Roger Federer talked about possible Rafael Nadal's absence from the upcoming 2023 Roland Garros.
The Swiss Maestro and the Spanish King of Clay used to be rivals on the tennis court but now their life paths separated a little bit. While Nadal still competes on the Atp Tour, Federer is enjoying his retirement and he also had a chance to co-host Met Gala recently.
A few days later, he moved to Miami for the F1 Miami Grand Prix and while he was there to enjoy the race, Skysports managed to get an interview with the 20-time Grand Slam champion and ask him about what he thinks about his good friend's struggles.
"It would be brutal (Nadal not being there), that would be tough for tennis if Rafa isn't going to be there. I still hope so, I saw he pulled out of Rome so I wish him the best."
The...
The Swiss Maestro and the Spanish King of Clay used to be rivals on the tennis court but now their life paths separated a little bit. While Nadal still competes on the Atp Tour, Federer is enjoying his retirement and he also had a chance to co-host Met Gala recently.
A few days later, he moved to Miami for the F1 Miami Grand Prix and while he was there to enjoy the race, Skysports managed to get an interview with the 20-time Grand Slam champion and ask him about what he thinks about his good friend's struggles.
"It would be brutal (Nadal not being there), that would be tough for tennis if Rafa isn't going to be there. I still hope so, I saw he pulled out of Rome so I wish him the best."
The...
- 5/7/2023
- Tennis-Infinity
Creative Artists Agency has promoted four trainees, with Ishaani Saha and Olivia Su elevated to Agent, and Derek McKenna and Lin Yao upped to Executive.
The LA-based Saha will work within CAA’s Commercial Endorsements department. There, she will look to create opportunities for clients across on-camera and print, personal appearances, voice-over, and social media-driven campaigns, both domestically and internationally. The London-based Su will serve on CAA Sports’ International Talent team, led by Roman Di Somma, helping to create marketing and endorsement opportunities for clients including Daniel Ricciardo, Nico Rosberg, Son Heung-Min, Dele Alli, Jose Mourinho, James Maddison, Raphael Varane, and Scotty James, among others.
McKenna’s new role as an Executive in Hockey will see him based in Los Angeles, focusing on player marketing, management and social media analytics, while architecting entrepreneurial opportunities for CAA Sports’ NHL clients. Yao will now work as an Executive in CAA Sports’ Property Sales group,...
The LA-based Saha will work within CAA’s Commercial Endorsements department. There, she will look to create opportunities for clients across on-camera and print, personal appearances, voice-over, and social media-driven campaigns, both domestically and internationally. The London-based Su will serve on CAA Sports’ International Talent team, led by Roman Di Somma, helping to create marketing and endorsement opportunities for clients including Daniel Ricciardo, Nico Rosberg, Son Heung-Min, Dele Alli, Jose Mourinho, James Maddison, Raphael Varane, and Scotty James, among others.
McKenna’s new role as an Executive in Hockey will see him based in Los Angeles, focusing on player marketing, management and social media analytics, while architecting entrepreneurial opportunities for CAA Sports’ NHL clients. Yao will now work as an Executive in CAA Sports’ Property Sales group,...
- 11/18/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: On Saturday, the frequencies of Fox Sports, Discovery, the BBC, ITV, and many other broadcasters will be tuned to the Empty Quarter in the Saudi Arabian desert. It’s a landscape that could be mistaken for Tatooine in the Star Wars universe, but come the weekend, it will be home to the most extreme motorsport event ever created, featuring a dazzling collection of drivers from racing worlds including Formula 1 and rallying.
Welcome to Extreme E, the brainchild of Formula E founder Alejandro Agag. The Spaniard wanted to double down on his electric motor racing fixture (now in its seventh season) with a new event that really revs the engines of his environmental message. Like a traveling circus, Extreme E will journey via a refitted cargo ship to four extreme locations around the globe over the course of 2021, staging races in geographies that highlight the increasingly brutal impact of climate change.
Welcome to Extreme E, the brainchild of Formula E founder Alejandro Agag. The Spaniard wanted to double down on his electric motor racing fixture (now in its seventh season) with a new event that really revs the engines of his environmental message. Like a traveling circus, Extreme E will journey via a refitted cargo ship to four extreme locations around the globe over the course of 2021, staging races in geographies that highlight the increasingly brutal impact of climate change.
