Brad Pitt’s F1 Movie Set for Release in June 2025

Brad Pitt. (AFP)
Brad Pitt. (AFP)
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Brad Pitt’s F1 Movie Set for Release in June 2025

Brad Pitt. (AFP)
Brad Pitt. (AFP)

Brad Pitt's as-yet unnamed Formula One movie will be released globally on June 25 next year, with a North American debut two days later, F1 and Apple Original Films announced on Tuesday.

The film is being made with the cooperation of teams and drivers and directed by Joseph Kosinski, whose "Top Gun: Maverick" grossed $1.49 billion worldwide, with Jerry Bruckheimer as producer.

It will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures in cinemas and IMAX.

Seven-times F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton is a co-producer, with filming starting last year and continuing during selected grand prix weekends this season.

The production team have had a garage and pitwall stand as a fictional 11th "APX GP" team.

The plot sees Pitt, who is 60 years old in real life, star as a former driver making a Formula One comeback alongside Damson Idris, who plays his rookie team mate, at APX.

Other cast members include Academy Award winner Javier Bardem and best supporting actress nominee Kerry Condon.

Formula One said production of the movie would complete at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in December.

The sport is hoping the movie cements the appeal of the Netflix docu-series "Drive to Survive" that has boosted Formula One's popularity and growth worldwide and particularly in the key US market.

Formula One now has three US races in Austin, Miami and Las Vegas.

"We've already seen the great work and impact of the Netflix show and I think this will take it to new heights beyond that," Mercedes driver Hamilton, who is joining Ferrari at the end of the season, said last year.



Rio Goes Gaga for US Singer ahead of Free Concert

A fan shows a tattoo of US singer Lady Gaga at Rio's Copacabana Beach, where the pop star will stage a free concert. Daniel RAMALHO / AFP
A fan shows a tattoo of US singer Lady Gaga at Rio's Copacabana Beach, where the pop star will stage a free concert. Daniel RAMALHO / AFP
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Rio Goes Gaga for US Singer ahead of Free Concert

A fan shows a tattoo of US singer Lady Gaga at Rio's Copacabana Beach, where the pop star will stage a free concert. Daniel RAMALHO / AFP
A fan shows a tattoo of US singer Lady Gaga at Rio's Copacabana Beach, where the pop star will stage a free concert. Daniel RAMALHO / AFP

Behind his large studded sunglasses, Victor Faro's eyes were glued on the luxury hotel overlooking Copacabana beach where US superstar Lady Gaga is staying ahead of her free mega-concert in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday.

Brazilians have been waiting more than a decade for the 39-year-old pop icon to perform in the country, and excitement is at fever pitch.

On Thursday, the city was crawling with "little monsters," as Gaga affectionately refers to her fans, decked out in T-shirts, wigs, baseball caps stamped with her image.

Faro sported plastic horns and a thin Salvador Dali-style moustache curled up at the sides -- two accessories that were part of Lady Gaga's look during her "Born This Way" and "Artpop" days -- as he waited outside the Copacabana Palace hotel for a glimpse of his idol.

'Mother' Gaga

Faro travelled from neighboring Espirito Santo state to be at Copacabana at 6:00 am on Thursday, in order to "be as close to the stage as possible."

A few meters away, Cinthia Rodrigues, a 28-year-old content creator in a platinum blonde wig and bandana, said she saw Lady Gaga "as a mother figure."

"I don't just identify with her look, but also her personality," she said, adding she was looking forward to a "historic concert."

Fresh off the release of her latest album "Mayhem," the star -- who played two nights in Mexico City last week -- vowed in February "to make sure this show is one you will never forget."

Gaga's previous plans to play in Brazil, at a rock festival in Rio in 2017, were canceled due to health issues.

Bringing joy

Rio is no stranger to mega-events.

Each year, around 1.6 million people attend its massive Carnival festivities.

In May 2024, Madonna gave one of the biggest shows of her four-decade career at Copacabana, drawing over a million fans and pumping millions of dollars into the local economy.

The shot in the arm from Lady Gaga's gig is expected to be even bigger.

"The fact of adding a concert by an international star each year on Copacabana beach helps stimulate economic activity in a period previously considered the off-season," Osmar Lima, Rio's secretary for economic development, said in a statement.

"It brings in money by attracting tourists and brings joy to the neighborhood," said Analice Analice Regina Moreira, a 73-year-old Copacabana resident.

The meat dress

Traders were doing a brisk trade in Lady Gaga-themed merchandise ahead of the concert; fans waited in line for up to an hour at one store.

The most popular item was a tank top inspired by the iconic "meat dress" she wore to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards.

"We were expecting a lot of people but this is far bigger than we imagined," said Paulo Moreira Monteiro, who had to hire a security guard to keep shoppers in line.

He expects the gig to boost his revenues by 70 percent as compared with a regular week.