The traffic lights go out and the spotlights come on. A parallel story to that of the 2023 season is staged at Silverstone, at the center of the events of the next Apple Studios film starring Brad Pitt. Tight mouths on the plot, despite the world of Hollywood and that of Formula 1 mixing perfectly in the paddock. Teams, drivers and insiders welcome the new housemates positively, aware that as well as bringing a breath of fresh air they will attract new spectators to the world of Grand Prix racing.
coexistence
The paddock is not new to hosting film and television staff, most recently the Drive to Survive crew, still busy at Silverstone for the making of the new season. However, that of Netflix operators has always been an intangible, almost ethereal presence, so much so that it has now gone unnoticed in the eyes of insiders. Of a completely different impact it is the entry of Apple Studios into the circuitswith impressive cameras, microphones and equipment of all sorts moving back and forth across the paddock.
The intent of the producers is to preserve the naturalness of the surrounding environment, working to prevent the gazes of journalists, photographers and team personnel in the background from being caught by filming subjects. The goal would seem to have been achieved, given the considerable difficulty for paddock visitors in separating what is fictitious from what is real. Definitely difficult to distinguish the actors from the insiders and it is only when you hear the cry “action” passing next to someone that you realize you are on the sidelines of a shot.
Formula 1 is not at all disturbed by the invasion of Hollywood, on the contrary. The two worlds smell each other, absorbing each other’s experience. On the one hand the cinema, eager to integrate as much as possible into the paddock, understand its dynamics, breathe its atmosphere and transfer it to the big screen. On the other hand, F1 pampers its Hollywood guests, aware that the success of the project will depend on the media return for the same teams.
Camouflage
Many times the excessively spectacular drift of Formula 1 has been accused, taken from the anxiety of selling one’s own product in a cinematographic key. In the case of Apple though it is the cinema that becomes Formula 1, assuming their uses, costumes, equipment and environments to get into character. And so in the paddock it happens to come across the motorhome with the Apex GP insignia, the star team of the new film, also equipped with its own box in the pit lane complete with monitors, pneumatic pistols, helmets and a low wall.
Inside is the perfectly functional single-seater, prepared in collaboration with Mercedes Applied Science. Brad Pitt himself will drive it, who will also lead it on the starting grid, set for further filming a few minutes before the Grand Prix. The preparation of the Apple Studios product promises well as a whole, with a high degree of scenographic fidelity which fuels expectations. All that remains is to wait for the final result, although even Drive to Survive, although starting from a real base, recalls how easy it is to create a product that risks making long-time enthusiasts turn up their noses.
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