The Next Reel Film Podcast

“When was the last time you won a race?”
Racing to Victory: Apple's F1 Brings Hollywood Formula to the Track
Joseph Kosinski's 2023 film F1 represents Apple's ambitious entry into big-budget theatrical releases, with a reported $300 million budget and unprecedented integration of real F1 racing footage, teams, and personalities. Starring Brad Pitt as aging driver Sonny Hayes alongside Damson Idris as hotshot rookie Joshua Pearce, the film follows the struggling Apex racing team's efforts to avoid being sold off by winning races in their final season. Join us—Pete Wright and Andy Nelson—as we add a member bonus episode to our Car Racing series with a conversation about F1.
Technical Achievement Meets Hollywood Formula
Pete and Andy explore how F1 breaks new ground in racing cinematography while adhering to familiar storytelling tropes. Pete celebrates the film's unprecedented access to actual F1 races and integration of real personalities like Lewis Hamilton, while Andy notes the predictable character arcs and relationship dynamics.
Team Dynamics Take Center Stage
The hosts dive deep into how F1 uniquely showcases the team aspect of Formula One racing, from the intricate pit crew choreography to the engineering challenges faced by Kerry Condon's character Kate. They discuss how the film illuminates the massive financial stakes and technical complexity of modern F1 racing.
Key Discussion Points:
  • The innovative filming techniques used to capture authentic race footage
  • Brad Pitt's character as an agent of controlled chaos on the track
  • The integration of real F1 personalities and locations
  • Apple's unprecedented marketing approach including haptic trailers
  • The balance between technical authenticity and Hollywood conventions
  • The not-so-great representation of female characters, particularly Kerry Condon's role
  • The film's handling of team dynamics versus individual achievement
Final Thoughts
While Pete enthusiastically embraces the film's technical achievements and racing sequences, Andy appreciates the detailed look at F1 team operations while expressing frustration with conventional plot elements. Both hosts agree the film succeeds in showcasing the collaborative nature of modern Formula One racing. We have a great time talking about it, so check it out then tune in. The Next Reel—when the movie ends, our conversation begins!
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Creators and Guests

Host
Andy Nelson
With over 25 years of experience in film, television, and commercial production, Andy has cultivated an enduring passion for storytelling in all its forms. His enthusiasm for the craft began in his youth when he and his friends started making their own movies in grade school. After studying film at the University of Colorado Boulder, Andy wrote, directed, and produced several short films while also producing indie features like Netherbeast Incorporated and Ambush at Dark Canyon. Andy has been on the production team for award-winning documentaries such as The Imposter and The Joe Show, as well as TV shows like Investigation Discovery’s Deadly Dentists and Nat Geo’s Inside the Hunt for the Boston Bombers. Over a decade ago, he started podcasting with Pete and immediately embraced the medium. Now, as a partner at TruStory FM, Andy looks forward to more storytelling through their wide variety of shows. Throughout his career, Andy has passed on his knowledge by teaching young minds the crafts of screenwriting, producing, editing, and podcasting. Outside of work, Andy is a family man who enjoys a good martini, a cold beer, a nice cup o’ joe. And always, of course, a great movie.
Host
Pete Wright
#Movies, #ADHD, & #Podcasting • Co-founder @trustory.fm🎥 The Next Reel Family of #Film Podcasts @thenextreel.com🎙️ Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast @takecontroladhd.com📖 Co-author of Unapologetically ADHD • https://unapologeticallyadhdbook.com

What is The Next Reel Film Podcast?

A show about movies and how they connect.
We love movies. We’ve been talking about them, one movie a week, since 2011. It’s a lot of movies, that’s true, but we’re passionate about origins and performance, directors and actors, themes and genres, and so much more. So join the community, and let’s hear about your favorite movies, too.
When the movie ends, our conversation begins.

Pete Wright:

I'm Pete Wright.

Andy Nelson:

And I'm Andy Nelson.

Pete Wright:

Vroom. Vroom. Welcome to the next reel. When the movie ends,

Andy Nelson:

our conversation begins.

Pete Wright:

F1 is over. Hey. You lose that lead, I'll kill you.

Trailer:

See, like straight talk. Straight as an arrow. No sugar. Why are you here, Sunny? When you look in the mirror, you see this rough and tumble old school cowboy.

Trailer:

Doesn't take orders, goes his own way. A lone wolf. Well, I have news for you. Formula one is a team sport. It always was.

Trailer:

Listen. Let's get this straight. We all lose our jobs if you can't pull off a miracle. No pressure. None.

Trailer:

The only question here is why does Sunny Hayes come back to f one? I think it's really wonderful that Apex are given second chances to the elderly. It's alright. You just wait. I'm quicker than you.

Trailer:

You're making a mistake, thinking that I'm just gonna be some grateful kid who'll bend the knee to an old timer. I never should have pulled you into this. Down the inside contact. That's the other driver. You say he was old.

Trailer:

He not that old. That's a handsome man right there. What's he doing? Plan Plan c. Be ready.

Trailer:

He's got hope for some lucky breaks. Hope it's not a strategy. Anything else, professor? Try fast. Ever seen a miracle?

Trailer:

Not yet. How do you think I'd feel if you die on the truck? Relapse. Relapse is a lifetime.

Pete Wright:

Okay. Lay it on me. Just get it out of the way. Rip off the band aid.

Andy Nelson:

I enjoyed it. I I thought that it was a very enjoyable film. It was very cookie cutter. I was a little surprised as to just how cookie cutter it was. I I I say that.

Andy Nelson:

When I see Aaron Kruger's name in front of a script or as as the screenwriter, that usually tells me be wary.

Pete Wright:

A cat will be saved on page 75.

Andy Nelson:

This is not gonna be a script. Well, I don't know. Sometimes I really enjoy Aaron Krueger's scripts. Sometimes they are very, very safe, very Hollywood, and sometimes to a point where I just don't really like them at all. So very up and down with Aaron Kruger.

Andy Nelson:

And so I saw the name as and so that kind of I was like, uh-oh. And then then I watched the movie. I'm like, yeah. Okay. Lot of tropes.

Andy Nelson:

So many tropes.

Pete Wright:

Yep. So many tropes.

Andy Nelson:

It's a trope parade. But I still enjoyed it. I still enjoyed it.

Pete Wright:

Okay. Alright. I I guess that's that's what I was hoping for.

Andy Nelson:

Is that everything you're hoping for, though? Maybe not everything.

Pete Wright:

I I, on the other hand, was a child and was, like, giddy from the opening frame. I loved it. Loved it. Loved it. I could not get enough of it.

Pete Wright:

I know there are probably things that I should quibble with. I'm not gonna You're right. It's a trope parade. It plays the hits, and it plays the hits hard. But I don't think I was surprised by the hits being played because I also watched the trailer a million times.

Pete Wright:

And the trailer lays out the tropes that are gonna be played. If you've ever seen, you know, a movie, you know, this is gonna be what exactly what this is gonna be. And the truth of the matter is where the movie shines is exactly where it should shine in the technical achievement of demonstrating speed on a very large screen. And for that, I am grateful the movie exists. It is absolutely my favorite of the series that we've done on driving, on racing movies.

Andy Nelson:

Yeah. This was kind of an extra that we got to that you lucked out on that the movie happened to be timed perfectly, and suddenly, we're like, hey. Let's do another member bonus episode. So here we are, a surprise ish member bonus episode talking about this as part of your car racing series.

Pete Wright:

Wait a minute, Andy. What what's this member bonus you speak of?

Andy Nelson:

Oh, yes, Pete. So we have a membership here at the NextReal. And for members, you get early access to ad free episodes in your own feed. And not just to our show, you get all the shows that are part of the NextReal family of podcasts. You get the NextReal, which is this show.

Andy Nelson:

You get Sitting in the Dark, which is our horror show. Pete is one of the four cohosts on that, the rotating cohosts. You get our Movies We Like show, which is our conversations with, people who work in the in industry about one of their favorite films. You get, my CinemaScope show, which talks about genres, subgenres, and film movements. And you get our monthly show, the film board, which talks about a brand new release just in theaters, and you get a hot take, very spoilery hot take about one of the newest movies in theaters.

