Earlier at the British Grand Prix, the FIA and F1 opened the entire circuit to a new imaginary racing outfit, APX GP, featuring two never-before-heard drivers, Sonny Hayes and Joshua Pearce. A distinct garage was set up for the team along with a team of filming crew, and it was eventually unveiled that the Apple and Lewis Hamilton-backed Hollywood movie ‘Apex’ would be shooting its on-track sequences at Silverstone.
While many thought it was a one-off presence at the British Grand Prix, the following weekend at the Hungarian GP featured the fictional racing outfit in the garage. And yet again, the filming happened over the entire weekend before packing things up and most likely heading for the Belgian GP.
📸: APX GP is on the grid. #F1 #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/DlaVPaqVaA
— F1 Naija 🇳🇬 (@f1_naija) July 9, 2023
However, then arrived the indefinite strike by the Hollywood stars, opposing the underwhelming salary and the rise of AI (causing many to lose their jobs). The entire Hollywood has suffered a huge blow from the protest, with filming for all movies halted for the time being. Hence, there have since been concerns over the possibility of Apex reaching the audience.
Many wondered, will Apple continue to fund the filming crew and help complete the movie or will the highly anticipated movie be called off? According to Lewis Hamilton, there is no panic surrounding the movie ‘Apex’ as of yet despite the indefinite delay.
Lewis Hamilton reveals filming still underway despite Hollywood strike
As reported by Planet F1, Hamilton revealed that the filming crew is currently shooting sequences that don’t require the faces of Brad Pitt and Damson Idris, the supposed Formula 1 drivers in the movie. “I know that Apple is fully behind us and wants us to go ahead. Everyone in the team is fully focused on making the greatest movie we can and it’s just a matter of time,” he said.
British GP was not all about the race only, part of it was about Hollywood.
Brad Pitt stars an F1 movie having its own garage and pitwall stand as a fictional 11th team, named ‘APX GP’. #BritishGP #APXGP #BradPitt #F1 pic.twitter.com/U9BEFF485u
— Ameer Hamza Asif (@AmeerHamzaAsif) July 10, 2023
“It’s definitely not the easiest time, I think, for actors around the world, but hopefully it’s something that will be resolved in the not-too-distant future. The positive thing for us is we’re still able to do some filming, still able to use stunt doubles we still have editing and things we can do with the stuff we’ve already caught.
“I’ll be on calls with Joe next week as we continue to finish of the story and so there’s a couple of races we need to go through and talk about the wording and how it’s worded through the race with the different races. I’m not massively concerned just yet.”
Overall, Hamilton is hoping for a promising finesse to the highly acclaimed Formula 1 movie. But, amidst numerous hurdles surrounding the seven-time world champion, will he break the chains and bring out a fruitful film for the fandom?