There’s one kind of victory that’s always eluded Brad Pitt. And most people have likely never even noticed. Nearly 40 years into his career, the American actor and producer has left an indelible mark on both film and pop culture at large – with two Academy Awards to his name. But unlike his megastar peers, he’s never made a true crowd-pleasing blockbuster. That is, until F1 The Movie.
After earning $144 million globally in its opening weekend and boasting stellar reviews from critics and audiences alike, the film is poised to be one of the summer’s biggest hits. For Pitt, that would mean he’s finally vanquished his white whale.
“I had always wanted to make a populist film – something that just gets better every time you see it. Something that brings people together. And I still didn't understand that this could be that one,” Pitt tells The National.
'You’ve got to get chills at the end'
“The greatest pleasure – the thing that puts a smile on my face – is seeing families, from kids to grandparents, big groups of friends all going together and taking photos in front of the poster or the car. It’s a rarity for film to reach that level of reaction, especially in this day and time. I think the value of entertainment can sometimes be greater than the piece itself. And I think that's happening here,” says Pitt.
But to take a truly transcendent blockbuster – one that audiences will return to again and again – there’s one moment that matters above all else.
“For these movies to work, you’ve got to get those chills at the end,” Pitt explains. “And you don’t know if you’ve got it until you put it all together. Then, you’re sitting in the dark and it all comes down to – do the hairs start standing up on the back of your neck or not? And for us, we found that moment in Abu Dhabi.”
The moment comes in the thrilling final sequence. Pitt plays Sonny Hayes, an ageing racing driver called back to the sport he once walked away from at the behest of his old teammate turned Formula One team owner, Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem). If Ruben's team can’t win a race by the end of the season, he will lose everything. And, just as it has in real life, it all comes down to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – the final race of the year.
In many ways, F1 The Movie follows a standard underdog sports formula. But a good formula isn’t enough to excite the masses. They have to see something they’ve never seen before. And for months in the planning stages, Pitt and director Joseph Kosinski were racking their brains trying to come up with what that could be – until their producing partner Lewis Hamilton, the co-record holder for most F1 driver’s championships in history, unlocked it for them.
“That last lap came from a conversation from Lewis Hamilton early on, where he describes this sublime feeling he sometimes gets, this spiritual feeling,” says Pitt.
“And Joe developed a camera – this kind of floating camera on the front of the car. And it’s an angle we haven’t seen. He saves that one for the end to punctuate the spiritual feeling of it all.”
‘Filming in Abu Dhabi was unbelievable’
To pull it off, Pitt and company spent a total of 29 days shooting in the UAE capital, and even more in planning – both in the spring of 2024, and again for five weeks towards the end of the year, with key sequences filmed during the actual Grand Prix.
“It was unbelievable,” says Pitt. “It was just unprecedented, the access that we were given, the kindness, the support. We couldn’t have had a more celebratory end.”
The actor points to the Abu Dhabi Film Commission as well as the Department of Culture and Tourism – “I was really impressed with [DCT chairman] Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak” – as integral in making it happen.
“After nearly three years of filming off and on, the doors were open to us in Abu Dhabi. I can’t say enough about everything that Abu Dhabi lends to this film. It really left an indelible mark on all of us. I haven’t been able to thank them enough,” says Pitt.
“The Yas Marina Circuit became like our own backyard. We were so spoilt by that track – it’s one of the favourite tracks of the season among the drivers for a reason. It’s so photogenic. I’m sure it’s by design that it’s the last track on the circuit because the race starts in daylight, goes through dusk, and then ends at night. You see it in the film. It’s an incredible summation – a highlight of where the film was going, too,” he continues.
“And it’s the most fun track to drive. It’s so fun, honestly. I miss it now. Shooting this specific track at night, with the cutting-edge design, all made it something absolutely sensational that we couldn't even have planned for.”
While he wasn't filming, Pitt was particularly taken with the city itself, especially Louvre Abu Dhabi.
“There’s a unique language happening there – it speaks to our collective unconscious. It speaks to all that brings us together,” says Pitt.
“I'm really impressed with the country in the sense of how thoughtful the design and growth have been – the thought that's been put into its development. It hasn’t been rushed; it’s a unique place on its own. As an outsider who has now spent a few months there, I look forward to getting back. And I can't wait to see the Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim Museum Abu Dhabi when it’s finished.”
The project means so much to Pitt not only because it’s the blockbuster he’d always been waiting for, but also because, in the years he spent making it, he wove so much of himself into it.
“You know, we are who we are. I don’t take a lot of time to look back and analyse. But in trying to find this story with Joe and writer Ehren Kruger, studying the teams, the drivers and the principals – trying this on and that on – I think all our personalities got intertwined into it,” he says.
