Idris drove themselves in professional race cars at high speeds.
Before filming started, Hamilton said he met with Pitt at a racetrack in Los Angeles so he could size up the actor's driving skills.
"I really wanted to see, can you actually drive?" Hamilton said. A longtime motorcycle rider and racing fan, Pitt showed a baseline ability at that point that made Hamilton comfortable.
"He already had the knack," Hamilton said, which the actor further developed through weeks of intense training. "He really went in deep," Hamilton said.
"F1" was directed by Joseph Kosinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, the team that put together the thrilling fighter-jet scenes in 2022 blockbuster film "Top Gun: Maverick."
For "F1," they needed new cameras that would work in race cars, which can be slowed down by extra weight.
Producing partner Apple, which began releasing movies in 2019, was able to help.
The company used some of its iPhone technology to adapt a camera system typically used in real F1 cars during TV broadcasts. The hardware looked like a traditional F1 camera but delivered the high-resolution video that the filmmakers wanted for the big screen.
"This movie was just a great example of putting the whole of the company behind a movie," Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said. "We designed the camera that went into the car to capture the incredible driving experience. It makes you feel like you're actually sitting in the car and experiencing what Brad is experiencing."
Cook said he felt the movie showcased the athleticism required to rise to the elite ranks of F1 driving. Hamilton said he had encouraged more examples of the sport's physical challenges. Drivers can lose five or 10 pounds, he said, from the exertion during a race.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
Healthy crowds and Messi mania lift Club World Cup, but quality gap shows
MIAMI :The expanded Club World Cup has kicked off with healthy crowds, "Messi mania" and a festival atmosphere in Miami, giving an early vindication to world football body FIFA after fears of empty stands and global disinterest. FIFA controversially awarded Lionel Messi's Inter Miami a backdoor route into the tournament, ensuring the sport's biggest name would be there after he propelled soccer to new heights in a country often ambivalent to the world's most popular game. Some 61,000 fans packed the Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday to watch the Argentine and teammates play Egyptian giants Al-Ahly in a goalless draw. Another strong crowd turned out on Sunday for the clash between Paris St Germain and Atletico Madrid, which ended in a one-sided 4-0 win for the Champions League winners. However, Bayern Munich's 10-0 demolition of semi-professional Auckland City underscored the worrying gulf in quality between some of the competing clubs. But the opening weekend largely delivered what FIFA had hoped for: vibrant crowds and global representation. South American supporters made their presence especially felt. More than 1,000 Boca Juniors fans in blue and gold turned Miami Beach into a party strip on Sunday ahead of their opening match, singing club anthems and waving flags in scenes reminiscent of a World Cup carnival. "Wherever you go, Boca is here,' Gaston San Paul, a fan who flew in from Entre Rios in Argentina, told Reuters. 'Wherever we are we do this,' he added, referring to the "Banderazo" (flag party), a fan gathering destined to mark territory ahead of a game. Boca and Real Madrid games were among the top early ticket sellers, according to FIFA, which said that top markets after the U.S. were Brazil, Argentina and Mexico. Talk of empty stands was at least provisionally dismissed as well as heightened anxiety in the immigrant-heavy Miami area following recent federal immigration raids. At the heart of the opening weekend buzz was Messi, whose presence has elevated Inter Miami's profile and guaranteed global glamour for the tournament. $1 BILLION DEAL Messi, who received a standing ovation before kickoff, was unable to find the net against Al-Ahly but provided flashes of brilliance in a tightly contested, physical match. FIFA is banking not only on Messi's star power but also on a radical new broadcast strategy. The tournament is being streamed for free worldwide by DAZN in a $1 billion deal. That agreement followed Saudi Arabia's SURJ Sports Investment, a subsidiary of the country's Public Investment Fund (PIF), acquiring a minority stake in DAZN for a reported $1 billion — another marker of the kingdom's growing investment footprint in sport. The partnership, one of the largest broadcast packages in football history, is central to FIFA's push to maximize digital engagement and position the Club World Cup as a global spectacle ahead of the 2026 World Cup in North America. The $1 billion prize money, which ensures a hefty $125 million for the winners, was an obvious incentive for the European clubs. "There's a lot of money at stake. If you have the chance to earn a lot of money at a tournament, you should take the chance," former Bayern legend Karl Heinz Rummenigge said in the run-up. DAZN has yet to provide viewership data. While the crowds gave FIFA reason to be cheerful, the Bayern Munich v Auckland City match raised awkward questions about the tournament's balance as the German champions obliterated their opponents 10-0. Despite the lopsided contest in Cincinnati, the overall mood among organizers was one of optimism, calling the opening weekend a resounding success. Many Floridians, however, did not know a global soccer event was taking place in their state. "There is a World Cup? Hockey?," said one person working in a restaurant in Miami Beach. "This tournament is new, and it is different. It is the very first time clubs and players from all over the world have had the chance to face each other in competitive matches on a global stage," FIFA said, referring to the 32-club format after the previous editions featured seven. With group matches continuing through the week and Boca's opener against Benfica expected to draw another bumper crowd in Miami later on Monday, FIFA will be hoping to build on the early momentum — and avoid more one-sided encounters like the one in Cincinnati as European teams appear to be a level above those from other continents'.
