Latest news with #TopGun:Maverick
Atlantic
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Atlantic
A Sports Drama Told at 200 Miles an Hour
The stakes are almost embarrassingly simple: A man needs to win a race. F1 is a loud sports epic that thrusts the viewer into the high-octane, technocratic world of Formula One racing. These competitions are decided by complex car engineering and tactical pit stops; individual drivers are only as important as the car companies they work for. The film's director, Joseph Kosinski, best known for the box-office sensation Top Gun: Maverick, accounts for this system's intricacies by stripping the plot of any complications. Instead, in collaboration with Formula One's regulating body, he creates a straightforward underdog tale, made compelling by its fidelity to the world's fastest races. Brad Pitt plays Sonny Hayes, an over-the-hill, salt-of-the-earth gearhead who washed out of Formula 1 decades ago and has since taken on any racing challenge that he can. (He even drives a New York City cab at one point.) He returns to the sport when another former competitor, Ruben Cervantes (played by Javier Bardem), recruits Sonny to bolster the flailing, upstart team that Cervantes now owns. If his crew doesn't win at least one race this season, the governing board can fire Cervantes, so Sonny joins up for one last rodeo. In real life, Formula One is defined by the companies (known as 'constructors') that sink seemingly unlimited resources into getting to the top year after year—well-known brands such as Ferrari and Mercedes. F1 sticks them in the background (alongside actual racers such as Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen) while focusing on the fictional crew run by Cervantes, called APX. 'I wanted to tell the story of the team at the bottom,' Kosinski told me. And rather than villainize any particular corporation—as James Mangold did in his period piece Ford v Ferrari —the director said that he was more intrigued by a quirk of Formula One, where constructors have multiple drivers in the field for each race. The big competition, then, is an internal one. That means Sonny's biggest obstacle isn't trying to overcome a champion such as Hamilton (who is listed as a producer on the film). His struggle is learning to work alongside one of his younger peers, Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris). 'This notion of your teammate being your enemy, to me, that's great for drama,' Kosinski told me, defining it as 'that meta thing of a veteran and a rookie.' Whereas in Top Gun: Maverick, he explained, he was exploring a father-son dynamic, in F1, he sought to examine the relationship between two rivals. This clever conflict helps the film upend the usual, dull stakes that have befouled so many works of its ilk in the past. The most successful racing movies of late have leaned more artistic than mainstream, while more extravagant attempts have failed either commercially or critically. F1 doesn't quite slot into either category; it's more of a long-shot sports saga with the peaks and valleys of joy and despair that come with it. (Think Hoosiers or Rocky, except with scenes set in Monaco and Abu Dhabi.) It's familiar, but pleasantly so. The film still manages to dig into the peculiarities of Formula One within its big, meaty character study. The sport is well suited for that type of intimate storytelling. 'I can't think of another sport like that, where the sport is literally engineered to create that internal team conflict,' Kosinski said. 'That sense of internal competition brings the best and worst out of people.' The director discovered Formula One by watching the popular documentary series Formula 1: Drive to Survive, which brought greater visibility to the sport. He recalled how the first season focused on the last-place finishers, not the top ones: 'What's it like to be the team that goes and knows they're going to lose every weekend?' Questions like this one seem to undergird much of Kosinski's work. The director has long struck me as something of an under-sung auteur of big-budget features; he takes on brand-name franchises that are huge, technical challenges (such as his debut feature, Tron: Legacy), injecting humanity wherever possible. Top Gun: Maverick followed a plot befitting a legacy sequel—the growth of Tom Cruise's protagonist into someone older and wiser—but Kosinski made it seem like it was, on a deeper level, about Cruise's superhuman desire to stay relevant in Hollywood. The director similarly molds F1 around his star's more reluctant image: Pitt portrays a man of few words who seems nostalgic for simpler times in his industry. The specifics of Formula One border on arcane, and Kosinski gleefully plunges the viewer into all of its minutiae: the balance between aerodynamics and engine power in building the cars; the strategies behind taking a pit stop or passing another driver. Sonny is the viewer's tether to reality; he's happy to practice his steering-wheel grip using a common object—tennis balls—instead of an expensive contraption. (Joshua, meanwhile, employs a more intricate workout device.) Kosinski wanted to accurately depict the sport without losing viewers who are unfamiliar with or even intimidated by it. 'It's not just about people going around in circles,' he told me, pushing back against the mainstream image of Formula One as a bunch of rocket cars zooming around a track. 'It really is chess at 200 miles an hour.' F1 succeeds when it emphasizes that side of the sport, and as long as you can accept the well-trod beats of its plot. Pitt is there to glower and exude experience, and Idris brims with youthful, charismatic arrogance. Kosinski handles the racing scenes with the mechanical prowess he showed off in Top Gun: Maverick, mounting cameras to cars and highlighting their velocity in surprising ways. Sonny's quest to prove his doubters wrong resembles the arc of many a sports drama. But Kosinski elevates that journey by capturing racing in all of its gorgeous, peculiar glory—there's never been a portrait of Formula One quite like it.
