Born after the Vietnam War? Stream this series to understand the conflict
This week's streaming highlights include
Turning Point: The Vietnam War
on Netflix and Prime Video's
Another Simple Favour
starring Blake Lively.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sydney Morning Herald
15 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
The team behind Top Gun takes on F1 in this year's biggest blockbuster
Sitting in a hotel in 2023, Damson Idris had just landed the most important role of his life. Legendary producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Joe Kosinski, the team who took over the box office (OK, and the world) with Top Gun: Maverick, wanted Idris for their high-stakes Formula 1 blockbuster, F1. Idris would play Joshua Pearce, a young gun rookie modelled on Lewis Hamilton (also a producer on the film), and Brad Pitt would play his team-mate and rival, Sonny Hayes, a grizzled veteran who returns to the sport to partner Pearce on the fictional APXGP team. As far as big breaks go, they don't come much bigger than this. So you'd imagine Idris' mind might be racing faster than the F1 car he didn't know how to drive (but would soon master). 'Not really,' deadpans Idris, speaking to me from South Africa, where he is shooting his next film. 'I was just consumed by one thought: I need to be faster than Brad Pitt.' Fast-forward a year or so, and after hundreds of hours on the practice circuit, seven months of training, more than a few crashes, several headaches, and roughly eight kilos lost purely from sweating on set, Idris learned a valuable lesson. 'Brad Pitt is annoyingly good at everything,' he laughs. 'And I mean everything: acting, racing, even walking. The way he walks on screen is second to none.' I mention that one of my favourite YouTube clips is a super cut of Brad Pitt eating in all his different films (it's called 15 Minutes of Brad Pitt Eating, and well worth a watch). 'Oh, don't worry, I've seen it,' says Idris. 'I attempted eating in one scene during F1, and they scrapped it, and you know what? Good on them. I'm with the greatest on-screen eater of all time. Come on, man, what were you thinking?' 'What were you thinking?' is a question I've been meaning to ask director Joseph Kosinski. In 2022, he helped 'save cinema' (Spielberg's words, not mine) with Top Gun: Maverick, a sweeping sequel to the 1986 original that was critically and commercially celebrated, grossing $1.496 billion worldwide at the box office. Such a feat warrants time off. A mini-break. Honestly, Joe, what were you thinking? 'Well, as with so many people, during the pandemic, I became obsessed with Drive to Survive on Netflix,' says Kosinski. 'I went to school for mechanical engineering and aerospace, so the way these cars work is fascinating to me, and then factor in the personalities and team dynamics, it's rich with story.' Pitt and Bruckheimer shared Kosinski's obsession, and they all agreed that if they were going to make a racing film, it had to look real. The first step was getting Formula 1 on board as an official partner on the film, with a view to embedding production in real Grand Prix races worldwide. Having seen F1's popularity surge following Netflix's Drive to Survive, CEO Stefano Domenicali was open to the idea but harboured concerns about how the sport would come across. Thankfully, super producer Jerry Bruckheimer is no stranger to sweet-talking nervy organisations. 'When I did the first Top Gun, the navy was worried about how they'd be portrayed, so Tom Cruise and I went to the US Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego to convince them it would be a good thing, and instead the admiral threw us off the base,' laughs Bruckheimer. 'So Tom went to Washington and met with the Secretary of the Navy at the time, and he understood what a movie could do for recruitment. We got to shoot Top Gun, and after it came out, naval recruitment went up 500%. Oh, and the other admiral was fired.' Bruckheimer's Top Gun -inspired pitch was enough to convince Domenicali, and the group secured Formula 1 as an official partner, allowing them to film at 14 Grand Prix events. Current F1 drivers, including our very own Oscar Piastri, agreed to appear. The next hurdle was figuring out how to bring the audience inside the chaos of a machine that can reach a top speed of 374.97 km/h. 'Cameras,' says Kosinski, perking up. 'And lots of them.' He's not lying. To ensure authenticity, the film's team, in collaboration with Mercedes-AMG and Formula 1 team engineers, built six F2 cars, which were then customised to resemble modern F1 cars. Each car came affixed with four IMAX-certified cameras in 15 possible positions, plus up to six additional cameras inside the car's cockpit. 'We worked closely with Sony, who created the cameras for Top Gun, to create a smaller version that would allow us to swivel between the driver and the track.' Kosinski is a self-described 'attention to detail fanatic,' meaning F1 would always look the part. However, few people know how it feels to race—the sounds, smells, noise, fury, joy, and heartbreak. Enter Lewis Hamilton. With seven World Drivers' Championship titles, Hamilton is the most successful F1 driver of all time (tied with Michael Schumacher), a driving prodigy who holds the records for most wins (105), pole positions (104), and podium finishes (202). He also happened to be the only driver Kosinski knew. 