- 4/2/2021
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
CAA Sports, a division of entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency, has acquired Base Soccer Agency, a move that further expands its global representation of sports talent. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Established in 1997 by Leon Angel, Base is a full-service football agency, representing and dealing with more than 300 international football players, coaches, and world-leading managers, both on and off the pitch, including Premier League stars Kyle Walker, Fred, Danny Rose, James Maddison, Davinson Sanchez, Aaron Lennon, Ashley Young, and Nathaniel and Trevoh Chalobah. Base is also a leading agency in women’s football and represents four players on England’s World Cup squad, including Fran Kirby and Georgia Stanway.
Led by Angel and player agent Frank Trimboli, Base has 60 employees headquartered in London, and is supported by consultant offices throughout Europe, South America, Australia, Asia, and North America.
“Leon and Frank are world class agents and business executives,...
Established in 1997 by Leon Angel, Base is a full-service football agency, representing and dealing with more than 300 international football players, coaches, and world-leading managers, both on and off the pitch, including Premier League stars Kyle Walker, Fred, Danny Rose, James Maddison, Davinson Sanchez, Aaron Lennon, Ashley Young, and Nathaniel and Trevoh Chalobah. Base is also a leading agency in women’s football and represents four players on England’s World Cup squad, including Fran Kirby and Georgia Stanway.
Led by Angel and player agent Frank Trimboli, Base has 60 employees headquartered in London, and is supported by consultant offices throughout Europe, South America, Australia, Asia, and North America.
“Leon and Frank are world class agents and business executives,...
- 7/2/2019
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Racing fans from all over the world packed St. Stephen's Cathedral in Austria on Wednesday to bid farewell to F1 legend Niki Lauda ... including Lewis Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger. The mourners braved heavy rains to get inside the church, where Lauda's coffin was flanked by flower wreaths. His trademark red crash helmet was placed on top. The 70-year-old passed away last week -- nine months after undergoing surgery for a lung transplant. Lewis Hamilton has...
- 5/29/2019
- by TMZ Staff
- TMZ
There will be no repeat victory for Formula One champ Nico Rosberg ... the reigning champ just announced his retirement ... days after winning his very first F1 championship. The 31-year-old -- who had been bested by his rival Lewis Hamilton for years -- made the announcement moments ago on Facebook. "Since 25 years in racing, it has been my dream, my ‘one thing’ to become Formula One World Champion. Through the hard work, the pain, the sacrifices,...
- 12/2/2016
- by TMZ Staff
- TMZ
Rita Ora will perform her new single 'Poison' on The Graham Norton Show on Friday.
The singer is the musical guest on this week's show, which airs on June 26 at 10.35pm on BBC One.
'Poison' is Ora's first solo release since 'I Will Never Let You Down', which topped the charts in 2014. It is released on June 28.
Other guests include Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton, who is currently top of the Drivers' World Championship Standings ahead of his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg.
Also announced for the show is comedian and actor Jack Whitehall, who currently appears on Sky1's sports comedy panel show A League of Their Own.
Previously-announced stars for the show include Ted 2 stars Mark Wahlberg and Seth MacFarlane.
Comedian and TV presenter Dara O Briain and singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper also appear.
The singer is the musical guest on this week's show, which airs on June 26 at 10.35pm on BBC One.
'Poison' is Ora's first solo release since 'I Will Never Let You Down', which topped the charts in 2014. It is released on June 28.
Other guests include Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton, who is currently top of the Drivers' World Championship Standings ahead of his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg.
Also announced for the show is comedian and actor Jack Whitehall, who currently appears on Sky1's sports comedy panel show A League of Their Own.
Previously-announced stars for the show include Ted 2 stars Mark Wahlberg and Seth MacFarlane.
Comedian and TV presenter Dara O Briain and singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper also appear.
- 6/10/2015
- Digital Spy
Always on the lookout for adventure, Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid showed up in Monte Carlo, Monaco on Sunday (May 24).
The “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” cutie and her fellow pretty poser enjoyed the sights and sounds of the Formula One Grand Prix along with Bella Hadid and Hailey Baldwin.