India Today
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- India Today
Tom Cruise celebrates 35 years of Days of Thunder, supports Brad Pitt's F1 release
Actor Tom Cruise is celebrating 35 years of his popular racing film 'Days of Thunder' and also showed support for Brad Pitt's latest racing movie 'F1'. At the same time, he hinted at the possibility of teaming up with Pitt for a film in the shared a series of nostalgic photos on X and wrote, 'I always love the fun and adrenaline of a racing film. Today marks two racing milestones for my friend Jerry Bruckheimer, the release of 'F1' and the 35 year anniversary to the day of our collaboration with the great Tony Scott on 'Days of Thunder' (sic).'advertisementHe concluded, 'Incredible to look back on this film today, and congratulations to Jerry, Brad, Joe and the whole 'F1' team on their release! (sic)' Meanwhile, 'F1' director Joseph Kosinski, who previously directed Cruise in 'Top Gun: Maverick', revealed in a GQ Magazine UK interview that he is already dreaming up a sequel - one that would bring Cruise and Pitt together in a 'Days of Thunder–F1' crossover. Cruise played racecar driver Cole Trickle in the 1990 film, and Kosinski is keen to blend that legacy into his new racing Joseph Kosinski had once planned a film with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, similar to 'Ford v Ferrari', where both stars would do their own racing stunts. But the studio didn't approve the budget, and the film was later made by James Mangold with Christian Bale and Matt Damon in the lead. advertisement Though Cruise and Pitt haven't shared screen space since 1994's 'Interview With the Vampire', the two remain friends. Cruise even made an appearance at the 'F1' premiere in London, posing with Pitt. Speaking to E! News, Pitt recently expressed his interest in acting, with Cruise again jokingly adding, 'I'm not gonna hang my ass off airplanes and shit like that.'Joseph Kosinski's 'F1' hit theatres on June 27. The film features Brad Pitt as a retired 'F1' champion who returns to the track to save a struggling team and honour his former teammate's legacy. With high-octane racing sequences and an emotional storyline, the movie appeals to both 'F1' enthusiasts and general audiences.- EndsTrending Reel
Newsweek
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
Lewis Hamilton Details Apple's Role in F1 Movie's Realism
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton released a video talking about the newly released "F1" movie. Hamilton is stepping into the film world with "F1," officially listed as a producer on the movie and playing a crucial role in its development. "F1" stars Brad Pitt and Damson Idris as the two drivers in the movie. Joseph Kosinski - of "Top Gun: Maverick" fame - directed the movie while Apple Original Films produced it. The famous Hans Zimmer produced the film's score. Lewis Hamilton attends the "F1: The Movie" European Premiere at Cineworld Leicester Square on June 23, 2025 in London, England. Lewis Hamilton attends the "F1: The Movie" European Premiere at Cineworld Leicester Square on June 23, 2025 in London, England. Photo byIn a video released on X (formerly Twitter), Hamilton spoke about what movies as a form of art have meant to him. "I've always loved film. So much of my life has been inspired by things I've seen in movies," Hamilton said in the social media video. "Whether it's clothing, whether it's just stories that have just been uplifting, that have got me past difficult times. And then this opportunity came up, I jumped at it." The seven-time World Champion also elaborated on the film-making process itself, crediting Apple Films for providing high-tech equipment. "To get it authentic, to get the technology, to get that real live action experience, there's only one company that could make it happen. That wouldn't have been possible without Apple," Hamilton added in the video. "Apple's always stood at the intersection of the liberal arts and technology. It feels wonderful to be a part of getting this out to the world. You've really contributed a lot too. I mean, you can tell from the movie how authentic it is. "To get people to feel what we're feeling like in the car, as close as you can possibly get, we needed that technology, and we needed that camera." "And we got to utilize Apple's amazing team in pushing technology and pushing the boundaries in camera making. And they've created these new cameras." #F1TheMovie is in theaters now. Big thanks to @tim_cook and the @appletv team for helping us get to this moment ~ — Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) June 27, 2025 Hamilton's role in making the movie was to guide it into a sense of realism. He advocated for Idris and Pitt to get time behind the wheel of race cars at different tracks - hoping to add realistic driving techniques and maneuvers. The production crew shot the movie during several F1 races, and it features cameos from drivers and teams from the 2023 season. The movie runs for a total of two hours and 36 minutes - allegedly costing a total of $200 million to produce the blockbuster. "F1" fetched $10 million during the early screenings and enters its debut weekend at the box office with high expectations because of Apple's huge marketing push. More F1 news: How Lewis Hamilton Made the F1 Movie Production More Expensive For more F1 news, head on over to Newsweek Sports.
