Latest news with #FordvFerrari
Time of India
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
"Maybe scaring us a little bit more": Director Joseph Kosinski on if he selected Tom Cruise over Brad Pitt in film 'F1'
Director Joseph Kosinski recently opened up about the casting of actor Brad Pitt in his upcoming racing drama movie 'F1' rather than Tom Cruise , with whom he has collaborated in superhit films like 'Oblivion' and 'Top Gun: Maverick'. A question was recently posed by GQ magazine, as quoted by Variety, to director Joseph Kosinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer , who started developing the Pitt-starring racing movie while they were in post-production on Cruise's 1.4 billion USD-grossing blockbuster "Top Gun: Maverick." The director said that Cruise is a little more "scaring" than Brad Pitt when it comes to shooting stunt scenes in the movie. "Tom always pushes it to the limit, but at the same time is super capable and very skilled. They both have the natural talent for driving. But yeah, I could see Tom maybe scaring us a little bit more," said Joseph Kosinski as quoted by Variety. Kosinski recruited several crew members to make the jump with him and Bruckheimer from "Top Gun: Maverick" to "F1," many of whom were well accustomed to working with Cruise on various "Mission: Impossible" movies Graham Kelly, an action-vehicle supervisor, agreed with Kosinski's casting assessment. He recalled his experience with Tom Cruise and said that it was "stressful" for him as he used to build the cars for stunts. When comparing Tom Cruise to Brad Pitt, Kelly said that the 'Fight Club' actor is well aware of his abilities and often backs out of the stunts he believes he cannot do. "We'd have had a crash," Kelly quipped about Cruise starring in "F1" over Pitt. "Tom pushes it to the limit. I mean really to the limit. That terrifies me. I mean, I've done loads of 'Mission: Impossibles' with Tom and it's the most stressful experience for someone like me building cars for him, doing stunts with him. Whereas Brad listens and he knows his abilities, and I think he'd be the first to say, 'Yeah, I'm not going to do that,'" said Kelly as quoted by Variety. As per the outlet, before 'Top Gun: Maverick,' the director was actually developing his own version of 'Ford v Ferrari' with Cruise and Pitt attached to star. Both actors wanted to do their own driving in the movie, but the budget Kosinski proposed to the studio was too high for the project to move forward. James Mangold ended up directing "Ford v Ferrari" with Christian Bale and Matt Damon . Cruise is currently in theatres with 'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning,' which debuted o $200 million globally to set a new box office opening record for the actor's 29-year-old franchise, reported Variety. Pitt's 'F1' is set to open in theatres on June 27. Check out our list of the latest Hindi , English , Tamil , Telugu , Malayalam , and Kannada movies . Don't miss our picks for the best Hindi movies , best Tamil movies, and best Telugu films .