And of course the gal pals were cheering for Lewis Hamilton, who suffered an unfortunate loss to Nico Rosberg. Gigi wrote on Instagram, “We love you @lewishamilton. Everyone knows you da champ. #Teamlh.”...
The “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” cutie and her fellow pretty poser enjoyed the sights and sounds of the Formula One Grand Prix along with Bella Hadid and Hailey Baldwin.
And of course the gal pals were cheering for Lewis Hamilton, who suffered an unfortunate loss to Nico Rosberg. Gigi wrote on Instagram, “We love you @lewishamilton. Everyone knows you da champ. #Teamlh.”...
- 5/25/2015
- GossipCenter
The 2014 Formula One racing season comes down to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit on Sunday, Nov. 23, as Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton battle for the F1 title. Hamilton has a 17-point lead over Rosberg heading into the season finale, but Abu Dhabi is worth double points, giving Rosberg the chance for a come-from-behind win to get his first F1 championship. Hamilton and Rosberg have combined to win 15 of F1’s 18 races this season. Nbcsn and NBC Sports Live Extra have complete weekend coverage of practice, qualifying and the race itself beginning early Friday morning. … Continue reading →
The post F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2014 TV coverage on Nbcsn appeared first on Channel Guide Magazine.
The post F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2014 TV coverage on Nbcsn appeared first on Channel Guide Magazine.
- 11/20/2014
- by Ryan Berenz
- ChannelGuideMag
Doctor Who ended its eighth series with more than 5.4 million viewers last night (November 8), according to overnight figures.
'Death in Heaven' - which saw the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) once again facing off against The Master (Michelle Gomez) - appealed to 5.45m (23.3%) from 8pm on BBC One.
Strictly Come Dancing attracted 9.37m (42.8%) from 6.30pm, recording the strongest numbers of the night.
The Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance 2014 was watched by 5.01m (23.8%) from 9.10pm.
On ITV, The X Factor rose slightly to 7.72m (33.2%) from 8pm, with an additional 277k (1.3%) on +1.
The Chase preceded the singing competition with 3.04m (13.6%), with 245k (1.1%) on timeshift. The Jonathan Ross Show managed 2.43m (12.1%) from 9.45pm.
A repeat of Dad's Army entertained 1.23m (5.4%) on BBC Two. The Culture Show received 810k (3.5%) in the 8pm hour before coverage of the F1 Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying - in which Mercedes' Nico Rosberg took pole position ahead of Lewis Hamilton...
'Death in Heaven' - which saw the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) once again facing off against The Master (Michelle Gomez) - appealed to 5.45m (23.3%) from 8pm on BBC One.
Strictly Come Dancing attracted 9.37m (42.8%) from 6.30pm, recording the strongest numbers of the night.
The Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance 2014 was watched by 5.01m (23.8%) from 9.10pm.
On ITV, The X Factor rose slightly to 7.72m (33.2%) from 8pm, with an additional 277k (1.3%) on +1.
The Chase preceded the singing competition with 3.04m (13.6%), with 245k (1.1%) on timeshift. The Jonathan Ross Show managed 2.43m (12.1%) from 9.45pm.
A repeat of Dad's Army entertained 1.23m (5.4%) on BBC Two. The Culture Show received 810k (3.5%) in the 8pm hour before coverage of the F1 Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying - in which Mercedes' Nico Rosberg took pole position ahead of Lewis Hamilton...
- 11/9/2014
- Digital Spy
The transformation of 'gaming' over the last twenty years has, quite simply, been astonishing. Gone are the blocky graphics, the one (or, at a push, two) dimensional environments and the repetitive good vs bad drama. Instead, modern day gaming is a visceral beast that cares more for its rich, layered environments and graphical excellence than its financial success. However, among the sports genre there is one charicterisation that stands above the rest... realism.
No longer can a sports release be just entertaining or enjoyable. No, these days it must transport its user into a graphical surrounding befitting of their passion and love of said sport. Moreover, the gamer in question - apparently - craves the authenticity and realism of the real world (anything to avoid the chafing and actual exercise); an appetite that, unfortunately, I do not share.
For me, a game needs to find a balance - an intrinsic balance of realism and playability.
No longer can a sports release be just entertaining or enjoyable. No, these days it must transport its user into a graphical surrounding befitting of their passion and love of said sport. Moreover, the gamer in question - apparently - craves the authenticity and realism of the real world (anything to avoid the chafing and actual exercise); an appetite that, unfortunately, I do not share.