Newsweek
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
'F1' Movie Finishes With $10M in Early Showings Ahead of Opening Weekend
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. After a run of previews, the early results for "F1" at the box office are in and show some promise. The motorsport movie netted $10 million at the box office during early screenings. The movie opened on Friday, June 27, though certain theaters were holding early showings ahead of the official release. The projected box office is $115 million for the opening weekend, recouping more than half of the film's reported production cost. The movie reportedly cost a total of about $200 million to produce - without accounting for the marketing budget. Brad Pitt, Kerry Condon and Damson Idris attend the European Premiere of F1 ® The Movie at Cineworld, Leicester Square on June 23, 2025 in London, England. Brad Pitt, Kerry Condon and Damson Idris attend the European Premiere of F1 ® The Movie at Cineworld, Leicester Square on June 23, 2025 in London, England. Photo byJoseph Kosinski directed the film, which was produced by Apple Studios and features notable input from seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton was a producer on the film, giving his feedback on the accuracy of the movie to the sport itself. The Ferrari driver also added to the story of the movie, according to Kosinski. "Lewis also contributed to the story. I mean, there's a part in the film where Sonny Hayes talks about why he races, and almost the spiritual side of it," the director said. "And that also was inspired by a conversation with Lewis. His involvement has been amazing. We couldn't make the film without him." Kosinski also worked on "Top Gun: Maverick," making him the ideal leader of an action film featuring some of the fastest cars on the planet. Legendary composer Hans Zimmer worked on the music for the film. Brad Pitt and Damson Idris are the lead actors in the film, portraying two teammates who battle it out on the track. Ahead of the movie, both Pitt and Idris went through exhaustive training for the film, driving several race cars at different tracks. "F1" features real drivers and teams appearing and making cameos, adding to the film's realism and connecting the atmosphere to what happened in the 2023 season. The movie sees retired driver Sonny Hayes return to the paddock after his former teammate and friend, Ruben, asks him to come back. The fictional team APXGP is on the verge of being sold and needs a sharp upturn in form. Hayes, played by Pitt, needs to mentor the young hotshot Joshua Pierce (Idris) as the pair takes on a mentor-mentee relationship. The movie is set to be a summer blockbuster, pacing to beat out many of the summer movies, though it will likely fall short of Marvel's "Fantastic Four" and "Superman." More F1 news: How Lewis Hamilton Made the F1 Movie Production More Expensive For more F1 news, head on over to Newsweek Sports.
Time of India
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
F1 box office collection day 1: Brad Pitt's sports drama earns Rs 5.25 cr in India
F1 box office collection day 1: F1, one of the biggest films of the year, hit the screens on Friday (June 27) and opened to a good response at the Indian box office. The sports action drama also received positive reviews. F1 is directed by Joseph Kosinski of Top Gun: Maverick fame. F1 opens well in India Brad Pitt is in the limelight because of his latest film F1, which is out in theaters now. It opened to a good response in India and also impressed moviegoers. According to Sacnilk, a trade website, the sports action drama earned Rs 5.25 crore (nett) on the first day. It has outperformed Jackie Chan's Karate Kid Legends, which made Rs 1.75 crore on the first day. It has, however, failed to beat MI 8. Tom Cruise's action drama made Rs 16.5 crore on its opening day. The film has received positive reviews with critics lauding the performances and the execution. The healthy word-of-mouth is expected to help it witness good growth on the weekend. F1 has been released alongside Maa, starring Kajol, and the Vishnu Manchu-fronted Kannappa. It, however, is unlikely to face competition from them as they cater to a different audience. The Telugu biggie is meant for those fond of devotional action dramas. Maa, meanwhile, caters to those craving horror dramas with a 'desi' touch. About F1 F1 is a high-octane racing drama directed by Joseph Kosinski. It stars Brad Pitt as a former Formula 1 driver who returns to mentor a rookie. Touted to be a biting take on the F1 World, the film combines real race footage and fiction to deliver an adrenaline rush.