Mint
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Mint
'Maybe scaring us a little bit more': Director Joseph Kosinski on if he selected Tom Cruise over Brad Pitt in film F1
Washington DC [US], May 30 (ANI): Director Joseph Kosinski recently opened up about the casting of actor Brad Pitt in his upcoming racing drama movie 'F1' rather than Tom Cruise, with whom he has collaborated in superhit films like 'Oblivion' and 'Top Gun: Maverick'. A question was recently posed by GQ magazine, as quoted by Variety, to director Joseph Kosinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who started developing the Pitt-starring racing movie while they were in post-production on Cruise's 1.4 billion USD-grossing blockbuster "Top Gun: Maverick." The director said that Cruise is a little more "scaring" than Brad Pitt when it comes to shooting stunt scenes in the movie. "Tom always pushes it to the limit, but at the same time is super capable and very skilled. They both have the natural talent for driving. But yeah, I could see Tom maybe scaring us a little bit more," said Joseph Kosinski as quoted by Variety. Kosinski recruited several crew members to make the jump with him and Bruckheimer from "Top Gun: Maverick" to "F1," many of whom were well accustomed to working with Cruise on various "Mission: Impossible" movies Graham Kelly, an action-vehicle supervisor, agreed with Kosinski's casting assessment. He recalled his experience with Tom Cruise and said that it was "stressful" for him as he used to build the cars for stunts. When comparing Tom Cruise to Brad Pitt, Kelly said that the 'Fight Club' actor is well aware of his abilities and often backs out of the stunts he believes he cannot do. "We'd have had a crash," Kelly quipped about Cruise starring in "F1" over Pitt. "Tom pushes it to the limit. I mean really to the limit. That terrifies me. I mean, I've done loads of 'Mission: Impossibles' with Tom and it's the most stressful experience for someone like me building cars for him, doing stunts with him. Whereas Brad listens and he knows his abilities, and I think he'd be the first to say, 'Yeah, I'm not going to do that,'" said Kelly as quoted by Variety. As per the outlet, before 'Top Gun: Maverick,' the director was actually developing his own version of 'Ford v Ferrari' with Cruise and Pitt attached to star. Both actors wanted to do their own driving in the movie, but the budget Kosinski proposed to the studio was too high for the project to move forward. James Mangold ended up directing "Ford v Ferrari" with Christian Bale and Matt Damon. Cruise is currently in theatres with 'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning,' which debuted o $200 million globally to set a new box office opening record for the actor's 29-year-old franchise, reported Variety. Pitt's 'F1' is set to open in theatres on June 27. (ANI)
Business Insider
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Business Insider
The new Hollywood: working for YouTubers, starring in mini-dramas, and building side hustles
Mathieu Bonzon spent over a decade working in production in Hollywood, with credits including "Outrage" and "Ford v Ferrari." But when work slowed in 2022, Bonzon, who had a new baby at home, needed more financial stability than an independent producer's life allowed for. An introduction to the Gates Foundation led him to start making cinematic educational videos aimed at college kids for Gates, NASA, and other organizations. The long-term contracts brought a more predictable income than he had as a producer. He's able to get talented crews because so many people are looking for work. He also finds the work more rewarding than the Hollywood films he'd worked on, seeing the potential to make education more accessible. "It's liberated me from needing to do something to pay my bills and liberated me to do something that's more meaningful to me," Bonzon said. The end of Peak TV, Hollywood labor strikes, and the shift of TV and film productions to cheaper locations overseas have threatened the careers of people across filmed entertainment, from crews to actors to producers. Scripted TV series orders were down 25% in 2024 from their 2022 peak, when 3,108 shows were ordered as Hollywood raced to catch up to Netflix, according to industry tracker Ampere Analysis. TV writing jobs fell 42% from 2022 to 2023, per the Writers Guild of America. Trump's tariffs have also cast a shadow on the economy, dampening hopes for a Hollywood recovery. Some in creative fields have deferred or redefined their dreams of making it in Hollywood and retiring on a big studio salary. Others have abandoned those ambitions altogether for other careers or are trying to make ends meet in the gig economy. While traditional film and TV output has declined from its apex, adjacent creative fields are growing and providing opportunities for those willing and able to pivot. The