Andy Nelson:

So you get all of those shows, and whatever member additional content you that is provided for those shows, get in your member bonus feed. For some shows, we have pre show chats. Some shows, we have post show chats. We do a monthly member bonus episode. And so there's a great benefit to being a member all for $5 a month or $55 a year.

Andy Nelson:

You can sign up at truestory.fm/join.

Pete Wright:

Hallelujah. Amen. Okay. F one. We know it's gonna be tropey.

Pete Wright:

We know it's gonna be I mean, tropelicious. And yet when when the first vroom vroom begins, how did you feel? And I'm really interested in your take on this as a non, racing aficionado.

Andy Nelson:

Yeah. And I when you say when the first Vroom Vroom begins, I mean, because the film starts with with Sonny living as a as a roving nomad in his van, and he's at a and he's having dreams about some past race that he did, which is the race that with the car noise that I like, that really high pitched noise, that's the race that he was in. But he's in a different race, and, it's he's getting he's part of the twenty four hours of Daytona, and I guess that's we where we find him, where he's the race had already been going, and he's one of the team. And he's being woken up because he's got a few minutes before he has to get out there and race again. And that's kind of our introduction to this.

Andy Nelson:

Then he hops in the car, drives for a while, and then he gets out and Does his laundry. Passes it on to the to the the new driver. Oh. Well, he passes the torch to whoever is the driver who's gonna finish the race. How many drivers did you

Trailer:

say are in these twenty four hour races on a team?

Pete Wright:

For in this one, for the twenty four hours of Daytona, it's three to four per car.

Andy Nelson:

Okay. So he had had his rest time. Wait. Would they each only race once, or is, like, how

Pete Wright:

No. No. No. Over the course of twenty four hours, they'll they'll they rotate shifts. And so each driver will will drive multiple shifts.

Andy Nelson:

But how many how long? Because I remember in when we were talking about Le Mans, well, I don't remember if it came up in Le Mans or in Ford v Ferrari, but there was a time limit. Like, they couldn't race longer than x number of hours. Right? Well, like, four hours or something?

Pete Wright:

Yeah. I think it's somewhere around there each. Let me just find out for you.

Andy Nelson:

Yeah. Because if it's a four hour max and if they each run four hours, that means each driver would run one time and then two drivers would run an additional four hours.

Pete Wright:

Yeah. So typical stint length, one to two hours per stint. Most drivers go Wow. Well, stay tuned. Stay tuned.

Pete Wright:

I have more to say. Don't judge that.

Andy Nelson:

Was surprised that it was since four.

Pete Wright:

Oh, I heard it. Most drivers go double stints, back to back fuel tire runs, which works out to sixty to ninety minutes, sometimes stretching to two hours depending on tire durability, fuel efficiency, night versus day driving, weather conditions. Over twenty four hours, a three or four driver team will rotate about six to eight times per driver. Drivers rest, hydrate, eat, and nap in the paddock between shifts, usually getting four to six hours of total sleep in fragments over the twenty four hours. IMSA, which is the governing body of Daytona rules, limit continuous driving to four hours within a six hour period.

Pete Wright:

FIA, which is, f one and Le Mans, they have similar caps, no more than fourteen hours of total driving for any one driver over twenty four hours. Wow. And no more than four hours within any six hour window. So there's you know, some of it is determined by immediacy of the strategy, which is tires and fuel. Sure.

Pete Wright:

Some of it is this driver is really, really good at, for some reason, at twilight driving. So they're gonna drive all the way through late afternoon through night and just get us through the hardest to see period of the race, that kind of a thing. So it depends.

Andy Nelson:

Those are the Edwards who are doing that racing.

Pete Wright:

Those are the Edwards.

Andy Nelson:

Yeah. Okay. Gotcha. Okay. So alright.

Andy Nelson:

So we we jump into this race, and we get a sense of Sunny and his driving. And, I mean, I had a good time. It it was fine with the racing. I'm trying to remember if there's anything spectacular in the opening stint of his race, and I don't really recall anything. I just thought he raced because then he's the sort of driver who just seems like he doesn't even care about the actual race.

Andy Nelson:

He's there just to actually race, if that makes sense. He doesn't care about who wins or loses. I mean, he likes the money, but he just wants to race. Because as soon as, as you said, he gets out of the car, he just leaves and goes and does his laundry.

Pete Wright:

Because, you know, at this point in his career, he had, he had driven f one when he was younger. It's been a long time.

Andy Nelson:

That was his crash.

Pete Wright:

That was his big crash. It was an f one. And at this point in his career, he's a hired gun. Right? So he's driving for this team, but it's because they had an open seat and they needed a ringer.

Pete Wright:

And so the team principal went out and said, Sonny, you're the guy. And it's demonstrated early on what kind of character we're gonna get in Sonny Hayes. We're gonna get a guy who is capable of four dimensional chess on the racetrack. He is he has a superpower, and that is when you put him behind the wheel, he's going to be able to see openings and move the car ahead in a way that no other driver is going to be able to do. And so that's just the setup.

Pete Wright:

He is he's going to be effectively unbeatable. If on if if that doesn't necessarily mean winning races, it's gonna mean contributing to the team sport that is racing. And I think that's really fun because what we see here as we transition into f one and his entree back into the sport is, his sort of special ability to navigate the track.

Andy Nelson:

Yeah. We definitely get that because when he hops into the car in Daytona, he clearly figures things out pretty quickly and gets into the, the first position. Is that the pole position? Is that what you call that? I don't know.

Andy Nelson:

Anyway

Pete Wright:

Yeah. But yeah. Okay. Yeah. It's okay.

Pete Wright:

Use use words. It's fine.

Andy Nelson:

He's in first he's in first place. He gets in the first place. Yeah. That's why he says if you lose my lead, I'll kill you. But and then he goes off to do his laundry.

Pete Wright:

Because he had gone we catch him when he was asleep. And when he wakes up, he finds, oh my god. We were in the lead when I was driving, and now we suck. And now I have to do this all again. I have to go get our lead back.

Pete Wright:

And he feels sort of exhausted and put upon, and that's a bit of a comedic kind of a a relief in that first

Andy Nelson:

race. Yeah. So that's a sense of who he is. And and that's when we meet Ruben, who is his old driving partner, when they were on the same team back in that early f one in the nineties. He has now gotten out of racing, and he is now running a team.

Andy Nelson:

He's running the Apex team, Formula one team. And

Pete Wright:

He owns the he owns the team.

Andy Nelson:

He owns the team, and they're not doing very well. And so he is kind of in a financial position where the board wants to sell the team off. This this was, I think, the film that gave me the most insight of every film that we talked about in our series of Okay. How teams operate. Like, the fact that and and it makes sense.

Andy Nelson:

Like, it's you know, he owns it, but there's a board who is evaluating the performance, and they're gonna sell the team if he doesn't get better. And right now, he's on a losing streak. They haven't won a single race in the whole Grand Prix season and or Formula One season. I don't know how the right way to

Pete Wright:

say it is. But Formula one season's good.

Andy Nelson:

Formula one season of Grand Prix races. And he's

Pete Wright:

he's You're always doing it, man.

Trailer:

You're doing it.

Andy Nelson:

I'm throwing all the words I know in. I wanna sound like I know something. And so he is now in a position where he has to get better at this because he's only got nine races left. And so that's why they're getting rid of a driver, as I recall, and he's asking Sunny to step in and be that new replacement.

Pete Wright:

Right. So they they took their the original driver who everybody was, I think, pretty skeptical that he was going to be able to be a principal driver, and they made him a backup driver. And he did that driver did get to drive, right, later in the movie when Is that Luca? Idris. Yeah.

Pete Wright:

Dame Saint Idris was injured, but we he doesn't get much of a story. No. He doesn't

Andy Nelson:

have much to do. He's very much a reserve guy through this whole thing.