'We talked about casting him in Top Gun: Maverick; he's friends with Tom [Cruise]. We couldn't make it happen, but through that conversation, I had Lewis' email, so I asked for help, and straight away, he was on board,' says Kosinski. According to Bruckheimer, Hamilton wasn't shy of critiquing the film's inaccuracies during production. 'We were filming in Silverstone, where they host the British Grand Prix, and in turn three, Lewis could hear that we were in the wrong gear,' he says. 'Brad was in third gear, and you take that turn in second gear; not many people in the world would know that.' Aside from gear changes, Hamilton's insight as the first black driver to compete in the F1 proved invaluable to Idris. 'The beauty of this movie is that Lewis exists, and the barriers that he's broken down means Joshua Pearce can exist on screen too,' says Idris. 'We spoke about what it means to be an advocate without seeking out that label, so I modelled Joshua on Lewis.' On paper, F1 is the kind of film destined for success. A high-octane blockbuster based on a hugely popular sport featuring an all-star cast on screen and Hollywood heavyweights behind the scenes. However, in an increasingly competitive marketplace, films still need to be sold to audiences, which might be the one thing Brad Pitt isn't good at. Earlier this year, Bruckheimer attended Liberty Media's (the company that owns Formula One) investor day in New York. He discussed Pitt's reluctance to self-promote there, telling the crowd, 'He doesn't like to do press.' This approach is at odds with Bruckheimer's other most recent A-list collaborator, Tom Cruise, a famously shrewd marketing machine who boosts the profile of his films with attention-grabbing stunts and endless global press tours. However, with a reported budget of $463 million, Bruckheimer requires Pitt in full salesman mode ahead of the film's release. 'Brad has told me he loves the movie and wants to go out and support it, so he'll join us on the world tour.' As for Idris, he seems to be channelling the rookie energy of F1 's Joshua Pearce, all wide-eyed enthusiasm accompanied by mild disbelief that any of this is happening. 'To be talking about working with Brad Pitt on a Formula One movie still blows my mind,' he laughs. On the day we speak, it's announced that he will play jazz legend Miles Davis in the upcoming film Miles & Juliette. The movie will explore Davis's romance with French singer Juliette Gréco during his 1949 trip to Paris. Anamaria Vartolomei will portray Gréco, and the film is produced by Mick Jagger's company, Jagged Films. 'There are so many interesting icons out there that I want to pay homage to, and Miles was at the top of my list,' says Idris. 'This is my dream job, and I can't wait to stretch myself, show my range and learn the trumpet!'
The Age
15 hours ago
- The Age
The team behind Top Gun takes on F1 in this year's biggest blockbuster
Sitting in a hotel in 2023, Damson Idris had just landed the most important role of his life. Legendary producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Joe Kosinski, the team who took over the box office (OK, and the world) with Top Gun: Maverick, wanted Idris for their high-stakes Formula 1 blockbuster, F1. Idris would play Joshua Pearce, a young gun rookie modelled on Lewis Hamilton (also a producer on the film), and Brad Pitt would play his team-mate and rival, Sonny Hayes, a grizzled veteran who returns to the sport to partner Pearce on the fictional APXGP team. As far as big breaks go, they don't come much bigger than this. So you'd imagine Idris' mind might be racing faster than the F1 car he didn't know how to drive (but would soon master). 'Not really,' deadpans Idris, speaking to me from South Africa, where he is shooting his next film. 'I was just consumed by one thought: I need to be faster than Brad Pitt.' Fast-forward a year or so, and after hundreds of hours on the practice circuit, seven months of training, more than a few crashes, several headaches, and roughly eight kilos lost purely from sweating on set, Idris learned a valuable lesson. 'Brad Pitt is annoyingly good at everything,' he laughs. 'And I mean everything: acting, racing, even walking. The way he walks on screen is second to none.' I mention that one of my favourite YouTube clips is a super cut of Brad Pitt eating in all his different films (it's called 15 Minutes of Brad Pitt Eating, and well worth a watch). 'Oh, don't worry, I've seen it,' says Idris. 'I attempted eating in one scene during F1, and they scrapped it, and you know what? Good on them. I'm with the greatest on-screen eater of all time. Come on, man, what were you thinking?' 'What were you thinking?' is a question I've been meaning to ask director Joseph Kosinski. In 2022, he helped 'save cinema' (Spielberg's words, not mine) with Top Gun: Maverick, a sweeping sequel to the 1986 original that was critically and commercially celebrated, grossing $1.496 billion worldwide at the box office. Such a feat warrants time off. A mini-break. Honestly, Joe, what were you thinking? 'Well, as with so many people, during the pandemic, I became obsessed with Drive to Survive on Netflix,' says Kosinski. 