creator economy continues to expand, with marketers poised to spend more than $10 billion on influencer marketing this year, according to a March EMARKETER forecast. Brands from Walmart to AB InBev are leaning into cinematic entertainment to cut through the ad clutter. Mini dramas, the bite-sized vertical soaps popularized by Asian-backed apps like DramaBox and ReelShort, are on a growth tear in the US, leading legacy TV companies like TelevisaUnivision to take note. Business Insider spoke to 11 producers, editors, and others at various career stages who shared their experiences in and lessons from working in these areas. Many are contending with painful financial adjustments, and some are still waiting for Hollywood to call. Film and TV pros who were at the top of their earning power also have to adapt to new financial realities. Zack Arnold, a film and TV editor ("Cobra Kai," "Glee"), shifted to podcasting and coaching several years ago. He helps other midlife Hollywood creative workers apply their storytelling skills to the entrepreneurial creator space. But a top Hollywood editor used to making thousands of dollars a week can't replace their income by editing short videos for YouTube. "There aren't enough hours in a day to do that," Arnold said. For others, the shift can lead to more stable income. Marc Herrmann, a TV film actor who's appeared in about 10 productions for the mini-drama app ReelShort, said he's been able to call himself a working actor for the first time. "That's everyone's dream," Herrmann said. "This vertical world has saved a lot of people from doing jobs they don't want to do." In the creator space, feedback comes fast Those who turned to creator-led studios built by YouTube stars say there's more opportunity, and the hands-on nature of the work can be rewarding. Isaac Diaz was laid off from his role as senior digital creative producer at the streaming service Paramount+ last year. He packed his bags and moved to Austin, never thinking that two months later he'd be working for a Minecraft YouTuber. He got the job because the team was looking for someone with traditional production management experience. As assistant director of production, Diaz helps the team at CatFace, the company behind the mega YouTuber Aphmau, who has over 23 million subscribers, build productions that can rival Hollywood shows. Diaz hasn't closed the door to traditional media. He would consider going back for the right opportunity. "However, having worked here has opened up my eyes to so much more opportunity," Diaz said. "I realized I don't necessarily need to be living in LA, and working for a major studio, to be doing something that I love." There is a level of culture shock that comes with a new media gig. Amanda Barnes, EVP of production at Smosh, a 64-person creator studio with 26 million YouTube subscribers, said she was thrown by the pace of creator content compared to her past work at Warner Bros. Animation. "There's no wait to see if you get a season two green light." Feedback comes fast when you have near-instant access to data on how content is performing with audiences. "We can learn what worked, what didn't work, at such a faster rate, and then get to do it all again," Barnes said. "I've never worked in a field where the feedback is that quick." There also tends to be less red tape than working in traditional media. Barnes, who reports directly to YouTubers Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox, said it's nice to have fewer layers of clearances. Caroline Simmons, who worked on productions for Netflix and YouTube originals and is now the director of production at CatFace, was similarly shocked by the company's chain of command. She works closely with CEO Jessica Bravura, who created the character Aphmau. "At a traditional studio, you're never seeing a CEO," Simmons said. "And if you do, it's probably a bad day." Mini dramas are helping pay the rent Irvin Gelb has been in the entertainment business since the late '80s, initially helping Japanese corporations invest in Hollywood and later transitioning to talent management. After the 2023 Hollywood strikes, auditions started slowing down. In 2024, Gelb said he began seeing casting offers for vertical dramas. He was initially skeptical because he didn't want clients appearing in movies on phones, and the work paid less. Nevertheless, he submitted an up-and-coming actor, Cayman Cardiff, for a short titled "Santa Bring Me a Billionaire Husband," which became a hit. From there, Gelb began researching the space. "I saw the future, and I was in," he said. Cardiff has wrapped 14 verticals to date. Gelb said the medium has provided fresh opportunities for the "thousands of incredible actors that are not working." The actor Sarah Moliski has emerged as a leading player in the vertical scene, specializing in villain roles. Her characters have stolen sperm and hired drunk