Despite Hollywood “Nightmare”, Lewis Hamilton Hypes “Amazing” $140 MN Movie With Brad Pitt

When the world was greeted with one of the best racing films ever made, it barely performed at the box office due to the sport’s viewership before Liberty Media’s acquisition and Drive to Survive’s creation. But while Rush has become a cult classic for fans of the sport, it has done so by retelling the true story of the rivalry between Niki Lauda and James Hunt. Many claim it perfectly encapsulates what it is to be a racing driver, but Lewis Hamilton wants to add a fictional story to the hall of fame that the 2013 film has made its way to.

Hollywood legend Brad Pitt and young star Damson Idris joined Apple and Lewis Hamilton’s latest venture into the world of filmmaking to create a story of the ages about Formula 1. The movie is being made with an eye-watering budget of $140 million. Things have been going well for the production, with filming taking place earlier at Silverstone with an F2 car. The cast was also seen on the grid filming alongside our F1 drivers during the British GP. But rumors arising about shady sponsorship deals might drown Hamilton’s castle!

The nightmare is over for Lewis Hamilton and Brad Pitt’s F1 movie

Earlier this week, rumors flooded the paddock that Lewis Hamilton and Brad Pitt’s F1 movie was going to face a major reshoot because of the Hollywood strike deeming a lot of the recorded footage unusable. A spokesperson had told SportsIllustrated earlier, “It really is a nightmare for Brad and the team. A lot of events had been earmarked for filming throughout the year, which would have helped reduce costs rather than having to recreate high-speed moments and wide shots.”

This would mean that Apple and Hamilton would face major production expenses and delays in the film’s scheduled release timeline. However, these rumors were squashed by a spokesperson from F1, according to SportsIllustrated in a later revision of the article.

There are going to be no changes to the movie’s sponsors and the film’s schedule has adapted itself to the SAG strike and will shoot well into 2024. This is why Lewis Hamilton was elated to share his thoughts on the film in an interview with Access Hollywood. The racer-turned-movie producer said, “This movie, for example, is going to be amazing. It’s great to see more and more people from different backgrounds are into this sport.”

“George Russell told me a bit about the movie,” the interviewer was told by Hamilton’s teammate that he’d seen the trailer. And the seven-time champion explained, “Oh yeah, we showed all the drivers in Austin. I think they’re all blown away, they weren’t really (expecting it). You know when you’re working in an industry or anywhere where people are used to their ways, sometimes it’s a lot of work to convince people to think out of the box.”

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While Lewis Hamilton is ecstatic about bringing a modern take on a Formula 1 movie to the newer fans of the sport and veterans alike, it’s a really difficult undertaking owing to how passionate fans are with the source material.

‘That’s where I come in’ – Hamilton rises above the doubters

When it comes to any technical sport, entertainment adaptations must account for the engineering side of things and keep it true to the sport, while also bringing the Hollywood flair into the mix. But it’s always been hard to please racing fans.

Hamilton said, “And so initially when we brought up this whole movie idea I’m sure there were people like hmm (doubtful), it’s like an American company for example, it’s not been a part of culture here, are they really going to be able to encapsulate what F1 is truly about, right?”

Thankfully, Lewis Hamilton is no stranger to adversity in F1, and has worked hard with the team behind the movie to make it as authentic as possible, “But that’s where I come in, working with the team and really making sure to call BS on any crazy things that might happen in the racing scenes and you know make it authentic and exciting and I think we’ve been able to achieve that.”

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With the racing world expecting to have a spectacular weekend at the Las Vegas GP, if things go well in Sin City, then Hamilton and Brad Pitt’s movie is sure to attract an even bigger audience. With the rumors of a delay being put to rest, stay tuned to find out when the movie trailer drops!