Pete Wright:

But I think it's important to note when Javier Bardem meets Brad Pitt in the laundromat and pitches the idea of coming to f one, he says how in the hole he is as a team. And I really appreciated this because he said we're in the hole I think the number is $350,000,000 that they were in the whole that is an extraordinary figure for a single team to be carrying as a losing team. Like, that's a massive write off if you can't get some share, some stake by winning some races. And that is the shocking just a a drop in the bucket of the shocking scale of money that is in this race that is divided between these 20 teams. Right?

Pete Wright:

I mean, it is extraordinary money in the or these 10 teams, extraordinary money divided between very few participants in the race. It's an expensive sport, and that is saying a lot.

Andy Nelson:

Well, that goes to another thing I appreciate about this because it really shows you where they're putting their money. I mean, obviously, we've kind of seen over the course of this series that the cars get a lot of attention. Like, they're throwing a lot of money at these cars to soup them up and make sure that they can do all the right things and that they're as streamlined as possible. Like, there's a lot of thought that goes into these cars. But then you have, like, the car testing facility where, you know, our our tech director, Kate, Carrie Condon's character, where she puts the car and it's got the wind blowing, and they can evaluate the the movement of the wind over the car and how it's performing.

Andy Nelson:

So they've got that. They've got the I don't know what you call it. The special wraparound room with a pseudo car in it that can replay races where you've got the little tech girl up above who's controlling it and

Pete Wright:

The simulator.

Andy Nelson:

Okay. Simulator. That makes sense. Like my description better. A word you already knew.

Andy Nelson:

So you start getting a sense of all of these different elements that go into actually putting together a competitive team, and you realize why it can cost so much money. And I think I thought that was really interesting. And just, like, the insights into the team meetings that we had before each race, where they'd all sit at the long table, and they'd have these these discussions about how to how to plan things out, plan a, plan b, plan c. This is when you get your soft tires, your medium tires, your hard tires. There was so much thought that went into that.

Andy Nelson:

And for me, a layman who doesn't understand a thing about racing, it really helped me, like, break down the process and all of the different elements that went into actually running a race in today's very, very modern, very, very high-tech racing world. And I thought and this team excelled at giving us a sense of just how infused into the sport and important in the races the actual team element is. Because this is the only film we've had that actually is about the team. Like, we actually get incredible focus on Sunny and JP and their relationship as the two teammates driving for Apex, which I really valued. Because and I was thinking about this.

Andy Nelson:

I'm like, I don't think I even knew the names of any of the other people in the other films that we talked about who were part of the team because it was always focused on one driver, and that's really weird in a team sport.

Pete Wright:

Right. I absolutely agree with all of that. I think that's all of that stuff is really where the movie shines, right, where we get to see and this is stuff that I talked about on our last shows that how important it is to acknowledge the fact that f one is a team sport when you think of the engineers building the cars, when you think of the number of replacement parts that they have to have on hand to be able to maintain cars presence in the races, when you let Brad Pitt drive. Man, did they go through a lot of parts for this guy, and we'll talk about that that strategically in a bit. But for for me, the fact that we have relationships that develop with representatives from the engineering team, the pit crew, they all have a place to play.

Pete Wright:

And I think this movie does a a really good job of showcasing the unsung heroes of f one, which are the people who are able to do pit changes in one point seven seconds. I mean, that's an extraordinary feat of athleticism and technique, and it's great to see on screen.

Andy Nelson:

It was funny because we first kind of meet our pit crew as I mean, you know, this is one of those story elements that I was kind of, like, you know, rolling my eyes at. Everybody needs their own little character arc, and and we have one of the pit crew, a young woman who I don't know if she's new or she's new to this team or what, but she's nervous. And in the process of changing tires, like, drops the auto wrench thing, and and the tire the car drives over it when it pulls out, and, like, there there are issues. They made the change in the pit. It was, like, nine seconds, and I'm like, wow.

Andy Nelson:

That was fast. And then it was like, wow. Boy, they need to pick up their speed. I was like, oh, I I guess I'm wrong. Nine seconds seemed fast to me.

Pete Wright:

Well and I I spoke up I I spoke incorrectly. It's not 1.7. It's one point eight seconds is the fastest pit stop ever recorded. It was by McLaren, during the twenty twenty three Qatar Grand Prix. The previous record was one point eight two seconds by Red Bull.

Pete Wright:

So 1.8 to 1.82.

Andy Nelson:

I don't even understand how that's possible. Like, you've gotta get the little guy in the front to pop the car up front and back because they both have to rip the car up and then put it down, which seems like it would take more than one point seven seconds. Because, like, one point seven seconds is like, boop boop. Like, they basically up up down and move out of the way.

Pete Wright:

Yeah. And when you think about, like, watching the the sort of symphony of action in the pit is is so fun because everyone has one thing to do. Just one thing, and you have to be able to do it in a fraction of a second. And that is completely bananas that they're able to do that and and makes it so exciting. Like, you it just really you you have a refined sense of what these the entire team is capable of.

Pete Wright:

So all that is winning.

Andy Nelson:

Yeah. No. That's, I think, where the film excels more than anything else is giving a sense of how a team in this particular sport works in today's races. It was, for me, kind of the most engrossing part of the film.

Pete Wright:

For sure. Now the the other piece for me that was engrossing was the actual driving. Now we've talked about every every race movie that we've talked about with the exception, I think, of raising the rain. It it has moved racing coverage forward somehow in some small way. Right?

Pete Wright:

From Le Mans to Grand Prix, they do things with cameras on cars that is unique and and incredible for the time. This is another movie, another data point in the arc of racing technology that does this. And I found the actual time on track exhilarating. I loved every opportunity to get in and behind these cars, whether we're in a race, whether in a montage about races, whatever it was, I loved it. How'd you how'd you feel?

Andy Nelson:

I thought the racing was fine, but I guess well, no. Just in the scope of evolution of racing filming at races, I didn't think that it really did anything different than what we had talked about in Ford v Ferrari from 2019. So I and maybe I was just missing it. You know? I mean, we have, you know, footage of them driving and and panning, you know, the the camera pans while they're driving.

Andy Nelson:

And so I guess I just didn't see like, there's there's shots on the track behind them, on the track in front of them. Like, we we get all of the same types of shots. What were there things that they were doing differently with some of these cameras that I was just missing?

Pete Wright:

Well, part of the limitations that they have when dealing with these cars in particular and and similar to Le Mans, but I think the speeds of these cars makes make certain camera technologies impossible. And in order to capture what it feels like to be on onboard these cars at 220 miles an hour and deal with the vibration and the movement and all of that stuff, they had to invent some camera technology that did not exist before. Like, for example, you know, in these modified these were modified f two cars that were that were lengthened by I think Mercedes lengthened the cars and to make these f two cars look like f one cars. And there are wings right above the the driver's head on the back as there there's this post on the back of the car and kind of sweeps down. And there are wings on the side, and they invented using this incredible technology.

Pete Wright:

It's actually Apple who invented this camera using iPhone components, but iPhone components are really good to be able to fit in this wing that mounts to the car and becomes an item of aerodynamics in addition to a camera shooting the over the driver. That we it is really cool. This POV stuff is actually novel to this film.

Andy Nelson:

Is it? Yeah. We haven't had POV shots before?

Pete Wright:

No. No. No. I've been saying we've had POV shots before, but I think how they did it, there's it has a unique look and feel in these cars. This is not you know, these aren't the same cars that we were dealing with before.

Andy Nelson:

That's true. Because Ford v Ferrari, we're dealing with don't know what you kind of call that

Pete Wright:

kind of car body,

Andy Nelson:

but it's it's a it's a normal looking sedan sort of car versus these that look like what you think of as a matchbox race car. Like, these have that single person right in the middle sort of seat. I am very good on my car descriptions today.

Pete Wright:

You did great.

Andy Nelson:

Yeah. Yeah. Sedans versus Matchbox cars is basically the the breakdown that we have here.