'I went to school for mechanical engineering and aerospace, so the way these cars work is fascinating to me, and then factor in the personalities and team dynamics, it's rich with story.' Pitt and Bruckheimer shared Kosinski's obsession, and they all agreed that if they were going to make a racing film, it had to look real. The first step was getting Formula 1 on board as an official partner on the film, with a view to embedding production in real Grand Prix races worldwide. Having seen F1's popularity surge following Netflix's Drive to Survive, CEO Stefano Domenicali was open to the idea but harboured concerns about how the sport would come across. Thankfully, super producer Jerry Bruckheimer is no stranger to sweet-talking nervy organisations. 'When I did the first Top Gun, the navy was worried about how they'd be portrayed, so Tom Cruise and I went to the US Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego to convince them it would be a good thing, and instead the admiral threw us off the base,' laughs Bruckheimer. 'So Tom went to Washington and met with the Secretary of the Navy at the time, and he understood what a movie could do for recruitment. We got to shoot Top Gun, and after it came out, naval recruitment went up 500%. Oh, and the other admiral was fired.' Bruckheimer's Top Gun -inspired pitch was enough to convince Domenicali, and the group secured Formula 1 as an official partner, allowing them to film at 14 Grand Prix events. Current F1 drivers, including our very own Oscar Piastri, agreed to appear. The next hurdle was figuring out how to bring the audience inside the chaos of a machine that can reach a top speed of 374.97 km/h. 'Cameras,' says Kosinski, perking up. 'And lots of them.' He's not lying. To ensure authenticity, the film's team, in collaboration with Mercedes-AMG and Formula 1 team engineers, built six F2 cars, which were then customised to resemble modern F1 cars. Each car came affixed with four IMAX-certified cameras in 15 possible positions, plus up to six additional cameras inside the car's cockpit. 'We worked closely with Sony, who created the cameras for Top Gun, to create a smaller version that would allow us to swivel between the driver and the track.' Kosinski is a self-described 'attention to detail fanatic,' meaning F1 would always look the part. However, few people know how it feels to race—the sounds, smells, noise, fury, joy, and heartbreak. Enter Lewis Hamilton. With seven World Drivers' Championship titles, Hamilton is the most successful F1 driver of all time (tied with Michael Schumacher), a driving prodigy who holds the records for most wins (105), pole positions (104), and podium finishes (202). He also happened to be the only driver Kosinski knew. 'We talked about casting him in Top Gun: Maverick; he's friends with Tom [Cruise]. We couldn't make it happen, but through that conversation, I had Lewis' email, so I asked for help, and straight away, he was on board,' says Kosinski. According to Bruckheimer, Hamilton wasn't shy of critiquing the film's inaccuracies during production. 'We were filming in Silverstone, where they host the British Grand Prix, and in turn three, Lewis could hear that we were in the wrong gear,' he says. 'Brad was in third gear, and you take that turn in second gear; not many people in the world would know that.' Aside from gear changes, Hamilton's insight as the first black driver to compete in the F1 proved invaluable to Idris. 'The beauty of this movie is that Lewis exists, and the barriers that he's broken down means Joshua Pearce can exist on screen too,' says Idris. 'We spoke about what it means to be an advocate without seeking out that label, so I modelled Joshua on Lewis.' On paper, F1 is the kind of film destined for success. A high-octane blockbuster based on a hugely popular sport featuring an all-star cast on screen and Hollywood heavyweights behind the scenes. However, in an increasingly competitive marketplace, films still need to be sold to audiences, which might be the one thing Brad Pitt isn't good at. Earlier this year, Bruckheimer attended Liberty Media's (the company that owns Formula One) investor day in New York. He discussed Pitt's reluctance to self-promote there, telling the crowd, 'He doesn't like to do press.' This approach is at odds with Bruckheimer's other most recent A-list collaborator, Tom Cruise, a famously shrewd marketing machine who boosts the profile of his films with attention-grabbing stunts and endless global press tours. However, with a reported budget of $463 million, Bruckheimer requires Pitt in full salesman mode ahead of the film's release. 'Brad has told me he loves the movie and wants to go out and support it, so he'll join us on the world tour.' As for Idris, he seems to be channelling the rookie energy of F1 's Joshua Pearce, all wide-eyed enthusiasm accompanied by mild disbelief that any of this is happening. 'To be talking about working with Brad Pitt on a Formula One movie still blows my mind,' he laughs. On the day we speak, it's announced that he will play jazz legend Miles Davis in the upcoming film Miles & Juliette. The movie will explore Davis's romance with French singer Juliette Gréco during his 1949 trip to Paris. Anamaria Vartolomei will portray Gréco, and the film is produced by Mick Jagger's company, Jagged Films. 'There are so many interesting icons out there that I want to pay homage to, and Miles was at the top of my list,' says Idris. 'This is my dream job, and I can't wait to stretch myself, show my range and learn the trumpet!'