For me, a game needs to find a balance - an intrinsic balance of realism and playability.
- 11/7/2014
- Shadowlocked
F1 U.S. Grand Prix 2014 from Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, airs live on NBC Sunday, Nov. 2, at 3pm Et. Full TV schedule of U.S. Gp events below. NBC, Nbcsn and NBC Sports Live Extra combine to present comprehensive coverage of the Formula One United States Grand Prix Grand Prix from Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, from Oct. 31-Nov. 1. The U.S. Grand Prix figures to be an exciting showdown between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, who’ve been battling each other closely throughout the season. NBC’s F1 broadcast team includes play-by-play announcer Leigh Diffey, analysts … Continue reading →
The post F1 U.S. Grand Prix 2014 on NBC Sunday appeared first on Channel Guide Magazine.
The post F1 U.S. Grand Prix 2014 on NBC Sunday appeared first on Channel Guide Magazine.
- 10/31/2014
- by Ryan Berenz
- ChannelGuideMag
David Davies/Pa Wire/Press Association Images
The Monaco Grand Prix is a race like no other, winding around the high rise apartments, jewellery stores and luxury yachts of the principality of Monte Carlo. Cars flash past metal barriers, barrel up and down twisting hills, and plunge into the darkness of a tunnel at full throttle. The jewel in the crown of the Formula 1 calendar always delivers talking points, drama, and flat-out racing. This year’s race was by no means an exception.
As the dust settled on the street circuit lining the French Riviera it was immediately apparent that an air of tension was hanging over the winning team. Mercedes-Benz driver Nico Rosberg had secured a solid victory over his team-mate Lewis Hamilton, but there were no congratulatory hugs or smiles on the podium. To onlookers, it would be almost unbelievable that the two drivers were once childhood friends and karting team-mates.
The Monaco Grand Prix is a race like no other, winding around the high rise apartments, jewellery stores and luxury yachts of the principality of Monte Carlo. Cars flash past metal barriers, barrel up and down twisting hills, and plunge into the darkness of a tunnel at full throttle. The jewel in the crown of the Formula 1 calendar always delivers talking points, drama, and flat-out racing. This year’s race was by no means an exception.
As the dust settled on the street circuit lining the French Riviera it was immediately apparent that an air of tension was hanging over the winning team. Mercedes-Benz driver Nico Rosberg had secured a solid victory over his team-mate Lewis Hamilton, but there were no congratulatory hugs or smiles on the podium. To onlookers, it would be almost unbelievable that the two drivers were once childhood friends and karting team-mates.
- 5/26/2014
- by Jon Lovatt
- Obsessed with Film
This weekend there is a Formula 1 race taking place in Austin, Texas. Formula 1 is the pinnacle of motorsport, and the Circuit of the Americas track in Texas is a near perfect staging ground for 22 of the world’s best drivers to race on. The baking Texas sun will shine down on only the second United States Grand Prix to be run at the circuit near the cool music-city of Austin. Last year, Sebastian Vettel was beaten to victory by then-McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton, but this year Vettel has the edge over the whole field. It will be difficult for any driver to beat Vettel this time around. But somebody could do it, maybe Mark Webber in his penultimate F1 race; or Nico Rosberg, who has shown impressive form in recent Grands Prix. I implore you to watch, it will be a good race. However, there is another race taking place this weekend,...
- 11/15/2013
- by Jon Lovatt
- Obsessed with Film
Red Bull score 1-2 in desert snooze-fest
Sebastian Vettel dominated a predictable, uninspiring race in Abu Dhabi to take his seventh win in a row for Red Bull. With a good start he took the lead at turn one and then drove off into the sunset, quite literally as darkness fell over the circuit for the race to culminate in the night. Webber backed it up with a distant second place ahead of Nico Rosberg and another strong drive by Romain Grosjean as he just missed out on the podium.
Into the Weekend
Abu Dhabi, a track only notable for the time the race is held as it starts in daylight and then finishes at night as the sun slips below the sandy horizon. In its fifth year on the calendar, it still has something to prove as it failed to deliver anything exciting in its first four outings in...
