The Crown star Tobias Menzies joins Brad Pitt-led cast of upcoming Formula One racing feature for Apple Original Films
The Crown star Tobias Menzies has joined the Brad Pitt-led cast of Apple Original Films’ upcoming Formula One racing feature.
News of the 49-year-old actor’s addition was revealed Friday by Variety but information about his character was not disclosed.
The movie will star Pitt — whose ex-wife ‘blindsided him with the sale of her share’ of their French vineyard — as a retired driver who makes a return to professional racing.
The currently-untitled feature will be shot during various Grand Prix events this summer.
It is being helmed by Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski, who also serves as a producer alongside Jerry Bruckheimer and Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton.
New addition: The Crown star Tobias Menzies has joined the Brad Pitt-led cast of Apple Original Films’ upcoming Formula One racing feature; seen in January
Leading man: The movie will star Pitt — whose ex-wife ‘ blindsided him with the sale of her share’ of their French vineyard — as a retired driver who makes a return to professional racing; seen in February
Development on the feature was initially revealed to the public in January of last year.
It was subsequently announced that Pitt would enter the cockpit of a race car while working on the project.
However, Variety reported that the performer would not actually compete in a Grand Prix event and would likely drive a modified vehicle.
Kosinksi and Bruckheimer previously took part in a panel centered on the project that took place during the F1 Accelerate Summit in Miami, where they spoke about various aspects of its production.
Panel moderator Will Buxton revealed that the feature’s team would utilize ‘the smallest moveable 6k camera ever designed to take the viewer into the cockpit’ of each racing vehicle.
It was also announced that Hamilton would serve as an advisor on the movie’s ‘storyline and script to ensure it’s the most accurate racing film ever made.’
Formula One’s CEO, Stefano Domenicali, took part in a investor Q&A this past April and expressed via Sports Illustrated that the project would serve as a model for future racing films.
‘It will be the first movie where they will be within the racing event. It will be quite invasive in terms of production, but it will be another way of showing that F1 never stops,’ he said.
Working hard: The currently-untitled feature will be shot during various Grand Prix events this summer; Pitt is seen in 2020
Hands-on approach: It was previously announced that Pitt would enter the cockpit of a race car while working on the project; Pitt seen at the 2022 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix
Taking it easy: However, Variety reported that the performer would not actually compete in a Grand Prix event and would likely drive a modified vehicle; he is seen in 2022
Liberty Media’s CEO Greg Maffei, who was also present during the call, stated that the feature would likely raise Formula One’s public profile.
‘You’ve got to keep it fresh, change the game. Its audience is not that big. This movie, kind of like Vegas, is going to be a whole other level,’ he said.
Maffei went on to state that the technology that the project’s creative team was utilizing for the movie’s visuals were ‘amazing.’
The currently-untitled feature’s release date has not been revealed as of yet.