Pete Wright:

And the fact that they built all these things in order to race on tracks during race weekends. Right? Like, they had Kaczynski had a seven minute window between actual f one sessions to get Brad Pitt and Damson Idris in onto the grid to shoot their sequences and be able to create that level of immersion for us. And I think that is really, really neat. Right?

Pete Wright:

Like, it's so real.

Andy Nelson:

So well, I mean, yeah, they're filming on a racetrack, which is what everyone else has done. So Oh

Pete Wright:

my god. You're such like, have find joy. Find joy.

Andy Nelson:

I'm just I guess I'm not yeah. Yeah. I mean, no. It's great. It's great that they're doing that.

Andy Nelson:

And you're I mean, you're right. Like, the the improvements in technology should always be celebrated because it's it's fascinating to see how they're finding ways to put these cameras into these situations to still get amazing shots. And they do. They do achieve that. I felt like we were getting comparable material six years ago in the other film, but you're right.

Andy Nelson:

They're different cars, etcetera, etcetera. So there is still value in the way that they are working to do this. So I I don't wanna sell that short.

Pete Wright:

And yet your tone and mood is selling that short. 16 camera mounts capturing high speed racing in real time during Grand Prix weekends, at these incredible tracks around the world.

Andy Nelson:

Well, so here's a question. So, like, were they just racing around by themselves, and then do they digitally add the other cars in on race weekend? Were they because they are not gonna have the real racers who are in the middle of a race than say, okay. Well, stop the race for a minute because we need you to race for Brad with Brad Pitt for nine minutes. It's it's a combination of all of

Pete Wright:

those things. My understanding is that there were there were weekend races where Brad Pitt was on the track with other f one drivers.

Andy Nelson:

And so they were just zipping past him,

Pete Wright:

and they're just like, don't screw this up for me, Pitt. No. Because he no. Because he was a he's a winner. Except for the beginning, he was always at the back.

Pete Wright:

Right? But but so it it is a combination of a lot of different tools to actually do this. But the fact is it was vastly practical, and that is the thing to celebrate about this movie that they did did a thing. The f one has never looked like this on the big screen.

Andy Nelson:

Well, I I guess just following up on that as far as, like, what they're accomplishing practically, it was interesting to see, and this is something I I know we've talked about a little bit. But as far as, like, when they're crashing and when when cars are hitting each other, whether it results in a crash or not, I was curious about how much of that they were actually doing on track because I don't know. I guess I don't know enough about the production style of doing something like this of having two cars. And, obviously, when they're actually filming with Brad Pitt, he's not racing around at 320 kilometers an hour. He's probably going at a some a safer speed, we'll just say, for our actors.

Andy Nelson:

But are they actually having them bumping cars with each other? Like, I'm just curious, like, how far do they go? Because it seems like there's a point where the insurances are gonna say, well, let's you need to use effects to capture that. Because, I mean, we've got we've got bumping with each other. We've got cars hitting each other to, like, break pieces away off of the cars.

Andy Nelson:

We've got cars hitting each other and then spinning out into barriers or into the gravel. At one point, we've got a car completely flipping off the track when it hits the wrong thing, spiraling and then exploding. And I know we've talked about, like, that particular thing in films like Le Mans and how they would basically take a shell of a car and eject it off of the track to make it to capture that footage and make it look like the car went off the track and exploded in the trees or something like that. But I was curious, like and I don't know if you had time to I mean, this movie just came out. I don't if you had time to dig into much of that as far as the effects work.

Andy Nelson:

Because I know, like, ILM was involved, and obviously, there watching the credits, there were definitely still a lot of effects companies involved on the back end of this.

Pete Wright:

Huge. Right. Right. And and, you know, I listened to an interview with Kaczynski talking about this, and he said he he actually approached it very much like they approached Top Gun Maverick. Right?

Pete Wright:

These these races were approached as if they were aerial dogfights. Right? Intense planning, getting the cars at just the right places at just the right times, slowing them so they could crash safely at low speeds while looking fast with like, depending where the angles are. They and, you know, to do the things like you're talking about, to be crashed or spun intentionally with minimal risk. A lot of stunt drivers in hero cars, they destroyed a lot of cars doing this, and they did them on real racetracks with, you know, some of the film dedicated segments on race weekends, some of them, outside of race weekends so they could get coverage without interrupting races.

Pete Wright:

And and that would allow them to have full track access. Right? That's really important to to do these crashes because it's just a lot of debris. Right? But you're I mean, you're absolutely right.

Pete Wright:

And and so the crash rigs and pyrotechnics are obviously not things they do on on race weekends. Those big test crashes, the AGP or APX GP crashes that are that have that flame out are are obviously deeply not race weekend events.

Andy Nelson:

Yeah. No. But even still, just like the the ability to capture those. I mean, stunt drivers, I'm sure, are helpful. But at the same time, you're also trying to figure out and it's it's just fascinating to me, like, figuring out the logistics of that.

Andy Nelson:

Like, how

Trailer:

do

Andy Nelson:

we how do we fake a crash? You know? I mean, CG, you could probably figure it out pretty easy, but if they're trying to do it practically, you've gotta figure out kind of speed, angle of impact, and then how do you then create the momentum for the car to hit what it's gonna hit and spin out? Like, I I find that to be kind of interesting in the scope of the process of putting something like this together.

Pete Wright:

Yeah. I know one of the challenges and why so many f one advisers, like former drivers and and Lewis Hamilton's, obviously, his his, you know, part in this movie can't be understated. Who is he again? Lewis Hamilton was a ex I think he was an executive producer. He was production producer on this thing, and he was the senior adviser.

Pete Wright:

He drives today for Ferrari, but, at the time, he was a world champion for Mercedes. And so he drove a Mercedes car. And at the end, when Brad Pitt and Damson Indris are racing against that last car, like, who's gonna win that last car? That was Lewis Hamilton.

Andy Nelson:

Did they say in the race, was he Lewis Hamilton, or was it some other Yes.

Pete Wright:

Name that they Yeah. They said Lewis Hamilton. Okay. Yeah. And and let me just say, like, the mind blowingness of this movie that it looks like I just turned on f one TV on race weekend.

Pete Wright:

Like, no fake names. No fake anything. These were they used all real driver names. The lineup when it hit was, like, Dansenidors and Brad Pitt and then our current f one slate of drivers. They this was as immersive an event, a film, as I have ever seen in terms of being in the universe of the sport as it exists or existed, you know, two years ago.

Pete Wright:

It was incredible. Even the the broadcaster, the guy who stood up and asked questions, like, all the team of of broadcasters. You know, there was a there was a sequence where you get pan into a reporter on in front of McLaren at one point at Silverstone, and it it was the guy that you see every single weekend covering f one who and has been doing so for years. So this was an incredibly immersive and weird choice because it felt like a documentary about race weekend. It felt like drive for survive because they did not mask any identities of the real people who are involved in racing.

Pete Wright:

On that front, I've never seen anything quite like it.

Andy Nelson:

Interesting. Interesting. And I just walked through it just assuming they're all extras because none of them, ring a bell to me.

Pete Wright:

There was a there was a sequence when they were doing a a presser on the F 1 stage with full press, and they had the team principals, Fred Vassour and, what's his name from, McLaren, and then our AGP team prince principal. And there was the three of them on a couch. Right? And Oh, this is the yeah.

Andy Nelson:

I know what you're talking about. Yeah.

Pete Wright:

Yeah. Those two guys are the team principals for McLaren and Ferrari, and you see them sitting on the couch every weekend doing these pressers, and they sit exactly like they were sitting on the show. Like, there was just nothing that felt off kilter about the capture of f one in this movie. Absolutely nothing.

Andy Nelson:

So this begs the question, because Kaczynski and Kruger came up with the story together, and then Kruger wrote the script. I mean, do you know much as far as, like, either of these people as far as them being race fans? I mean, we hear about a lot of actors being, like, race fans to the point where they're actually racing. Like, you know, we we talked about oh, I can't remember. What's his name?