Sebastian Vettel dominated a predictable, uninspiring race in Abu Dhabi to take his seventh win in a row for Red Bull. With a good start he took the lead at turn one and then drove off into the sunset, quite literally as darkness fell over the circuit for the race to culminate in the night. Webber backed it up with a distant second place ahead of Nico Rosberg and another strong drive by Romain Grosjean as he just missed out on the podium.
Into the Weekend
Abu Dhabi, a track only notable for the time the race is held as it starts in daylight and then finishes at night as the sun slips below the sandy horizon. In its fifth year on the calendar, it still has something to prove as it failed to deliver anything exciting in its first four outings in...
- 11/4/2013
- by Jonathan Dunn
- Obsessed with Film
Vettel Unchallenged on way to Fourth Title
Vettel claimed his tenth win of the season to seal his fourth consecutive world drivers title at the Buddh International Circuit, quickly despatching the soft tyres to cruise through the pack and take the win ahead of Nico Rosberg after Mark Webber again suffered mechanical failure in the sister car.
Romain Grosjean again showed race day class to drive through from 17th on the grid with a single-stop race to the podium after his appalling qualifying to once more underline his quality for a 2014 race seat. Despite Webber’s retirement Red Bull also wrapped up the constructors championship with three races still to go.
Into the Weekend
India, one of the newest tracks on the calendar, returned for its third and potentially final instalment with the drivers’ championship all but sewn up. As another modern Tilke-designed circuit it has offered little excitement in...
Vettel claimed his tenth win of the season to seal his fourth consecutive world drivers title at the Buddh International Circuit, quickly despatching the soft tyres to cruise through the pack and take the win ahead of Nico Rosberg after Mark Webber again suffered mechanical failure in the sister car.
Romain Grosjean again showed race day class to drive through from 17th on the grid with a single-stop race to the podium after his appalling qualifying to once more underline his quality for a 2014 race seat. Despite Webber’s retirement Red Bull also wrapped up the constructors championship with three races still to go.
Into the Weekend
India, one of the newest tracks on the calendar, returned for its third and potentially final instalment with the drivers’ championship all but sewn up. As another modern Tilke-designed circuit it has offered little excitement in...
- 10/27/2013
- by Jonathan Dunn
- Obsessed with Film
The title of this panel was Financing and Packaging: From Indie to Studio, but in fact, the most studio-like film, Rush , by the major director, Ron Howard, and produced by Brit indie production company Revolution (Andrew Eaton) and Hollywood-based Cross Creek (Brian Oliver), is actually quite independent.
Rush (U.S. Universal, International Sales by Exclusive)
Ron Howard and his producing partner Brian Grazer whose imagine Entertainment have had an overall deal at Universal for 27 years, however, this mid-budget range film of some $50,000,000 was considered not "big enough" for the majors.
To read more about this complex and fascinating film and its international film business background, read the following articles which are quoted throughout this article with thanks and acknowledgement to:
· Variety September 13, 2013 (reprinted at the end of this blog) · Wall Street Journal, September 5, 2013 · The Hollywood Reporter September 28, 2011
Aside from major director Ron Howard himself, the second “major” element of the film is that Universal is the North American distributor of the film. This happens through the three year minimum-6-picture distribution deal Brian Oliver’s Cross Creek has with Universal in which Cross Creek produces and finances either its own films or films chosen from Universal’s development slate. Cross Creek is set up to generate up to four films per year, with Universal to distribute at least two of them with a wide-release commitment.
Isa (International Sales Agent) Exclusive Media is also an independent. This too is the result of Oliver’s deal with Exclusive to jointly finance two projects per year.
Cross Creek, putting its own cash into the project, split the cost of the picture with Exclusive who financed it through a bank loan made against pre-sales generated in 2011 at the Afm. With Howard there to promote the project to buyers, Exclusive secured around $33 million in foreign pre-sales. See Cinando’s list of distributors .
Additionally, Oliver and Eaton structured the project as a U.K.- German co-production, enabling them to secure about $12 million in soft money from Germany (Egoli Tossell) in accordance with U.K.’s co-production treaty. As a result, U.K. rights ended up with Studiocanal.