West Australian
20 hours ago
- West Australian
Screen Queen TV Reviews: Pernille, Stranded On Honeymoon Island, The Bear, Squid Game S3 & The Gilded Age
Has it ever been harder to be a middle-aged woman? Seriously — it's tough out there. We've got young children to raise, and elderly parents to care for. Add in a bit of perimenopausal rage and honestly — it's a s..t show. And I get it — had I been born a couple of hundred years earlier, there'd be every chance I'd not have made it this far. And had I survived to the ripe old age of 47, I'd be considered positively ancient, hurtling towards the grave. Or being dunked in a village pond, or burned at the stake — or all of the above. So yeah, I guess in relative terms, it's not so bad. But it certainly feels like hard graft as I navigate life in The Sandwich Generation; that group of us born in the mid-to-late 70s and early 80s, stuck raising kids and caring for ageing boomer parents. Maybe that's why I identified so much with this great under-the-radar series. Pernille, or Pørni, as it's known in its country of origin, is a Norwegian comedy/drama all about a woman my age going through it. It originally aired on SBS, but Netflix picked it up and commissioned two more series, and honestly, it's one of the best things I've seen this year. Actor turned writer/director Henriette Steenstrup stars as the eponymous Pørni (pronounced Pernille), a recently divorced social worker raising two teenage girls. She's dealing with the grief of her recently deceased sister while also caring for her sister's son and elderly father, who recently came out as gay. To say her life is a hot mess would be an understatement. And yet, she approaches it all with so much positivity and relatability and grace, that it's literally impossible not to fall in love with this superb series. While you can watch it dubbed in English, I urge you to check out the original-language version — there's something lovely about listening to the lilting Norwegian, a language I mostly associated with grizzly Scandi Noir dramas. This is beautiful, heartwarming television that shot right to my heart. Women of a certain age: you'll feel SEEN. I don't get why so many people had such beef with season three of The Bear. Sure, it didn't have the urgency of those brilliant first two seasons, but in my mind, it was an essential building block for a story reaching crescendo with season four. The clock is ticking — literally in the trailer, which shows a clock counting down the money the team has left before Uncle Jimmy (Oliver Platt) shuts their doors for good — and it's make or break for Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) and his crew. Seasons three and four were shot back-to-back, and this picks up immediately where we left things, with that review, and Sydney's (Ayo Edebiri) possible departure hanging over their heads. Can't wait to see where it takes us. Your next favourite guilty pleasure is here! This 'MAFS-meets-Survivor' dating series sees newlywed strangers dumped on a deserted island in nothing but their wedding attire — what a concept. This crackers show will have you hooked. Before she was having existential crises over pina coladas at The White Lotus, Carrie Coon was trussed up in a bodice and bustle in this historical series from Downton Abbey creator, Julian Fellowes. It returns this week for its anticipated third season. Consistently enjoyable. It's one of the biggest shows in the world, with an audience in the hundreds of millions. So get ready for literally everyone you know to be talking about the third series of this Korean classic, which wraps up for good. Get ready for one heck of a showdown between Gi-hun (Player 456, played by Lee Jung-jae) and Front Man (Lee Byung-hun) — can't wait.