Andy Nelson:

McDreamy, being somebody who's Dempsey. Patrick Dempsey being a racer, stuff like that. I'm just curious, like, Jude Law, how many of these people of of this crew actually are also active fans subscribed to the f one channel, everything? I mean, the way that you describe it sounds like Kaczynski and Krueger must, to some capacity, have a driving passion for this if they're working so hard to make it seem so realistic.

Pete Wright:

The way he says it, he did not. That he wasn't a diehard f one fan until Netflix's drive to survive. He he found it.

Andy Nelson:

Can you say what that is? Because I'm not sure what you keep mentioning it. I don't know

Pete Wright:

what it is. Andy. Oh, like a babe in the woods. Drive to Survive is a show on Netflix that covers the season of f one. And so at the end of each season, they've I mean, they are deeply embedded into each team, and they do it's just, like, eight or 10 episode documentary of the season of f one.

Pete Wright:

The highs, the lows, the silly season when people are traded, you know, back and forth, teams are traded and reshuffled. It's seven seasons in now, so it's been going around since just just before the pandemic, and it documents the work of all of these people in bringing the f one season to life. And these are the same people that you see in this movie. So it's it you could say this is like drive to survive the movie, honestly. Like, we're kind of there.

Pete Wright:

It is it's extraordinary. It's extraordinary. But a lot of people over the pandemic found their love of f one through drive to survive just like Kaczynski. Now Kruger, you know, I don't I actually don't know how excited he was, if he has a fan, like, origin story, but he was obviously invested. And the first person that they brought on to work with was Lewis Hamilton to say, look.

Pete Wright:

We have this idea for this movie, and we wanna make sure it's it's right. And so, you know, we need you to do it. Before they had any cast, before they had Brad Pitt, they had Lewis Hamilton.

Andy Nelson:

Interesting. Okay. Okay.

Pete Wright:

And he's a he's a multi time world champion driver. Like, he is a in the sport, he is one of the living legends for sure.

Andy Nelson:

Well and then that probably helped the studio as everyone else say, okay. Let's go ahead and move forward with this. We're gonna try to make drive drive to survive the movie. I know there was a bidding war with the studios, and Apple ended up winning. And this is a very expensive film for Apple.

Andy Nelson:

And, yeah, I I don't honestly know. I know sometimes we're always debating with these streamers. Are they really gonna give it a theatrical release that it that it probably warrants, or are they just gonna kind of give it a piddly theatrical release and really save it for their streaming network? And this definitely seems like one Apple wants to make some money on, so they actually put it in theaters, like big theaters like IMAX, all that, and which I like that Apple at least gave it that thinking when they approached it.

Pete Wright:

Well, it it is it's hard not to kind of engage in some Apple Kremlinology on this because, you know, Apple is it's a complicated global concern. And there's some part of the Internet response machine in the Apple sphere that says, look. Why would Apple spend this much money on this movie? I mean, insidious advertising on Apple devices, Apple services. It's everywhere.

Pete Wright:

If there isn't some ulterior motive to to associate Apple with f one, is there some sort of move somewhere that Apple is going to try to become an exclusive f one broadcaster? This is the kind of money that you need to spend to be that partner with the FIA. And it makes me think maybe Tim Cook wants to be in the paddock with these team principals. Right? Like, feels like something different from a promotional strategy.

Pete Wright:

It feels like something that I haven't seen before, not just on TV in linear ads, but getting the pop ups on my watch, right, to say, hey. Have you have you bought your tickets for f one yet? If you buy them with Apple Pay through Fandango, we'll throw you $10 off. Like, that kind of advertising, I haven't seen from Apple. And this is sort of a new era of pushing the influence of their channels.

Pete Wright:

And it's it's annoying and obnoxious, but they want this movie to be seen.

Andy Nelson:

Yeah. Yeah. Interesting. Interesting. I haven't gotten any of those texts or pokes, so it's interesting that, because I also have Apple, like an iPhone, but it's interesting that I'm not getting those.

Andy Nelson:

So I wonder what you're signed up for that I'm not.

Pete Wright:

Probably a lot.

Andy Nelson:

When it comes to Apple, everything.

Pete Wright:

Yeah. Everything else. Right. But it's it it is actually I mean, I I wanna say it's been a march of lampoon and complaint by by the Apple press that they're using undocumented APIs that other advertisers and developers can't use in order to advertise this movie. And that's upsetting a lot of people.

Pete Wright:

Right? It seems like a double standard that they're engaging in that they have never done before to this extent, and it's it's pretty obnoxious even if the movie's good.

Andy Nelson:

Yeah. I mean, that's it's I mean, obviously, our regulatory systems have changed drastically over the last number of decades, But there was a point where activity like this would be frowned upon and the FCC would crack down. Like, you know, if CBS had owned a particular network or was owned by a particular network, that they would say, well, we're only gonna advertise this, or we're not gonna let anyone else advertise this. We're only gonna do it here or whatever. You know?

Andy Nelson:

It seems like a strange way to kind of control what you're what you're pumping out there. So For sure. Interesting. Well, can I can I talk about some of my gripes with the movie and the script? Yes.

Andy Nelson:

I know I know how much you love it.

Pete Wright:

No. No. No. Well, I I know. My response is gonna be irrational, but I I wanna make sure some of those gripes are the strategy on track.

Pete Wright:

That that's the thing we're gonna need to talk about. So Okay. Well, I don't have anything to I I have a footnote, and we can talk about it when you're done.

Andy Nelson:

I well, and mine just goes to really just how, in so many ways, like, expected the story plays out. Right? Like, you've got the the aged old timer coming back for one last race is what it seems like, and he's joining with, like, this hotshot rookie, and and they've gotta learn to work together. It's like, okay. Been there, done that.

Andy Nelson:

As much as I love Brad Pitt, as much as I mean, Dampson Idris, I don't think I've seen in anything, but what a screen presence. Like, I loved watching him on screen. Fantastic. I love the two of them together. So many moments about their relationship, though.

Andy Nelson:

Like, the way that JP initially is, like, pushing back at everything that Sunny wants him to do, and it won't listen, and just and and the lessons that Sunny teaches about, like, don't pay attention to your phone, the way that he does his balls to focus on his reflexes, and Sunny's got that or JP's got that fancy little machine. And you slowly see JP shifting like he's not gonna go out late anymore and party. He's gonna switch from his little touchy touchy machine to the balls like like Sunny does. He's gonna start jogging with the team in the morning, every morning before the race. Like, it's just like, okay.

Andy Nelson:

Yes. Every beat. We're getting every single thing that is expected of this type of story when you wanna make it very Hollywood cookie cutter. Same thing you can argue with Kate. This is Carrie Condon, who I love.

Andy Nelson:

We talked about her when we talked about Banshees of Minashireen. That relationship, like, it's like it it felt honestly, like, dated, like, eighties, nineties relationship sort of story back in the day where they had to make it a love story. It's like, I felt like we were kind of past that. Apparently not. Apparently, we're back to the place where it has to still turn into a love story.

Andy Nelson:

I rolled my eyes heavily at that. But also just the fact that she goes through the motions of saying, well, I never I never date anybody who I'm, you know, who I who's not part of the team during the racing season, you know, blah blah blah, and then instantly gets together with him. I'm like, wow. This is this is so exactly how this would play out in the eighties or nineties. Like, it was such an old school way of of crafting a relationship like that, where it kind of took away some of the interest for me in her as a character because it's like, ugh.

Andy Nelson:

Now she's just the love interest. Blah blah blah. So that was all frustrating. You've got the, you know, the whole thing with the board member trying to sabotage the team, like that subterfuge of of Peter Banning, Tobias, Menzies character.

Pete Wright:

Oh, you mean the the mustache twirling villain?

Andy Nelson:

Mustache twirling villain. My goodness. Yeah. And and and even like I already mentioned, like, the, the young, woman who's one of the tire gunners, Jody, tire gunner, who has her own character arc of growing and learning, like, I can get through this. I don't have to be nervous, and I'm gonna make it super fast.

