Latest news with #APXGP
Irish Independent
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Kerry Condon: ‘I did like being violent. That was really relaxing for me, bizarrely. There was something about a character who didn't give a f**k that was really freeing'
'I was really glad that it was at this point in my career, because it was a very big role opposite him, and maybe if I had been younger, I would have been very nervous about it,' she says. 'We had both worked with David Fincher, so we had that in common. So he was really in the moment to act opposite, which was a lot of fun and very relaxed. I knew no two takes were going to be the same.' Condon has, for years, found herself on every type of TV and movie set going, from the Marvel Cinematic Universe epic through to the handcrafted Irish indie film. But being nominated for a heap of major awards in 2023 (including a Best Supporting Actress Oscar) for her role as Siobhán in The Banshees of Inisherin seems to have unlocked another level professionally. 'Two days after the Oscars, Joseph (Kosinski, F1's director, who also directed Tron: Legacy and Top Gun: Maverick) called and said, 'Hey, I'd really like you to be Kate.' I was kind of waiting to hear if I'd gotten it, so that seemed to me that things had changed,' Condon says. 'I mean, I might have gotten it before [the Oscar nomination] but I don't know. I do feel like it was a major bunch of flowers I got two days afterwards.' Condon has always had a knack for picking nuanced and substantial characters — Banshees' Siobhán being a case in point — and in F1, her character is no love-interest shrinking violet. F1 sees her star opposite Pitt, Javier Bardem and Damson Idris as Kate McKenna, the race director of the fictional APXGP team, and the first female technical director in Formula One. The character is heavily influenced by Condon's research work with the Irish strategy engineer Bernie Collins. The film is also produced by Hollywood giant Jerry Bruckheimer, who knows a thing or two about a megabucks project. 'I've always wanted to do a blockbuster movie, and obviously this is the female lead in a massive blockbuster movie,' Condon says, on a Zoom from her home in Los Angeles. 'And then they wanted me to be Irish. I thought, 'Jeez, I don't think I've seen that before, the Irish accent in a female lead, in a big massive movie.' I wanted to wear my Claddagh ring in the movie too, one that my mother got me and I wear all the time, so my character got to wear that.' The filming of F1 happened over two years, and took Condon and the cast all over the world to film at various Formula 1 tracks and real race events. Somehow, Condon shot substantial roles in two other feature films amid it all: Pressure, opposite Andrew Scott, and Train Dreams, alongside Joel Edgerton. 'I just knew we were going to have crazy fun on the movie,' she reflects of the F1 experience. 'Saying goodbye at the end was very emotional. I really didn't want it to end. I could have done it for years more.' As the F1 cast and crew made their way around the world, Pitt, in particular, was photographed regularly by paparazzi as he appeared at various F1 Grand Prix events. Fame and celebrity are part of a world that Condon wants nothing to do with. Condon has long been intensely private about her off-camera life in favour of keeping the focus on the work, and F1's American publicist politely reminds me to keep my interview questions movie-related. Condon is careful not to reveal any details of her personal relationships, although did tell the RTÉ Guide in 2018, 'I don't really care if I never get married. I don't really care if I never have kids. There's loads of things I've planned for my life. So I've gone on and made plans for my life regardless of those things happening to me.' Now, she explains, 'My family are very private. Without me being an actress, we just always kind of were and are like that. So it seems a bit odd for me to be ramming my achievements down people's throats. It's just not my style. And particularly in Ireland, all my friends there have normal jobs, and I like getting the train and going on the bus with my friends to restaurants and things like that. 'I was aware that if I let that go, I would never get it back, and I didn't want to make everyone else's lives around me harder,' she adds. 'I wasn't crazy about the idea of chasing something like that. There's a real joy in being able to walk down Grafton Street and go and do fun things with my friends, where we're all just like it used to be years ago. It just doesn't come naturally to me to be posting private things [online] or be talking about private things.' And yet, Condon was in her element on the Oscar campaign circuit during 2023's award season, often in a Thurles accent that hasn't been blunted one bit by living elsewhere. Pressing the flesh, appearing on huge chat shows and getting into the public's eyeline is very much part and parcel of the nominee playbook, and Condon was memorably charming as she did it. 'To be honest, it was crazy,' she says of the hectic period. At the time, she was also filming Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. 