doctors to administer abortions, she said. She also hosts a podcast for leading mini-drama app ReelShort and works behind the scenes on casting. After hustling for years, Moliski said verticals "changed everything for me." She landed her first, "Ms. Swan, Teach Me Love," after dropping her team and submitting a self-tape. She wants to continue riding the wave and is hoping to land more lead roles that center strong female characters. While the outlandish storylines may raise eyebrows, more established directors and figures across other departments are getting involved, Moliski said. They're starting to say, "'Oh, these aren't so cringey' — because nothing's filming and what's cringey about paying rent?" Gelb said most vertical actors still have aspirations of foraying into the "horizontal world," but he's striking while the iron is hot. He's also pursuing producing and investing in verticals in collaboration with existing apps and his talent roster. "Every actor's biggest dream, I don't care what level you are at, is consistency," Moliski said. Brands are beckoning Some people have found opportunities to transfer their film and TV expertise to brands and other organizations. Jenifer Westphal is the founder and CEO of Wavelength, a Tony- and Emmy-winning production company behind documentaries like "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" A few years ago, she started working in branded content, applying Wavelength's character-driven storytelling to marketers, including Hoka and De Beers. Wavelength acquired an agency, Duplex Deli, and has grown from three to more than 20 full-timers. Today, most of Wavelength's revenue comes from brand work. "We're willing to do whatever creative a brand wants us to, as long as it fits with our ethos," she said. Marisa Levy spent 15 years making unscripted shows like "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" for Discovery's TLC. In 2022, she jumped to branded content for companies including Rebel Girls, a girls' empowerment media brand, and then for herself. By then, Peak TV had come to a screeching halt. Looking around, Levy saw new places to apply her understanding of audiences. "Every brand needs to expand across platforms, whether it's a wine company or a media company," she said. "They're all so eager to build out their YouTube or TikTok, and our skill set is 100% applicable." It's been an adjustment. Going from a senior executive post at a network to startup land gave her a crash course in new skills like hiring influencers and making YouTube videos. It also meant trading business class for coach and learning a new work culture, with its specific jargon and presentation style. "Everything requires an analytical deck," she said. Having to count on herself brought insecurity. But while she's no longer working in Hollywood, Levy has found value in her new focus. "Some brands are doing such good stuff," she said. "You can still shape culture; you're just doing it in a different way."
Los Angeles Times
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
‘Stick' creator Jason Keller takes a swing at the game of life through golf
On the most basic level, 'Stick' is about a prematurely washed-up golfer who takes a teen prodigy under his wing and on the road. Off they go in an RV to hit some big amateur tournaments, accompanied by the kid's mother and the old pro's irascible buddy. The kid gets to fall in love with a free-spirited lass. Adventures are had. Lessons are learned. But very little about golf takes place on a basic level (except maybe in 'Caddyshack'). The sport is rife with metaphors. Lay up or go for broke? (see also, 'Tin Cup.') Keep your cool under pressure or lose it in the sand trap? So it makes sense that 'Stick,' premiering June 4 on Apple TV+, uses the game of golf to take a swing at the game of life. The wash-up, Pryce Cahill (played by Owen Wilson), seeks redemption. Years back, he flipped out on the course, and his life has been in free fall since — he and his wife (Judy Greer) are getting a divorce, and their home is being sold. But then he meets the 17-year-old prodigy, Santi (newcomer Peter Dager), who he sees as the key to a second chance. Santi, meanwhile, knows he's good; when he pummels a ball, it sounds like a sonic boom. But his first coach was his hard-ass, now-vanished dad, and Santi now has trouble taking golf seriously or respecting his elders. These human elements intrigued series creator Jason Keller far more than anything that might happen on the links. 'I love golf, but I'm not good at it,' he said. 'I am routinely frustrated by it.' Frustration, of course, is a universal quality. So is disappointment. These are the elements that pushed Keller, who wrote the screenplay for the 2019 movie 'Ford v Ferrari,' to create 'Stick.' 'Long before the story was set on a golf course, I was really interested in exploring a character who had not lived up to expectations,' he said. 