Director Joseph Kosinski, who has made a name for himself creating immersive cinematic experiences, claims his new project, F1, is his continuation of working on a big-picture film genre—vying for blockbuster adventure movies of the 1980s, such as Top Gun and Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Having worked with Tom Cruise in the past on Oblivion and the hit Top Gun: Maverick, Kosinski is now taking it to the big screen with the high-octane world of Formula One racing.
"Those are the type of films I used to watch in the cinema when I was a child growing up in the '80s and '90s.". I recall watching 'Top Gun', 'Raiders of the Lost Ark', big films that transport you in this world for two hours, take you on a journey and then spit you out at the end and you can't wait to take the ride again," he told PTI in a virtual interview. "I enjoy making movies for the big screen.". I believe now more than ever that we need to get people out of their houses to watch this. So you need to provide them with a reason to go to the cinema, and that is what I hope to achieve with 'F1'."
F1, amidst the background of high-end racing, features Brad Pitt as Sonny Hayes, an aging champion driver who returns to the race track courtesy of his old friend Ruben Cervantes, played by Javier Bardem, in a desperate attempt to save their struggling team. The crew includes Damson Idris as Joshua Pierce, a skilled young driver who is fighting to establish himself behind the wheel of a car that does not have the velocity to keep up with his talent.
(It's about) a rookie who's been trying to establish that they're supposed to be there, but they're in a slow car, so they can't and then I came up with this whole thing about a veteran driver who still has something to prove to himself. I thought it would be an excellent journey to bring these two together," said Kosinski.
Regarding working with big stars such as Pitt and Cruise, Kosinski singled out both for being professional and dedicated. "I think both Brad and Tom are at the top of their game and fantastic professionals. They have wonderful taste in movies and narratives. They know how to build a character. They're both fabulous actors. And Brad was somebody I always wanted to work with.". I figured this would be the ideal part for him. And fortunately, he did, too, and it was just a fantastic collaboration. I had a fantastic time. And yeah, I'm looking forward to people seeing his performance in this movie, because I think it's very special.
Seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton is also a producer on board. Kosinski remembered calling Hamilton at the start to make it real. "I asked him if he'd assist me in keeping this film as real as possible. And he agreed. So he was very close with me and Jerry Bruckheimer (producer) and Brad right from the start to assist in developing this story and character.". We worked through every line of script together, ensuring that we got all the details absolutely right.
Drawing on the technology innovations of Top Gun: Maverick, Kosinski created new tech to film F1, including a small camera that creates IMAX-quality imagery. "The technology didn't exist to produce this movie… We developed a new prototype camera that's extremely small but provides IMAX quality imagery.". Sony constructed 25 prototypes for us, and we collaborated with the Mercedes F1 team to design a race car that incorporated camera mounts into it. So we had 15 or 16 various mount points on this race car.
Pitt and Idris, the actors, spent a long time being trained on how to drive actual race cars. "When you watch them racing in this film, they are actually racing a race car around a Formula One track during race weekend. So the audience sitting in the stands is real. When you watch other drivers climbing into their cars around them, that really took place just before an actual Formula One race.". The concept was to provide the audience with the feeling of being at one of these events.
Kosinski's next big film is already in progress: Top Gun 3. "I have three pictures in development, two with Jerry, one being a sequel to Top Gun Maverick. Ehren Kruger is currently writing the script, who penned 'F1' as well as worked on 'Top Gun: Maverick', so we have an amazing screenwriter working on it. I will do any chance that I get to work with Jerry."
Before his career in the cinema industry flourished, Kosinski had studied architecture and mechanical engineering. It was his passion for telling stories that led him to pursue filmmaking. "I was a ravenous sort of reader as a kid. And when I was in architecture school here in New York City (at Columbia University), I began creating short films on the computer and using digital cameras.". One of those shorts did make it into a small film festival locally here in the city, and an advertising executive happened to see it and hired me to direct a commercial for Nike. And that was 2004 and that was basically my beginning as a commercial director, which then naturally dovetailed into features when I relocated to Los Angeles.
An Apple Original Film, F1 is being released worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, and produced by Dawn Apollo Films, Lewis Hamilton's, and Plan B Entertainment, Jerry Bruckheimer. The film will be released in India on June 27 in English, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu.
Read also| Danny Boyle Opens Up on Why He Left His James Bond Film
Read also| Goldy Brar Admits to Sidhu Moose Wala's Murder, Says 'We Had No Option'
