This past weekend, a teaser was dropped for the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt along with some remarkable details about how the film is being shot.
Pitt and co-star Damson Idris are filming during races, acting out scenes in narrow time slots as the Formula 1 circus buzzes around them.
“The logistics of it are unlike anything I’ve done before. We’re shooting at the actual Grands Prix, there are certain aspects of this film where we’re working in very, very tight windows, shooting on the track, between practice and qualifying sessions, in front of hundreds of thousands of people,” director Joseph Kosinski tells Deadline.
“It’s like a pitstop. It really brings an intensity and everyone’s leaning forward in a way that maybe you wouldn’t on a normal shoot day on a soundstage, where you’ve got 10 hours to get it right.”
Pitt and Idris will be present for most of the remaining races on the 2024 Formula 1 calendar as they wrap up filming on the movie scheduled to be released theatrically in June next year.
Footage of Pitt acting out scenes behind actual F1 drivers being interviewed has been going viral on X (formerly Twitter). One of the drivers, Fernando Alonso, reacts in astonishment as Hollywood royalty walks past him in the de-briefing zone yesterday after the British Grand Prix at Silverstone had finished.
Brad Pitt behind him acting, I’m done 😭 pic.twitter.com/He7lLTvY5n
— nic 🏁 (@nnicolef1) July 7, 2024
fernando’s face watching brad pitt has me 💀💀 pic.twitter.com/0M5cOWe5I8
— clara (@leclercsletters) July 7, 2024
The movie is being filmed for IMAX theaters with Apple acquiring the rights for distribution and Warner Bros. Pictures distributing it in theaters.
A special car has been built to recreate the speed and thrilling nature of F1 cars. Both Pitt and Idris had to train for months to learn how to pilot them. The race car, which has the chassis and engine of a Formula 2 car, has 15 camera mounts which the moviemakers hope will “put the audience in one of these incredible machines.”
“We have bespoke cameras for this that are very small and light so that they don’t impede the performance of the car too much and that’s key because you don’t want to have a race car and then put 200 pounds of gear on it,” explains Kosinski.
“Our camera mounts were designed with Mercedes as well. The cameras are specially designed by Sony.”
Kosinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer worked together on Top Gun: Maverick with the cameras used on F1 a step forward from their previous project which focused on naval aviation.
Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton is a producer on the movie who has been constantly advising Kosinski on the script and technical details.
“The most important thing is you tell a great story and an emotional story, that’s always the priority, but going back to the first conversations with Lewis, he said that there has yet to be a film that really captures what it’s like to be in a Formula 1 car, so that’s been a goal, to put the audience in one of these incredible machines.”
Image credits: Warner Bros. Pictures