'I was interested in characters that had great promise but ultimately didn't achieve that promise. What happens to somebody afterward? How do they react to that? Do they let themselves be defined by not achieving that level, or do they try to reconcile that? Does it motivate them to excel in other areas of their life?' Wilson, who also readily admits his golf game isn't the strongest — 'My dad and my brothers played, but I was always intimidated by it' — sees another key parallel to life: As much as you seek perfection, you can never achieve it. 'There's a little bit of a chess thing with golf, in that you can never really master it,' he said. 'That can feel like life too. People talk about Tiger Woods winning the Masters by like 12 strokes and deciding his swing isn't quite right. Pryce talks about how the game takes and takes and takes. I think people feel that way about life as well.' Mariana Treviño, the Mexican actor who plays Santi's mom, Elena, agrees that 'Stick' is about dealing with hardships. 'Elena is in a moment in her life where she had a big disappointment,' she said. 'Her family broke down. Sometimes in life when something very strong happens to you, you just kind of shut out from the world. You think that you're going to protect that wound by just not moving too much from a place, or not directly confronting something that is painful.' If this all sounds a tad serious, 'Stick' really isn't. As with most anything starring Wilson, whose Texas/California cool works just fine in the series' Indiana setting (Keller hails from Indianapolis), 'Stick' feels easy and breezy even when it gets into heavy-ish themes. The tone suggests a riff on 'Ted Lasso' but with golf instead of soccer. Wilson and Marc Maron, who plays Pryce's grumpy, long-suffering best bud (who is dealing with grief of his own), keep up the steady banter of two guys who know each other's foibles and try to resist the urge to poke them. Zero, Santi's new friend and life guru played by Lilli Kay, is a self-described 'genderqueer, anticapitalist, postcolonial feminist,' and the series manages to have fun with her without making fun of her. Elena, meanwhile, is mildly suspicious of the whole endeavor, but she finds the aging white golfers amusing. She also likes the cash Pryce has thrown her way for the privilege of coaching her son. Put them all together in an RV, and on a series of golf courses, and you've got the makings of a modern family comedy. Except most of the 'family' aren't related. 'They're a sort of a found family, and they are all very different personalities,' Keller said. 'But ultimately they are what each other needed, and none of them knew it. I think that's the beauty and the fun and the heart of the show. We're watching a group of people that don't fit together at first, and then they realize they needed each other. I hope that warmth and the feel-good element of that is felt by audiences.' But that sense of major disappointment, and the question of how to turn the page, still lingers over the story. Keller is intimately acquainted with that kind of challenge. He was 25, newly arrived in Hollywood, when doctors discovered a benign brain tumor. It was successfully removed, but the subsequent nerve damage meant Keller had to retrain his brain to let him walk again. Now 56, he says he 'didn't realize what a gift that hard experience was. I became very grateful for being physically healthy.' Keller used that sink-or-swim experience to write his 'Stick' characters. 'Everybody has a point in their life that just brought them to their knees,' he said. 'It could be a divorce or the death of a loved one. We all face these personal tragedies or challenges. What do you do with them after you go through 'em and survive 'em? That's the real question.' Even Santi, the youngest character in 'Stick,' has been burned by life. 'He's scared, and he has every reason to be,' Dager said. 'His father left him.' And he responded by building a hard shell and walking with a swagger. Dager embraced the whole package. 'I fell in love with his past but also his soul and the way he protects himself with the humor he uses as a defense mechanism,' Dager said. 'And then once we get to know him and he starts to fall in love and he starts to trust people, you really see the kid. You see who he actually wants to be.' And if you do happen to be a golfer, if you know a birdie from an eagle, an iron from a wood, 'Stick' doesn't skimp on the sports stuff. It might even inspire you to go out to the garage and excavate that moldering set of clubs. Or not. 'The golfers I've shown it to have connected to it and appreciated it at the level of the sport,' Keller said. 'And the others who have seen it who are not golfers seem to be responding to it at a purely emotional character level. I think they're connecting to it. We'll see if we got it right. I hope we did.'
