“F1” director and producer Joseph Kosinski chronicled the road to his Apple Studios racing movie on Friday to a packed crowd at TheWrap’s screening of the film at the Ojai Playhouse. The filmmaker spoke about the movie’s origins, the difficulties of production and where the franchise could head next in a potential sequel.
Kosinski had wanted to make a movie about cars for a while. Years ago he had worked on “Go Like Hell,” which was set to star Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. It was eventually made by James Mangold as the Oscar-winning “Ford v. Ferrari,” this time with Matt Damon and Christian Bale.
“I love racing films – I love ‘Grand Prix,’ John Frankenheimer’s film, ‘Le Mans,’ Steve McQueen’s movie. Those were two films that I was fascinated by. I always want to make a racing film. But the word around town when I tried was racing movies don’t work,” Kosinski explained. “They felt like only people interested in cars and hardcore motorsports people would be interested in seeing a movie about it. And also the ending is always predictable.”
Even with Pitt and Cruise on board, “Go Like Hell” couldn’t make it into first gear, partially because it was so expensive. “They gave me a budget. They said it had to start with a nine, with those two guys,” Kosinski said. “And my approach was much like what I got to do on this film, which is make it as practical as possible. It just ended up being too expensive.”
Still, he said, he maintained that “desire to make a racing film.” In 2022, he watched the first season of “Drive to Survive,” which didn’t have permission from Red Bull, Mercedes or Ferrari. (“They weren’t sure what the show was and how they were going to be portrayed,” Kosinski said.) Instead, the show focused on the last place teams. It sparked something inside Kosinski.
“I loved the idea of a last place team. I knew Brad wanted to make a movie like this and I always wanted to work with him. And I just felt like this character of Sonny Hayes was one that I wanted to see him play, and he hadn’t quite done anything like this,” Kosinski said. “I created this character for him and loved the idea of guy who was seen as the young phenom back in the day that never lived up to the potential, and kicked around, always wondering what could have been if he got a second chance. That was the origin of this story. That was four years ago and here we are.”
Luckily for Kosinski, he had an ace up his sleeve in Lewis Hamilton, the F1 superstar. Hamilton had wanted to audition for Kosinski’s “Top Gun: Maverick.” When Kosinski explained how long the process of shooting the movie would be, Hamilton backed off. (He was also in the middle of his seventh championship season.) But Kosinski remembered the interaction and when he was putting “F1” together, reached back out.
“I said, ‘I know you’re interested in film. I want to make a film in this world. I want it to be the most authentic racing film ever. Will you help me?’ And luckily, he said, ‘Yes,’” Kosinski said. Now that he had Hamilton, he had to figure out the logistics of teaming the F1 organization and Apple (“Two corporations who are very closed in terms of they like to do things their own way”), a feat he dubbed “nearly impossible.” Kosinski then turned to Jerry Bruckheimer, his “Top Gun: Maverick” producer, who came on board. “Once I had Brad, Jerry and Lewis, I felt like I had a pretty solid team,” Kosinski said. Ehren Kruger, who had co-written “Top Gun: Maverick,” also became an essential member of the team.
With Apple, Kosinski found a dream partner. “Apple stood up and said, ‘We’re the right place to make this.’ I think part of it was they don’t have IP. When you talk about an original story at this scale, I think they were willing to take a shot,” Kosinski said. They also made a promise to exhibit the film theatrically, partnering with Warner Bros. for a rollout that included large format and premium screens. Apple promised 30 days. But “F1” remained in theaters for more than 100 days. It won’t even debut on Apple’s streaming service until December.
“F1” wound up making over $629 million globally; that’s more than “Superman” and “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” and “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.” Already, there have been rumblings about a follow-up. “F2” anyone?
“I think it’s fun to think where Sonny Hayes goes next. We hint at the Baja 1000 at the end of this film. And Brad’s pitched a couple ideas to me that are very interesting. This weekend Lewis is coming back to town, so I’m going to see Lewis on Sunday and Brad on Sunday. I’m sure we’ll start spit-balling,” Kosinski said.
Sounds like it’s time for another trip around the racetrack.