Pitt ‘would love to’ do a sequel with Tom Cruise
Variety reports that an F1 sequel is in the works, and Pitt confirms to The National that he’s interested in returning – on one condition.
“I would want to drive again, selfishly speaking,” Pitt says, but because the film ends with his character out of Formula One, he’s not sure how that would be possible. “F1 is still the focus. It needs to be on Joshua Pierce – Damson Idris’s character – and the rest of the team fighting for a championship. Where does Sonny fit in? I’m not sure. Sonny’s probably out on the Bonneville Salt Flats, setting speed records or something like that. So I’m not sure beyond that, just yet.
“Right now, I’m just pleased as punch that something like this can bring people together. That’s the power of this kind of cinema.”
Pitt says he is also interested in his former collaborator Tom Cruise joining the project – perhaps even as a dual-sequel with Cruise’s 1990 Tony Scott-directed racing film Days of Thunder. But he knows that, for Cruise to join, he would have to be driving too. It’s a sticking point that stopped a previous project the two had tried to develop – Ford v Ferrari – from coming to fruition. Both Pitt and Cruise walked away from the film, which ended up starring Christian Bale as driver Ken Miles and Matt Damon as automotive designer Carroll Shelby in 2019.
“Tom and I, for a while there, were on Ford v Ferrari with Joe [to direct],” says Pitt. “This was about 10 years before the guys who actually made it – and made it a great movie.
“What it came down to is that we both wanted to drive, and he wanted to play Shelby, and I wanted to play Ken Miles. And when Tom realised that Carroll Shelby would not be driving much in the movie, it didn’t come through.
“So I’m not sure how that’s going to work [in a potential F1 The Movie sequel], but we’ll give it a go. I’d love to,” says Pitt.
For now, Pitt isn’t thinking too hard about the next race. First, he’ll take a victory lap.
“We were all a bit white-knuckled to see if it was going to come through. We are delightfully surprised that everything that we had aimed for, and then some, came to fruition.”
F1 The Movie is now in cinemas
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
PROFILE OF STARZPLAY
Date started: 2014
Founders: Maaz Sheikh, Danny Bates
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment/Streaming Video On Demand
Number of employees: 125
Investors/Investment amount: $125 million. Major investors include Starz/Lionsgate, State Street, SEQ and Delta Partners
Credits
Produced by: Colour Yellow Productions and Eros Now
Director: Mudassar Aziz
Cast: Sonakshi Sinha, Jimmy Sheirgill, Jassi Gill, Piyush Mishra, Diana Penty, Aparshakti Khurrana
Star rating: 2.5/5
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Avengers: Endgame
Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Josh Brolin
4/5 stars
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
VERSTAPPEN'S FIRSTS
Youngest F1 driver (17 years 3 days Japan 2014)
Youngest driver to start an F1 race (17 years 166 days – Australia 2015)
Youngest F1 driver to score points (17 years 180 days - Malaysia 2015)
Youngest driver to lead an F1 race (18 years 228 days – Spain 2016)
Youngest driver to set an F1 fastest lap (19 years 44 days – Brazil 2016)
Youngest on F1 podium finish (18 years 228 days – Spain 2016)
Youngest F1 winner (18 years 228 days – Spain 2016)
Youngest multiple F1 race winner (Mexico 2017/18)
Youngest F1 driver to win the same race (Mexico 2017/18)
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Premier Futsal 2017 Finals
Al Wasl Football Club; six teams, five-a-side
Delhi Dragons: Ronaldinho
Bengaluru Royals: Paul Scholes
Mumbai Warriors: Ryan Giggs
Chennai Ginghams: Hernan Crespo
Telugu Tigers: Deco
Kerala Cobras: Michel Salgado
Company%20profile
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Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Second ODI
England 322-7 (50 ovs)
India 236 (50 ovs)
England win by 86 runs
Next match: Tuesday, July 17, Headingley
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
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Company profile
Name: Tratok Portal
Founded: 2017
Based: UAE
Sector: Travel & tourism
Size: 36 employees
Funding: Privately funded
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
Federer's 11 Wimbledon finals
2003 Beat Mark Philippoussis
2004 Beat Andy Roddick
2005 Beat Andy Roddick
2006 Beat Rafael Nadal
2007 Beat Rafael Nadal
2008 Lost to Rafael Nadal
2009 Beat Andy Roddick
2012 Beat Andy Murray
2014 Lost to Novak Djokovic
2015 Lost to Novak Djokovic
2017 Beat Marin Cilic
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Starring: Jamie Foxx, Angela Bassett, Tina Fey
Directed by: Pete Doctor
Rating: 4 stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Our legal advisor
Rasmi Ragy is a senior counsel at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Prosecutor in Egypt with more than 40 years experience across the GCC.
Education: Ain Shams University, Egypt, in 1978.
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
The biog
Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins
Favourite dish: Grilled fish
Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.