'I didn't realise how much of a big deal it all was until I came home and my mother showed me all the newspaper cuttings. I wasn't sitting back observing this — it's very different when you're in it. I was miles from home too. I was here in LA on my own and all my family were in Ireland. So I would get texts where my mum would say, 'Oh, there's this thing and that thing' [in the media], and I would be like, 'Oh, that's nice.' And then I'd have to go to work.' Even now, Condon gets a bit emotional about the run-up to the Oscars in 2023. Famously, she watched the telecast of the nominations in her co-star Colin Farrell's house as he too got the Oscars nod. One memory from that time in particular sticks out, and it's largely down to the people of her hometown of Thurles. 'Loads of people in my hometown sent my mum cards to give me; it actually kind of made me cry,' she says. 'Everyone was so happy for me, and that was lovely. That was more moving to me. All these sweet families for no reason buying a 'well done' card. I just saw a lot of goodwill there. People were very generous and proud and that made me feel amazing.' She watched the Oscar ceremony at home earlier this year. 'My first thought was, 'My God, that was me.' It's very hard to explain.' It wasn't Condon's first Oscars rodeo — she attended in 2012 for her part in the short film Shore, which won the Live Action Short Film Category. She attended the 2023 ceremony with her younger brother, whom she described as her 'little lucky charm'. 'I was so nervous,' she admits. 'I said it to Saoirse [Ronan] when I saw her, 'Were you that nervous?' Like, you know it's coming. They say 'Supporting Actress' and your heart starts pounding. There's a camera in your face that you're really aware of, and then Brendan [Gleeson] and Colin [Farrell] want you to win, and ay-ay-ay… there's a million things on your mind. 'I remember at the Golden Globes, which was the first [major awards ceremony of the season], and when they said Angela Bassett, I was like, 'Thank God.' I just wasn't ready. I just wasn't ready to go up on the stage. I was just really cool with being nominated. There was no sense of entitlement — I've always wanted [just to be nominated]. But the fact it was a major career moment wasn't lost on me, you know.' Growing up in Thurles as the third of four children, Condon came from an unstarry family with few links to showbusiness. Still, the youngster showed an interest in acting from a very young age. She spent so much time talking about her escape from her hometown that, according to one report in the Los Angeles Times, her father gave her the nickname 'Fledgy-poo'. At the age of 10, she reviewed The Lion King for a local radio station. At 16, she wrote to Alan Parker, director of The Commitments, telling him about her dream of becoming an actor. It would turn out to be a fortuitous letter. At 16, and after she went for the audition entirely off her own back, Parker gave Condon her first on-screen role in Angela's Ashes. She played Theresa, the first love of the teenage Frank McCourt (when Condon won her Bafta in 2023 for The Banshees of Inisherin, she gave Parker a shout-out). A small role in Ballykissangel also materialised, and two years later, she starred in How Harry Became A Tree opposite Cillian Murphy. Not long after that, she was getting head-butted by Colin Farrell's character in an iconic scene for the movie Intermission. Though she had attended courses at the Dublin Theatre Arts School as a teenager, Condon was already working regularly and steadily by the time the idea of formal training at drama school came up. She reportedly enrolled in the now-defunct acting degree course at the Samuel Beckett Centre in Trinity College, but only went for one day as she got a call offering her a role in the film Rat on that very first day. She then moved to London for work at the age of 19, and was offered the role of Mairead in the premiere production of Martin McDonagh's The Lieutenant of Inishmore at the RSC. Not long after, she was cast in the same company as Ophelia in Hamlet. She was the youngest actor to appear in the role for the company and, at the time, she was the only person in the cast not to have attended drama school. Speaking of education, Condon is keenly aware that it's Leaving Cert season back at home. 'I look back and think, 'Why was so much pressure put on us at the Leaving Cert?' I remember how stressed I was doing it,' she says. 'It's only when you go to other countries that you do realise how amazing our education system is. We are so lucky to have such an incredible education. This character [Kate] is so smart and I was so proud that I had the education where I was able to go, 'Yeah, I can see an Irish girl doing this.'' There has never been a shortage of prestigious gigs for Condon down the years, but it hasn't always been smooth sailing. She has missed out on the odd role (including, according to some reports, the lead in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. That eventually went to Rooney Mara). 'Oh my god, I boycott the movie,' she says of the roles she doesn't get, laughing. 'I'm like, 'Go off, fine, that's your choice.' You have to think you're good or you're not going to get anywhere, but if I'm not even considered for it and someone else gets it and I would have liked it… ah, there are times when it goes to the right person for the right reasons, and I would like to think that I can give credit where it's due. There are great actresses and sometimes they just suit that role at the time more than I would have, and that's OK. 