Andy Nelson:

And I'm gonna even have a nice little conversation with Sunny when he stops in and just say, your car's all ready for you, whatever she does. Like, it all was just eye rollingly expected. It played fine. I mean, it's a Hollywood movie. It hits the beats.

Andy Nelson:

It does what it they set out to do. But, I just was, like, kind of like, I couldn't believe they made this as basic, I'll say, this day and age as what they did. And I don't know if that's because Apple just wanted to make sure we wanna make sure we're checking all the boxes to get as big of an audience as we can with this, make sure that it's gonna hit four quadrant. I don't know what it is, but, boy, did it feel like they were playing it safe.

Pete Wright:

I I will say from what I know about Apple's involvement is they they typically don't put their thumb on the proverbial scale. There are all kinds of rumors out there about what they what they will and will not allow, and most of those have been debunked that by the filmmakers saying, hey. Apple, like, bought into the project because they believe in the project. And if they don't feel good about what is about what's going on, they don't invest in the project. It doesn't become an Apple original.

Pete Wright:

They don't tell filmmakers how to make their films. That's that's the general sort of marching over. So I wouldn't necessarily blame this on Apple, but I would blame this on the Hollywood industrial complex that does feel like we need to make movies that are big energetic, and we're spending so much money on this. Let's make sure it it checks all of the emotional boxes as quickly and effortlessly as we can. Let's not think too hard about make it too hard on ourselves by integrating complex characters.

Pete Wright:

And that's why you get this train wreck of female representation in this movie, which is, you know, in Jody, the the gunner, and and Carrie Condon, which have seeds of awesomeness and are absolutely deflated through the course of the narrative arc. It's very troubling at how poorly they handled Carrie Condon's character. The amount of time they let us experience her character as an engineer, as somebody of intelligence and experience before they make her a puppet for Brad Pitt is stunningly bad. I felt for her in this but I don't this is the movie. Right?

Pete Wright:

Like, this would they made this choice to to be a trope factory. And, you know, I it's frustrating. I I don't have I don't have any counter to your quibbles because they're real. Like, they're absolutely real. I can do nothing but agree.

Pete Wright:

Yeah.

Andy Nelson:

Well, and to your point about Kate, like and we get it. It's a losing team. They're struggling. Their their cars are crap. Like, we we've kind of sold on the fact that the cars are crap.

Andy Nelson:

Well, that seems like it would be Kate's fault that the cars are crap. And I guess we kind of get that because Sunny knows everything, and he comes in and is telling Kate, well, we gotta pay attention to the dirty wind and whatever, and, like, wants to make these changes. And she's like, ah, machine machines don't do any of this sort of stuff and gets very frustrated with him, and then, of course, follows his lead. That spoke to the fact that

Pete Wright:

she Because that's what she that's what she wanted the whole time is a driver that would work in partnership with her, and she wasn't getting it from Dampson. Like, that part, I actually thought was pretty good. You know? That worked.

Andy Nelson:

That worked, but it didn't but he's giving her the the specific things that I want to do, and she's not like, she should be able to say, well, I wanted to know. Like, I don't know. Just the way that the conversations happen between them, it made it sound like he's not just a mentor to JP, he's also a mentor to Kate. And like, you know, it's like, I I I got that from that moment she has that conversation with with JP, and he can't tell her what's wrong. And she and, you know, again, very overwritten.

Andy Nelson:

I need you to be able to tell me. Was it before or what after? He's like, I don't know. And then he comes in and instantly, like, tells her every little bit of detail that he needs. So it's like, okay.

Andy Nelson:

Yeah. We we are clear on that. But even to the point where when they're looking at the machine, this is what this is the scene I'm talking about. She's analyzing the the the wind factor, and and he's just like, well, can it analyze when you're trailing somebody or whatever it's called and writing in their draft. Bull or what draft.

Andy Nelson:

She's like, oh, I never thought. Like, the way that she react like, that whole scene played like she was kind of an idiot. And and like that, again, just makes it seem like Sunny is a mentor to everybody, and he's gonna come in and save the day. It just it was very frustrating in the way that all is written.

Pete Wright:

It's such a stupid hole too in the in their relationship because what we want, right, if we're armchairing this, is we want him to come in as the expert in what the card does and her as the expert in what the car could do. Right? And together, they should make Voltron of of car engineering. Right? They should become greater than the sum of its parts.

Pete Wright:

But you're absolutely right. He comes in, like, just a little bit too, expert in what he's talking about. She does the work of coming up with the the floorboards and and, you know, making changes to the side rails and all of that stuff. She she does, but it comes at at, like, too much prompting from Yoda to get the job done. I absolutely get that.

Andy Nelson:

Yeah. So the Yoda trend, so he is racing the one f. Yeah.

Pete Wright:

Sorry. I'm glad I'm glad you pulled that out. I'm glad we got

Andy Nelson:

that recorded. Had to throw that in

Pete Wright:

there. Yeah.

Andy Nelson:

Alright. Well, I feel like we're close to the end of this, but wrap up with your I want you to talk about your your quibbles with what was going on on the track, the track, the the strategy. Right. So

Pete Wright:

I I wanna start by saying I actually liked it. I I liked what they did. I just have to say it with a little somber recognition that as a fan, I shouldn't like what they did. What they did in the form of Brad Pitt, he was an agent of chaos, and he was smarter than everyone on the team.

Andy Nelson:

And And the track, really.

Pete Wright:

And the track. Right? Smarter than everyone on the track. Because nobody saw what he was doing as he was doing things like effectively drawing fouls. Right?

Pete Wright:

Like, was taking turns too tight to make other, other drivers, run into him without, you know, just walking that line between deep, steward violation and getting called out red flagged versus just having it be an observable accident. Like, this thing happened. But the benefits of the accident to the rest of the team were Damson Idris' car could run up, could could gain a few paces. It would cause some track event that caused everyone to have to go into the pit for a little while. Like, everything he did was strategically counter to what his team was telling him to do and in favor of his teammate, right, moving the game forward, moving the race forward.

Pete Wright:

He destroyed a lot of cars intentionally. He made a giant mess of the track. I mean, over the course of all of those races, how much extraneous damage did the guy do? Extraordinary. Extraordinary damage that the guy did.

Pete Wright:

And yet it led them to a world championship right when it counted. And so do you have to celebrate as a fan? And this is a thing that, you know, people are gonna talk about as this movie gets more widely seen. As a fan, you have to separate what happens in the movie from the kind of violations that he caused on the track. This is cinematic.

Pete Wright:

Is it legitimate? Like, can you imagine a world where a driver is so smart that he could actually engineer all of the faults in the favor of the team? Yes. Yes. You can.

Pete Wright:

And that would be a hell of a season if we had a a driver like Sunny Hayes. That would be a hell of a season, but it would be wildly cinematic. And I just I I think we have to remember that this is celebrating art from the art the craft of racing. And let's please do that because this was really fun to watch. And if you watch this thinking, I'm gonna see this when I watch my first f one race for real, you're not gonna see this.

Pete Wright:

We we have no sunny haze in racing.

Andy Nelson:

Well, it's funny because, like and they must be assuming that race fans would recognize that this is never gonna never has happened. Because, like, they would even have, like, we'd hear the announcers, like, when he'd pull one of these things that would cause all the racers to get behind the slow car that they'd all have to kind of go behind for a lap or two.

Pete Wright:

Yeah. The emergency car.

Andy Nelson:

Yeah. And then the you'd you'd have the announcers, man, well, the only people this are really gonna benefit are the Apex and and Sonny and and JP. As if they but they'd say it as if it's a surprise, and they it's like nobody ever caught on that it this there's a strategy here. And it was it was strange to me. Like, oh, man.

Andy Nelson:

You you wonder like, they would say things like, you wonder if they're planning all of this. It's just like, god. Like, duh. Like, how obvious do they have to make it? It was it was kind of, like, shocking, you know, at at times.