CNA
8 hours ago
- CNA
How Lewis Hamilton and Apple brought F1 racing to the movie screen
CUPERTINO, California :Racing legend Lewis Hamilton, a producer on an upcoming movie starring Brad Pitt as a fictional Formula 1 driver, wanted the film to show the reality of what it looks, feels and sounds like to speed around a track at 200 miles per hour. To avoid having Apple's "F1 The Movie" seem "faked" by Hollywood, Hamilton provided input on details such as when drivers should brake or shift gears. The film will be released in theaters by Warner Bros on June 27. "I really wanted to make sure the authenticity was there, and it worked for both the younger and the older audience, and then making sure that the racing was true to what it is," Hamilton said in an interview with Reuters Television. "All the other drivers, all the teams, are relying on me to make sure that it does," the seven-time world champion added. In the movie, Pitt plays a driver who comes out of retirement to mentor a young hotshot portrayed by Damson Idris. Co-stars include Javier Bardem and Kerry Condon. Portions of the film were shot during real-life F1 events in Abu Dhabi, Mexico City and other Grand Prix stops. The filmmakers would shoot on the tracks during short breaks in the races. Pitt and Idris drove themselves in professional race cars at high speeds. Before filming started, Hamilton said he met with Pitt at a racetrack in Los Angeles so he could size up the actor's driving skills. "I really wanted to see, can you actually drive?" Hamilton said. A longtime motorcycle rider and racing fan, Pitt showed a baseline ability at that point that made Hamilton comfortable. "He already had the knack," Hamilton said, which the actor further developed through weeks of intense training. "He really went in deep," Hamilton said. "F1" was directed by Joseph Kosinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, the team that put together the thrilling fighter-jet scenes in 2022 blockbuster film "Top Gun: Maverick." For "F1," they needed new cameras that would work in race cars, which can be slowed down by extra weight. Producing partner Apple, which began releasing movies in 2019, was able to help. The company used some of its iPhone technology to adapt a camera system typically used in real F1 cars during TV broadcasts. The hardware looked like a traditional F1 camera but delivered the high-resolution video that the filmmakers wanted for the big screen. "This movie was just a great example of putting the whole of the company behind a movie," Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said. "We designed the camera that went into the car to capture the incredible driving experience. It makes you feel like you're actually sitting in the car and experiencing what Brad is experiencing." Cook said he felt the movie showcased the athleticism required to rise to the elite ranks of F1 driving. Hamilton said he had encouraged more examples of the sport's physical challenges. Drivers can lose five or 10 pounds, he said, from the exertion during a race.