'I mean, not to be doomsday, but we're all going to die. I mean, that's the great equaliser, so it's not the be all and end all. But if I'm down to the last two and I don't get it… yeah, I don't even want to hear about [the film].' Around the time Condon was in the RSC as a teenager, she met Martin McDonagh and the actor David Wilmot, who became two of her closest friends. Her collaborations with McDonagh have been especially fruitful, and he is said to have written the role of Siobhán in The Banshees of Inisherin with Condon in mind. Condon notes that Wilmot, who has appeared in The Guard, Intermission and Calvary, made her 'a better actress'. 'That's not even just being nice to David, that's the truth,' she says. 'David gave me so many tips to this day that I still call him up for advice on certain things that I'm having trouble navigating.' What's the best advice anyone has ever given her? 'I don't know if it's acting advice, but I was told, as a woman, to always have your own money,' she says. 'I do think that was really good advice, because you can be really independent when you have your own money. You can get out of any situation. If you have your own money, you can get a cab and get the hell out of there. I hate to give money that power, but I do think, as a woman, it's very important. To this day, I'm very adamant that I have my own money.' Is there a type of different acting role she might like to take up in the future? 'I don't know, but I did like being violent,' she says, referring to her role in In the Land of Saints and Sinners, which she filmed in Donegal and starred opposite Liam Neeson. 'That was really relaxing for me, bizarrely,' she says. 'I did go, 'Huh, that's interesting.' There was something about a character who didn't give a f**k that was really freeing. It made you kind of go, 'Jeez, why do I analyse everything in my life?' Like playing someone who doesn't care what anyone thinks of them, it was very empowering and fun. You'd think it would make you angry, but it was the opposite. I was sitting in Donegal, looking out at the baby lambs, thinking life was great.' After one of the most gratifying streaks in her professional life, a long overdue break is still very much on the cards this year. 'I've always wanted to be an actress my whole life and I still have that, I just love it, but there are other things in life,' Condon reflects. 'There's my horses — I want to be a better rider, and I want to learn so much about the ocean. I have my horses, and think that when my horses are older and they're gone, what other thing would I like to explore? 'Scuba diving and marine life and freediving, all that ocean stuff really appeals to me. And I think that might be the next phase of my life. Horses are such a commitment, and such a lifestyle, so when that's wrapped up for me, I think I'll have to pivot to some other kind of all-consuming thing. It seems like a big second, hard mountain to climb, but that I could do something good in that way. 'I love taking care of things, I love being a mammy,' she adds. 'I love minding animals and making them feel good. I love knowing that my money is being used for something greater than me.' Condon describes her farm, just outside Seattle and home to her horses, dogs and cat, with huge affection. Her father bred horses when she was growing up in Tipperary, and her cousin, Richard, is a jockey. 'I mean, I basically bought my horses a house,' she says. 'That brings me a lot of joy, because sometimes I do feel that I don't understand my drive as an actor. I don't know where it came from. I don't know why I have this obsession. So it eases me a little to know, 'Well, I'm going to do this on the farm with the money I make from this movie,' as opposed to, 'Me, me, me, I'm going to buy a Prada handbag and I'm going to be famous.' That does nothing for me.' 'F1 'will show in Irish cinemas from Friday, June 27
USA Today
17 hours ago
- Automotive
- USA Today
Exclusive first look: Hot Wheels unveils 'F1 The Movie' die-cast car ahead of film release
Check out the new Hot Wheels ride before anyone else. Motorsports fans and die-cast collectors are about to add another sweet piece to their collection. On Friday, June 20, Hot Wheels announced the release of a limited edition 1:64 scale die-cast car inspired by the upcoming film, 'F1 The Movie.' And yes, USA TODAY Shopping has the exclusive look at the wheels. The new Hot Wheels car is an exact replica of the machine that actor Brad Pitt's character, Sonny Hayes, drives in the movie with fictional race team, Apex Grand Prix (APXGP) team. If you're a dedicated die-cast collector like myself and are chomping at the bit at this incredible collaboration with Hot Wheels and Formula 1, you'll only have to wait just a few more days to secure yours. The limited edition Hot Wheels release will be available to pre-order for $25 beginning on Tuesday, June 24 at 12pm ET with the film officially hitting theaters on Friday, June 27 in North America. Bookmark this page because we'll be covering the official release. Regardless if you're a loyal racing fan, pop culture enthusiast or classic cinephile, this die-cast car is a fun way to own a piece of racing and cinematic history. Here's a closer look at the one-of-a-kind car: First look: Hot Wheels 'F1 The Movie' 1:64 Die-Cast Car A molded driver's helmet will be visible inside the cockpit of the die-cast car and an authentic gold and black livery adorned with Hayes' number seven highlights the precision and accuracy of the model. An overarching detail that shouldn't be ignored is the car also includes three sets of Pirelli tires and a tire storage rack to represent F1's three tire compounds the sport uses on any given race weekend. The tires can be swapped out on the die-cast model for your preference of tire. To cap it off, the die-cast model comes in a collector's 'Kar Keepers' clamshell case to help preserve the model and its unique packaging. When is 'F1 The Movie' release date? 