Andy Nelson:

Because, I mean, right out of the gate, he's already doing it. The very first time he hops in the race, he he fakes be fakes his inability to start the car and starts it late so that he can have hot tires before everyone can get on the track and be better. And so it's like right out of the gate, he's already doing it. So it's like they by the time they're getting to that ninth race, they should have figured out that this is kind of what Sonny's up to. Exactly.

Pete Wright:

And in fact, they did, and and and he used that against them. Right? Like, he said, everybody thinks I'm chaos now, so they won't be paying attention to you. Right? That was in the movie, and it's true.

Pete Wright:

It's accurate. And am I clutching my seat as I'm watching these races? Absolutely. But it is it it is a little too far afield from the the norm. And and so it is what it is.

Pete Wright:

It's a movie, and I love it, and it's exciting, and it's great. And they use real regulation, and they it's essentially a thought experiment of what if a team and a driver pushed every regulation to its absolute possible limit? What would a race look like? And that's what this is.

Andy Nelson:

Seems like they're patterning after modern politics in America.

Pete Wright:

Kinda. Kinda. Right.

Andy Nelson:

It didn't say we couldn't.

Pete Wright:

Yeah. Right. That's that is what this movie is all about. It's pushing every possible limit and just up to the steward's notice and not any further until they get in trouble. And so

Andy Nelson:

I have one more question for you. Sure. That because you just said he wins the grand the the championship or whatever, but he only wins that race. Right. Well Right?

Andy Nelson:

Because, I mean, they they had nine races left. Yeah. They've never won a race. The first two or three that they actually are in together, they never even finish. So that's like they're down to maybe races, and they finally get to a place where they're able to place in a few, but they're only just placing.

Andy Nelson:

They never win. And it's just that very last race that Sunny, through convenience, is able to finish and and become in first place. But as a team and even as an individual driver, he's not winning the overall whatever it is. Because Ruben is like, you're the best in the world. I'm like, well, is he though?

Andy Nelson:

He's not because he won a race of x number of races that are part of this entire

Pete Wright:

Yeah. He won the I think it was the Abu Dhabi at the end. Right? The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. And and so he won that.

Pete Wright:

He did not win the driver's championship. Right? He did not win the constructor's championship. We've talked about the drivers versus

Andy Nelson:

Nor did Apex win.

Pete Wright:

Right. Apex didn't. But here's the most important part. When a driver wins a Grand Prix, they get points. Points equal money.

Pete Wright:

So while we can assume that Apex is not in the black yet, they are certainly moving further out of the red, and they buy themselves another three years to try to continue to win races. So the movie, as many of these movies are, they're not about, you know, ultimately winning everything without cost. It's a movie about, like, baby steps. Like, we're excited for the the sort of liminal space that exists between today and a future an uncertain future.

Andy Nelson:

Yeah. Right. Right.

Pete Wright:

Right. But it's it's actually really funny. The the broadcaster that I was talking about that we see him again at the end, his name is, Will Buxton. He was, at the time, the Fox voice for all coverage of f one. And last year, he moved over to NASCAR, I think.

Pete Wright:

He's now a NASCAR in 2025 NASCAR guy. But what's really fun about Will Buxton, because he's a broadcast and motorsports journalist, the behind the scenes tours of the paddock with Brad Pitt are all interviews with Will Buxton in his professional capacity as a journalist. He's also a character Will Buxton in this movie. I find that a delightful bit of inception. Interesting.

Pete Wright:

Anyway, really, really fun.

Andy Nelson:

Well, I mean, it's a fun movie and it's, you know, making its money. So good stuff. Any last points?

Pete Wright:

Yeah. You're not enthusiastic enough. It's fine. That's my only point.

Andy Nelson:

I'm sorry. Alright. Well, we'll be right back. But first, our credits.

Pete Wright:

The next reel is a production of True Story FM, engineering by Andy Nelson, music by Phantom, Zoriel Novella, and Eli Catlin. Andy usually finds all the stats for the awards and numbers at the -numbers.com, boxofficemojo.com, imdb.com, and wikipedia.org. Find the show at truestory.fm. And if your podcast app allows ratings and reviews, please consider doing that for our show.

Andy Nelson:

Sequels and remakes. Andy. Yeah. Considering it just came out, not really any any updates on any of that yet. But just to be clear, the f one twenty five game, featured the Apex livery.

Andy Nelson:

Yep. Livery. The lineup. Is that their lineup? Yep.

Andy Nelson:

As it appears in the film alongside scenarios that players can undertake. So if you wanna play the game, you'll get to race alongside Sunny and JP and, yeah,

Pete Wright:

contribute to the wins. Outstanding. Yeah. The livery is the is essentially the stable of cars and drivers. Yeah.

Andy Nelson:

I wasn't even thinking about that in terms of horses and stuff, but it is this they're stable. Yeah.

Pete Wright:

It's their stable. Yeah. Okay. How about an award? Do we have an award yet?

Pete Wright:

Please tell me there's already an award, Andy.

Andy Nelson:

Believe it or not, just like last week with Ballerina, this one already has a nomination for an award, and it is at the Golden Trailer Awards for best action trailer. But as we talked about last week, it lost to Ballerina. Here's the interesting thing about that. I I feel

Pete Wright:

like the Ballerina trailer was great and interesting and energetic. But this is one of those examples of where Apple put a lot of money. If you own an iPhone of, of, I think, almost any variety and you go to the TV app and you press play on the trailer for this movie, you will get a haptic trailer. The haptic trailer on your phone is like D Box for the movie. Your phone jiggles with the the vibrations of the cars.

Pete Wright:

It jiggles and shakes and moves and stuff. I find it weird, and I didn't care for it. But that is an investment that Apple continues to make in promoting this movie to absurd lengths. I just I find it hysterical that it did not win the golden trailer because they actually did something novel to move their trailer game forward.

Andy Nelson:

Very true. Though, again, they're not rating trailers based on their haptic vibration ability. They're basing it on the actual content of the trailer. And eventually, who knows? We may just like maybe one day we'll have the D BOX Awards.

Andy Nelson:

Which movie worked best in D BOX this year? We're not quite there yet, but doesn't mean it won't happen.

Pete Wright:

Okay. Well, here's hoping. Yeah. How to do how is it doing at the box office?

Andy Nelson:

Well, this has been an interesting one regarding the budget. Reports came out that it was around 300,000,000, making it one of the most expensive movies made. You may recall last month, we discussed the latest Mission Impossible movie, which had above budget of 400,000,000, making it the fourth most expensive film made yet. Well, this would be in the top 20 if the budget is at that $300,000,000 mark, though closer to spot 20, actually. After these reports came out, though, both Jerry Bruckheimer and Kaczynski himself came out and said, it's not accurate.

Andy Nelson:

Kaczynski said, quote, I've never had an experience where they were off by this much on a film. I'm not sure where that number came from, end quote. And Bruckheimer said rebates and sponsorships are gonna lower the budget. All this being said, it's still high, definitely above 100,000,000, possibly under 300,000,000. Who knows?

Andy Nelson:

For our purposes, we're just gonna say 300,000,000 and go with that. Movie opened June 25 on IMAX screens, then the twenty seventh in The States opposite lost weekend, Megan two point o, Hot Milk, and Ponyboy. As for how it did, well, it actually opened in the number one spot, knocking out the How to Train Your Dragon, live action remake and beating the other new release, Megan two point o, which opened in fourth. It looks like it's going to do well as it's already made 55,600,000.0 domestically and 88,400,000.0 million internationally, earning a 144,000,000 on its opening weekend. Does it mean it's gonna make its money back?

Andy Nelson:

Well, it really kinda depends on what the actual budget is. We may never know.

Pete Wright:

I, I got the Comscore email this, yesterday, and, it was interesting to see that it opened in the number one spot. It opened in the number one spot in a lot of territories in terms of an international release. More territories than I would have expected. That bodes well. I'm also interested to see how the contribution from alternative screens shows up.

Pete Wright:

I have I saw it in IMAX. I know you saw it in IMAX, so we recommend IMAX. I'm going to see it again this week before it leaves in ScreenX. This will be my first ScreenX viewing. I'm very excited about that.