Business Times
8 hours ago
- Business Times
Warner Bros discovers it can't be everything
IN WHAT is quickly becoming a pattern, Warner Bros Discovery is making headlines for taking a mulligan. Less than a month after reversing its inexplicable 2023 decision to drop the valuable HBO branding from its streaming service, HBO Max, the entertainment conglomerate is following up on its three-year-old merger of two separate companies them into two separate companies. The specifics of this and similar recent shake-ups make clear a troubling trend: Media giants attempt to be every kind of entertainment company at once, and then struggle to do much of it particularly well. Ultimately, the audience is left with the short end of the stick. To be fair, the split isn't quite a full-blown reversal like the HBO Max to Max back to HBO Max branding backflip. The 2022 merger brought together WarnerMedia's assets (including Warner Bros, DC Entertainment HBO, CNN and TNT) with Discovery's holdings (Discovery Channel, TLC, Discovery+ to name a few). The new proposal will separate Warner Bros Discovery's offerings into two companies: one for its streaming assets and film studios, and another for its legacy cable TV channels. Or at least that's one way to delineate the divergence of its holdings. Another, more blunt, version would be: For the most part, the company has put its profitable pieces (streaming and film) in one pile and the non-profitable pieces (the TV networks) in another. Few who were paying attention to the 2022 deal would be surprised by its ultimate failure. Warner has a long and chequered history of ill-advised mergers. Its previous ownership, AT&T, is a noteworthy example. As part of the deal with Discovery, AT&T spun off WarnerMedia with tens of billions of dollars in debt, which Warner Bros Discovery then assumed. The resulting company has managed to pay down about US$20 billion, which would be impressive were it not for the remaining US$34 billion still owed (plus an estimated US$40 billion in lost value). Still, we're not talking about some fly-by-night operation – Warner Bros recently celebrated its 100th anniversary and has become shorthand for excellence in film and television. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Within that century, it released 1927's The Jazz Singer, an industry disrupter that was the starter pistol for the 'talkies' revolution. The studio was praised for its gritty, socially conscious Depression-era dramas and crime pictures and released legitimately iconic movies such as Casablanca, Rebel Without a Cause, Bonnie & Clyde, The Exorcist, Goodfellas, The Shawshank Redemption, the Harry Potter franchise and (of course) the Looney Tunes shorts and features. And let's not forget Warner Bros produced smash TV shows such as Friends and ER. All of which prompts the question: If a company with that kind of pedigree can't stay afloat in a media landscape that's perpetually hungry for entertainment (or, to put it less artfully, 'content'), who can? The bleak current outlook of the industry indicates that perhaps the answer is 'no one'. Even the Walt Disney Co, which has managed to couple a keen eye for valuable properties with a cultural influence and brand recognition that most other studios can only dream of, may not be infallible. Between the decreased dominance of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the chinks in the armour of its Disney+ streaming service, it's seen better days. Universal Studios, America's oldest surviving film studio (founded in 1912) and still the go-to image of motion picture production thanks to its popular tours, is in the midst of its own sorting-and-separating process. Its parent company, Comcast, announced plans last year to split the oversized NBCUniversal into two groups. Like Warner Bros Discovery, it separated into profitable assets (such as NBC, Bravo, Peacock and theme parks) and less profitable ones (the likes of USA, Syfy, E!, Oxygen, MSNBC and CNBC). Only time will tell if the less lucrative group can survive on its own. The uncertainty is an unfortunate symptom of a fractured media landscape that has been saturated with more viewing options than audiences can (or want to) keep track of. One thing that is not a mystery is that if executives want to compete in a crowded field, they have to be willing to think outside the boxes they've so carefully constructed. Warner Bros did that in a big way at the end of the 1940s. When profits had fallen by more than 50 per cent (due to multiple factors, including the Paramount Decrees and the looming threat of television), Jack Warner tightened belts at the studio. He ended long-term contracts with several of its most expensive stars. It was painful and difficult, but it kept the doors open and the lights on, and the studio reconfigured how they made movies for the changing times and trickier landscape. One could argue that these spin-off solutions are roughly equivalent to Warner's cuts, but solving contemporary problems requires executives to fixate on more than mere numbers as measures of success. As in past moments when audience attention has wavered (in the face of such threats as radio, television and home video), the best solution lies not in bookkeeping but in creativity – empowering filmmakers, showrunners, writers and actors to produce entertainment that genuinely excites audiences and compels them to seek it out. BLOOMBERG The writer is a film critic and historian whose work has appeared in The New York Times, Vulture, The Playlist, Slate and Rolling Stone. He is the author, most recently, of Gandolfini: Jim, Tony, and the Life of a Legend.