'F1 The Movie' releases internationally on Wednesday, June 25. The North American release is set for Friday, June 27. What is 'F1 The Movie' about? The blockbuster film is based on Brad Pitt's character, Sonny Hayes, getting a second chance at success in Formula 1 after a horrific crash in the 1990s derailed Hayes' once promising career. With the help of former teammate Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem), Hayes joins Cervantes' struggling F1 team (APXGP) alongside hotshot rookie driver Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris). The film is a road to redemption story and the highs and lows that it presents in the sport. Shop Mattel Creations
Business Wire
19 hours ago
- Automotive
- Business Wire
Hot Wheels Unveils F1® THE MOVIE Die-cast Car, Bringing the Big Screen to 1:64 Scale
EL SEGUNDO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ahead of the global theatrical release of Apple Original Films' F1® The Movie, Hot Wheels® announced today a limited-edition die-cast car inspired by the fictional Apex Grand Prix (APXGP) team, driven by the film's character Sonny Hayes, played by Brad Pitt. The 1:64 scale Formula 1® die-cast will be available for purchase on beginning June 24, prior to the release of the film in theaters on June 27, from Warner Bros. Pictures. The 1:64 scale die-cast channels the high-octane energy and cutting-edge design of the APXGP team's Formula 1 car, bringing movie magic and motorsport realism together in true Hot Wheels fashion. Following last year's multi-year licensing partnership announcement with Formula 1 and two subsequent sold-out collaborative product pre-order launches, this release provides automotive enthusiasts, racing fans, pop culture devotees and movie lovers a way to take a little piece of F1® The Movie home with them. True to the race car driven by the character Sonny Hayes in the film, the Hot Wheels casting and the molded driver's helmet feature an authentic gold and black livery adorned with Hayes' number seven. Customers will also receive three sets of Pirelli tires and a tire storage rack. Additionally, the car will come in a collector's 'Kar Keepers' clamshell case to deliver the ultimate collector experience. 'Our previous Formula 1 product launches were incredibly well received by racing fans and Hot Wheels collectors, and now we can share a piece of the collection with film lovers around the world,' said Roberto Stanichi, executive vice president, Hot Wheels & Global Head of Vehicles and Building Sets at Mattel. 'The APXGP die-cast allows Hot Wheels to connect with a new audience of moviegoers who now have the opportunity to own a 1:64 scale piece of cinematic and racing history.' Set to hit theaters internationally beginning June 25, with a North American release on June 27, the highly anticipated Formula 1 film, directed by Joseph Kosinski, and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Plan B Entertainment, and seven-time F1® world champion Lewis Hamilton's Dawn Apollo Films banner, and made in collaboration with Formula 1®, stars Brad Pitt as 'Sonny Hayes.' Dubbed 'the greatest that never was,' Sonny Hayes was FORMULA 1's most promising phenom of the 1990s until an accident on the track nearly ended his career. Thirty years later, he's a nomadic racer-for-hire when he's approached by his former teammate Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem), owner of a struggling FORMULA 1 team that is on the verge of collapse. Ruben convinces Sonny to come back to FORMULA 1 for one last shot at saving the team and being the best in the world. He'll drive alongside Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris), the team's hotshot rookie intent on setting his own pace. But as the engines roar, Sonny's past catches up with him and he finds that in FORMULA 1, your teammate is your fiercest competition — and the road to redemption is not something you can travel alone. Apple Original Films and Warner Bros. Pictures Present A Monolith Pictures / Jerry Bruckheimer / Plan B Entertainment / Dawn Apollo Films Production, A Joseph Kosinski Film, F1 ® The Movie, distributed in theaters and IMAX® worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures. The 1:64 scale die-cast will be available for $25.00 USD. For more information, please visit About Mattel Mattel is a leading global toy and family entertainment company and owner of one of the most iconic brand portfolios in the world. We engage consumers and fans through our franchise brands, including Barbie®, Hot Wheels®, Fisher-Price®, American Girl®, Thomas & Friends™, UNO®, Masters of the Universe®, Matchbox®, Monster High®, MEGA® and Polly Pocket®, as well as other popular properties that we own or license in partnership with global entertainment companies. Our offerings include toys, content, consumer products, digital and live experiences. Our products are sold in collaboration with the world's leading retail and ecommerce companies. Since its founding in 1945, Mattel is proud to be a trusted partner in empowering generations to explore the wonder of childhood and reach their full potential. Visit us at MAT-W