Andy Nelson:

Explain what ScreenX is so people know what that is.

Pete Wright:

I wish I knew entirely what it is. My understanding is it's ScreenX is this is the theater that that it ours, apparently, it has the screens on sides too. I don't know. The the reason in ScreenX is so puzzling is that you have your main principal screen. You have screens on the sides.

Pete Wright:

It's puzzling because you never quite know what they're gonna put on those side screens. Right? Like, how how are they gonna fashion more, you know, width from the movie? So I'm very excited to check that out. So alternative screens, I'm really interested.

Pete Wright:

I haven't heard anybody who's seen it yet in in four d x, but my god. Can you imagine them just pumping polluted air just right in your face

Andy Nelson:

for realism? Dirty like fun.

Pete Wright:

Oh, god. I can't wait. I might actually we don't have one here. I might drive up to Seattle to see it in that would be a commitment. That'd be hell

Andy Nelson:

of a commitment. The sort of commitment that I think you would make, though.

Pete Wright:

It does feel like that's on brand for me right now. It does. Yeah. It does. Okay.

Pete Wright:

Well, I loved it. Whatever. I did. What are missing?

Andy Nelson:

I had a great time. It was very fun. But, man, was it eye rolling. And so it's it's an interesting one for me. So I'll it'll be curious to see where we go from here.

Pete Wright:

Yeah. I guess so. Hey. Before we, dig in, Andy, to our our next segment, which is the one where people show up to actually hear hear our ratings at at letterbox.com, I just wonder if there's any last reminder that we would like to give people about why they're hearing this show right now.

Andy Nelson:

That's a great point. You know, this is one of our member bonus releases that that go out to members. But every once in a while over the course of a season, we will release them out to the public as well to tune in and and hear the sorts of bonus episodes that that members get. This past entire season that we just, are wrapping up, we were celebrating because Roger Corman had just passed away right before the season started. So we decided let's do an entire season celebrating Roger Corman and all of his movies.

Andy Nelson:

Was that a good decision? I don't know. But we did talk about a very interesting variety of films for people to tune into those. But, I mean, usually, we'll we'll tie the member bonus episodes into a particular series. Like, this is a perfect example of what often our member bonus episodes will be like where, you know, hey.

Andy Nelson:

We're doing a car racing series. Let's throw in one other car racing racing movies. F one happened to open, we did that. But often, we'll have members actually get to vote in our members only channels over in Discord. They can vote on the movies, and then, like, we'll throw five to 10 options their way, and they'll pick, and that's what we'll talk about in a particular month.

Andy Nelson:

And so yeah. So we do member bonus episodes. We'll do a post show chitchat where we have question and answer. Like, as as we do these livestream, questions come in from anyone listening, and we'll answer questions over the course of the points we missed, other other things to potentially discuss, etcetera, etcetera. And so, yeah, it's I mean, membership is it's just a great way to support the show.

Andy Nelson:

You know, we are always, grateful when people decide to become a member and to just help us out. It's $5 a month or $55 a year. Yeah. You can learn more at thenextreal.com/membership or truestory.fm/join. That's trust0ry/join.

Pete Wright:

Letterbox,dandy. Letterbox.com/thenextreal. That's where you can find our HQ page if you wanna follow us. And here we go. We're assigning stars and hearts.

Pete Wright:

Stars and hearts.

Andy Nelson:

Alright. Why don't you go first? I know where you're gonna go.

Pete Wright:

Five stars and heart, Andy. Five stars and heart.

Andy Nelson:

I don't care about tropes. I don't care. I care about how I felt when I was watching this movie. And even when I was rolling my eyes, I still loved it. And I'm torn because, like, man, the tropes were so frustrating for me.

Andy Nelson:

The race footage wasn't any different from the way I felt about it. I know it's shot differently, but I didn't feel any different about it than I did like Ford v Ferrari. It was just great race footage on the track. But this film excelled at the teamwork aspect of it and really opening the window for me to have a glimpse into how this works. So while the script is probably, like, a two, two and a half, like, it's rough for me, the script, the other elements I thought excelled.

Andy Nelson:

So I'm gonna I'm gonna land on three and a half, and I I think that's probably higher than you thought based on your gas. Anti,

Pete Wright:

that is much higher than I thought. And I I think that's a that's parade worthy. I was That's balloons in the outfield.

Andy Nelson:

I was torn. Three, three and a half is kind of where I felt. But with I don't know. I just I really enjoyed that world that they painted for me, and so three and a half and a heart. So that will average out to four and a quarter over at our count at Letterboxd, at the next reel, which will round up to four and a half and a heart.

Andy Nelson:

You can find me there at soda greek film. You can find Pete there at pete wright. So what did you think about f one? We would love to hear your thoughts. Hop into the ShowTalk channel over at our Discord community where we will be talking about the movie this week.

Andy Nelson:

When the movie ends. Our conversation begins. And I just wanna say, like ballerina, I'm incredibly grateful that this film is just called f one.

Pete Wright:

I know. Unfortunately, in Letterbox, it's still f one the movie, which I feel like is needs to change.

Andy Nelson:

I think ballerina is still from the world of John Wick, ballerina. Like, they need to update these things.

Pete Wright:

Yeah. Letterboxd giveth, Andrew.

Andy Nelson:

As Letterboxd always doeth.

Pete Wright:

Alright. Long or short?

Andy Nelson:

I have a very, very long one, from a film critic. I'm not gonna read their entire review. You can go to their website to read it.

Pete Wright:

Go ahead. Go why don't you go first? I got a short one.

Andy Nelson:

I'm not gonna I'm gonna read the first three paragraphs of David Ehrlich's. I usually don't like celebrating the work of David at all, but I just think this is an interesting point based on our conversation. It's the first three paragraphs. In a clear flex of corporate synergy, Apple promoted its first summer blockbuster with the release of a haptic trailer that imitates the purr of an f one engine in the palms of your hands. The clip delivers such well calibrated vibrations that watching it on an iPhone makes it seem like you're microdosing 40 x right on the subway or the toilet or wherever it is you choose to enjoy the film industry's latest breakthrough in vertical integration.

Andy Nelson:

But the real potency of this ad and the real potential of the technology that it represents can only be experienced by viewing the promo on mute. The haptic feedback is so nuanced and expressive that you can literally feel the basic plot and emotions of Joseph Kaczynski's f one through your fingertips. It's the closest thing to pure cinema I've ever enjoyed on a device that I primarily use for playing Marvel snap and googly answers to my five year old son's trivia questions. Yes. A rhino could outrun Usain Bolt.

Andy Nelson:

How disappointing then that the film itself manages to offer so little of the same thrill despite the benefit of booming Dolby speakers, the scale of an IMAX screen, and the sleekness of a director whose aesthetic naturally cleaves toward Apple commercials. See, Oblivion. That's certainly not for lack of trying. I just wanted to go with that because I find one, now I wanna just watch the trailer on mute and see how it feels. Yeah.

Andy Nelson:

But two, I just think it's an interesting exploration of the nature of haptic trailers and storytelling.

Pete Wright:

That David Ehrlich picked up the haptic trailer thread and ran with it for three straight paragraphs. He right after I finished ranting about it on our show. Exactly.

Andy Nelson:

I've got a five star and

Pete Wright:

a heart. This one comes from Aiden who says, this is me giving five star rating to straight propaganda and an Apple commercial. Absolutely enjoyed it. Hashtag I love IMAX. Straight propaganda and an Apple commercial.

Pete Wright:

Brilliant. Thanks, Letterboxd. And a shout out to Paul for the Forrest Gump effect. F one sounds like the ultimate insert of fictional characters into reality. We might wanna call it Forrest Gump effect.

Pete Wright:

Paul, that's going in the glossary, I think, for sure. Right? I know.

Andy Nelson:

This this is the first external voice we've had who's getting something added to the to the glossary. Special credit to Paul. Excellent. Alright. Thanks everybody for tuning in.

Andy Nelson:

See you next time.