Lewis Hamilton’s $140,000,000 F1 movie was recently put on hold following the American actors’ union strike. However, much to the delight of fans, shooting for the movie has resumed again. Moreover, Damson Idris, who plays Joshua Pearce, also announced the same with a video saying, “See you all soon.”
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists went on strike in the middle of July this year. Their demands were for better pay and better working conditions, especially in an ever-changing world of entertainment which streaming platforms and OTT services now control.
🎬 SAG-AFTRA negotiators have reached a tentative deal, suspending the prolonged actors’ strike. Damson Idris, who portrays Joshua Pearce in Apex F1 movie, posted a video saying, “See you all soon at work.” 🙂 pic.twitter.com/zxmz5BZOPM
— Sir Lewis Updates (@LH44updates) November 9, 2023
This strike meant that production and shooting for various films were affected, and that included the F1 film Lewis Hamilton was producing. While filming had already gotten underway during the British GP, they could only continue till the Hungarian GP before they had to shut down filming due to the strikes.
The movie revolves around a fictional F1 team – APX GP, and its two drivers, Joshua Pearce and Sonny Hayes. Hayes, played by Brad Pitt, happens to be an F1 veteran who comes out of retirement to help and guide Pearce, a youngster being played by Idris.
Welcome to the grid, APXGP 👀#F1 pic.twitter.com/V8zu959Z6X
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 9, 2023
Hamilton has promised that the movie will have the most realistic depiction of Formula 1 on the screen. To maintain the realism, the team even went to the lengths of setting up a garage in the paddock for APX GP and filming a modified F2 car with an APX GP livery during the session breaks on a race weekend.
Lewis Hamilton has had help from the likes of Toto Wolff regarding his movie
It is not just Lewis Hamilton who has been involved with the movie but also Toto Wolff. The Mercedes team principal was instrumental in preparing Brad Pitt for his role in the movie.
While the APX GP car that is being used for filming is a modified F2 car, even driving that is beyond the limits for individuals. That is why Wolff had decided to put Pitt through a driving school in France where he learned all the basics right from Formula 4 to Formula 1.
As of now, Damson Idris has already announced to his fans that filming and production for the movie will be restarted. Therefore, fans can expect even more appearances from the APX GP teams at the last two Grands Prix of the season, as well as any official announcement about the movie might be right around the corner.