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Brad Pitt kept going after Damson Idris spit on his face while filming a rage scene in F1: ‘I thought I was going to lose my job'
With promising first reviews, Brad Pit-starrer F1 seems set for an enormous opening weekend. Damson Idris, who plays the rookie driver Joshua Pierce, recently talked to Stephen Colbert about how it was filming with Pitt. Idris shared his memory of seeing Pitt as a kid while he was working in a theatre in London and how, while filming a scene with Pitt, he did something so horrific, he thought he was going to be kicked off the movie. On The Late Show, Colbert asked Idris about his journey into acting and the experience of working with Pitt, who plays the role of the veteran driver Sonny Hayes. Idris appreciated Pitt as an actor and a human being, and to prove to the fans how much of a 'giving' actor Pitt truly is, he shared a hilarious story from the sets of F1. He said, 'It's so funny working with Brad. He is an incredibly beautiful human being and such a giving actor. We had this scene where we were supposed to be having a disagreement, and I had to scream in his face. Suddenly, while screaming, I accidentally spat on his face, and he just kept going.' Idris added that he was sure that this was the point where he lost his job, as he saw the spit land on Pitt's face and saw it dribble down the face of the Academy Award winner. ALSO READ | F1 first reactions: Brad Pitt's film hailed as high-octane crowd-pleaser; comparisons drawn to Top Gun Maverick Brad Pitt was also complimented by his F1 co-star Javier Bardem, who appreciated how he managed to produce and act while driving real F1 cars at 180 mph. He told Jimmy Fallon that 'he was in that F1 car for real, driving it at 180 mph (289 km/h) around all the racing tracks. He had to deal with so many things, and he always made sure that he was taking care of everyone else and was giving all the actors their time to shine and would take a backseat.' F1 is about a fictional Formula One team, APXGP, who are trying to win their first race. Headed by their team principal Ruben Cervantes, the team looks to touring championship driver Sonny Hayes, who used to race in Formula One alongside Cervantes. The veteran is brought in to inject some much-needed confidence into the team, and Cervantes also hopes that Sonny can be a good role model on the track to their rookie driver, Pierce. The two must squash their differences, learn from one another and pull the team from the pit of despair and defeat. Directed by Joseph Kosinski, who also helmed Top Gun: Maverick, the cast of the film features Brad Pitt, Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem, Simone Ashley, Lewis Hamilton and Tobias Menzies.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
The upcoming F1 movie will showcase your favourite Ninja ice cream maker
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. QUICK SUMMARY SharkNinja has partnered with 'F1 The Movie' on a limited edition collection of its most popular products. Featuring the Ninja Creami and the Shark PowerDetect, the SharkNinja APXGP Performance range comes in a special black and gold colourway. If you've been eagerly awaiting the premiere of Apple Original's 'F1 The Movie', you'll be surprised to hear that your favourite Shark and Ninja products may make an appearance. That's because SharkNinja has teamed up with F1 The Movie on a limited edition appliance collection – yes, really. Race car collaborations with home brands have been aplenty this year, including Ferrari teaming up with L'OR on limited edition coffee pods, and McLaren partnering with Nutribullet on three blenders in its iconic orange colourway. Now the F1 film is getting involved with this new collaboration with SharkNinja. As the sponsor of the film's APXGP racing team, the new SharkNinja APXGP Performance collection is (unsurprisingly) heavily inspired by F1 The Movie. The range features seven of Shark and Ninja's most popular products, all of which come in a limited edition black and gold colourway. The collaboration between the film and SharkNinja might sound outlandish, but the home appliance brand states that the two have similar values, in terms of speed, power, technology and precision. Alongside the new design, F1 The Movie will support the partnership with advertising and product placements in the film – so you might be able to see your favourite ice cream machine in the new blockbuster. So, what products have got the F1 treatment? Within the SharkNinja APXGP Performance collection are six products from Shark and one from Ninja. Some designs are more subtle than others – for example, the Shark hair stylers are fully gold while the Shark PowerDetect has smaller hints of the branding. Right now, you can get the iconic Ninja Creami in the F1 black and gold colourway – the only Ninja product involved in the collaboration. Shark, however, has gone all out and you can get the limited edition F1 The Movie colours with the Shark PowerDetect Clean & Empty System, the Shark PowerDetect Robot Vacuum and Mop, the Shark FlexStyle, the Shark SpeedStyle Pro and the Shark FlexBreeze Pro Mist. All products within the SharkNinja APXGP Performance collection are the same price as the non-limited edition version. The products are available to buy now via Shark and Ninja, and the Apple Original Films F1 The Movie will be in theatres on 27th June.
