©Courtesy of Apple Original Movie
Is Apple TV considering making a sequel to FI: the Movie, the high-octane sensation directed by Joseph Kosinski and starring Brad Pitt? The film garnered four Academy Award nominations and became the highest grossing sports movie of all time—earning more than $600 million.
The possibility of a sequel was teased this week when Apple’s senior VP Eddy Cue and Formula 1’s CEO Stefano Domenicali participated in a joint presentation at Apple’s press event in Santa Monica, months after it was announced that Apple TV would be F1’s exclusive broadcast partner staring this year.
“I got one last question that they asked,” Cue said. “It’s my favorite question of all, and it’s kind of a boomerang because both of us will answer: Is there going to be another Formula 1 movie given the success and how great the first movie was?”
Domenicali teased the press by answering: “Stay tuned. We’re going to tell you something more in the future. Never say never. But we need to digest more the success of this movie because it was something unique. And if you want to think of a new one, it has to be really, very, very good. Therefore, if this will happen, it will not be for next year. But maybe next year we’re going to be here, and hopefully we have something more to announce [then].”
Cue described some of the technical issues involved in creating the F1 experience for viewers. “One of the first things that you’re going to notice is 4k and Dolby. You say, ‘Well, 4k has been in existence,’ but most 4k gets compressed a lot. If you’ve ever watched one of our Major League Baseball games, you’re amazed at the quality and resolution you see when you’re watching on TV. You’re going to see that for the first time in Formula 1.”
Cue added that viewers will be able to view a four-quadrant split screen that will allow them to view the race itself as well as individual drivers as well as the race itself and specific data. “We’re going to use iPhones in places that you’ve never been able to put a camera,” he declared. “This is just the beginning of an incredible partnership that we’re working on together.”
Domenicali suggested that “The future of F1 has to be bright because it’s up to us and we need to think big because we moved the sport not only as it was in the past on the track but we’re moving the sport in a different cultural dimension. … It’s a matter of expanding our content.” This is being interpreted to mean that Apple and F1 are indeed planning for a sequel with even more bells and whistles than the original film.
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