See - Sada Elbalad
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- See - Sada Elbalad
Sam Mendes' Beatles Biopics Finds Its Writers
Yara Sameh Sam Mendes' Beatles biopics have found their writers. Tony Award winner Jez Butterworth ('Ford v Ferrari,' 'Spectre'), Academy Award winner Peter Straughan ('Conclave,' 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy') and BAFTA and Tony Award winner Jack Thorne ('Adolescence,' 'Enola Holmes') are set to write the screenplays for the four theatrical films from Sony Pictures and Neal Street Productions. The films mark the first time Apple Corps Ltd. and The Beatles – John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr – have granted full life story and music rights for a scripted film. Mendes conceived and will direct the four films, each from a different band member's point of view, intersecting to tell the story of the iconic group. The films will star Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr, Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney and Joseph Quinn as George Harrison. Sony Pictures will finance and distribute worldwide with full theatrical windows in April 2028. 'The Beatles—A Four-Film Cinematic Event' is a Neal Street production in association with Apple Corps for Sony Pictures. Mendes is producing alongside his Neal Street Productions partner Pippa Harris and Neal Street's Julie Pastor. Alexandra Derbyshire ('Wonka') is also producing. Butterworth's recent screenwriting credits include James Mangold's 'Ford v Ferrari' and 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.' His other work includes 'Spectre,' 'Black Mass' and 'Edge of Tomorrow.' Butterworth is also an award-winning playwright who wrote 'The Ferryman,' for which he won the Tony for best play, and most recently, 'The Hills of California,' which just received seven Tony nominations including for best play. Both plays were directed by Sam Mendes. Straughan most recently won the Academy Award for his screenplay for Edward Berger's thriller 'Conclave,' starring Ralph Fiennes, John Lithgow, Stanley Tucci and Isabella Rossellini. He previously co-wrote 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy' with his late wife, Bridget O'Connor. The screenplay earned them an Academy Award nomination and won the BAFTA for adapted screenplay. His other film credits include 'Our Brand is Crisis' and 'Frank.' For television, Straughan adapted Hilary Mantel's bestselling novel 'Wolf Hall,' which won the BAFTA for best drama series. He also wrote its sequel, 'Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light.' Thorne is a BAFTA and Tony Award-winning screenwriter and theatre writer. His recent hit series 'Adolescence,' which he co-created, has garnered widespread acclaim. His film credits include 'The Swimmers,' 'Enola Holmes' and 'Enola Holmes 2,' 'The Aeronauts' and 'Wonder.' His other TV credits include 'Toxic Town,' 'His Dark Materials,' 'Help,' and 'Best Interests.' On the theater side, Thorne wrote the Tony and Olivier Award-winning 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,' and most recently 'The Motive and the Cue,' directed by Sam Mendes. read more New Tourism Route To Launch in Old Cairo Ahmed El Sakka-Led Play 'Sayidati Al Jamila' to Be Staged in KSA on Dec. 6 Mandy Moore Joins Season 2 of "Dr. Death" Anthology Series Don't Miss These Movies at 44th Cairo Int'l Film Festival Today Amr Diab to Headline KSA's MDLBEAST Soundstorm 2022 Festival Arts & Culture Mai Omar Stuns in Latest Instagram Photos Arts & Culture "The Flash" to End with Season 9 Arts & Culture Ministry of Culture Organizes four day Children's Film Festival Arts & Culture Canadian PM wishes Muslims Eid-al-Adha News Egypt confirms denial of airspace access to US B-52 bombers Lifestyle Pistachio and Raspberry Cheesecake Domes Recipe News Ayat Khaddoura's Final Video Captures Bombardment of Beit Lahia News Australia Fines Telegram $600,000 Over Terrorism, Child Abuse Content Arts & Culture Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's $4.7M LA Home Burglarized Sports Former Al Zamalek Player Ibrahim Shika Passes away after Long Battle with Cancer Videos & Features Bouchra Dahlab Crowned Miss Arab World 2025 .. Reem Ganzoury Wins Miss Arab Africa Title (VIDEO) Sports Neymar Announced for Brazil's Preliminary List for 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers News Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly Inaugurates Two Indian Companies Arts & Culture New Archaeological Discovery from 26th Dynasty Uncovered in Karnak Temple