Brian Oliver is a “one of Hollywood’s biggest and more unusual financiers of risky films, with coin coming mostly from oil and real estate investments in Texas”. This major Hollywood financier/ producer takes chances which prove his astute, if askew, view of what makes a “Hollywood” picture an indie at the same time, as shown by his credits, The Ides of March and Black Swan.
Andrew Eaton is a British producer with deep Hollywood connections through the British community here, e.g., Eric Fellner of Working Title, the British production company currently owned by Universal. (Parenthetically, I bought U.S. rights to Working Title’s first film, My Beautiful Laundrette for Lorimar along with Orion Classics and so I was quite thrilled to have a chance to be in touch with the talented Brits once again).
Working Title had worked with Andrew Easton on Frost/Nixon. Eric Fellner loved the script and offered it to Universal for funding. However, as said, Universal passed on it because it was too small.
“It is going to be easy for people to think this is a Hollywood movie, and it just is not,” quotes Variety from the film’s British screenwriter, Peter Morgan, who penned Frost/Nixon which was also directed by Howard. “It is a British independent film directed by a Hollywood director.”
Eaton and Oliver spoke of how they put this film together.
“We must champion the fact that this is basically 80% a British film in terms of the people who worked on it, the way it was structured and the way we ran it,” says Eaton, who was behind such indie films as 24 Hour Party People and the Red Riding TV series.
Can a Song Save Your Life? (U.S. UTA, Isa: Exclusive)
Exclusive has another film here, Can a Song Save Your Life? which is also repped by Rena Ronson, Co-Head of the Independent Film Group of UTA. Directed by John Carney who came to the public’s attention with his micro-budgeted Once which plays on stage here in Toronto at the moment, in New York and elsewhere regularly. The Weinstein Company picked it up in Toronto, reportedly paying around a $7 million minimum guarantee for U.S. rights with a P&A commitment of at least $20 million.
UTA as an agency also packages both large (studio) and smaller indie films. Rena Ronson, the co-head of UTA Indie explained how her own indie roots -- first at indie distributor Fox-Lorber and continuing into international sales before becoming the “indie agent” at Wma, succeeding the “indie” founder, Bobbi Thompson, have taught her to speak the language of the international as well as the independent film business. She knows the major modes of operating as well as she knows the independent style of business. She further explained that the successes of the larger films permit the “smaller”, i.e., “indie” films to be made.
UTA repped films in Toronto are listed below. For a full report of rights sold, before, during and after Toronto, watch SydneysBuzz.com for the Fall 2013 Rights Roundup.
Can A Song Save Your Life?
Writer/Director: John Carney Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Keira Knightley, Hailee Steinfeld, Adam Levine, Catherine Keener, Mos Def, Cee-Lo Green Publicity: Falco / Shannon Treusch, Monica Delameter U.S. Producer Rep: UTA / CAA . Isa: Exclusive Media Group
U.S. rights were acquired at Tiff 13 by TWC for a record breaking $7 million.
Since first announcing it in Cannes 2012, Exclusive has made other deals as well for Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan (Tanweer), Germany (Studiocanal), Japan (Pony Canyon Inc), Philippines (Solar Entertainment), Russia (A Company), So. Korea ( Pancinema), Switzerland ( Ascot Elite Entertainment Group ), Taiwan ( Serenity Entertainment International ), Turkey (D Productions), the Middle East ( Front Row Filmed Entertainment).
Tiff Special Presentations:
Hateship, Loveship
Director: Liza Johnson Writer: Mark Poirier Writer (Novel): Alice Munro Starring: Kristen Wiig, Guy Pearce, Hailee Steinfeld, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nick Nolte Publicity: Prodigy PR, Erik Bright
North American Sale: UTA / Cassian Elwes. Isa: The Weinstein Co. Sena has rights for Iceland.
The F Word
Director: Michael Dowse Writer: Elan Mastai Writers (Play): Michael Rinaldi & T.J. Dawe Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Zoe Kazan, Rafe Spall, Adam Driver, Mackenzie Davis, Amanda Crew Publicity: Strategy PR / Cynthia Schwartz, Michael Kupferberg Us Sale: UTA / Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Adler & Feldman. Isa: eOne
After UTA sold the The F Word to CBS Films for the U.S. for around $3 million in Toronto, Entertainment One Films International completed other international sales. Besides Canada and the U.K., eOne itself will release the film in Australia/New Zealand, Benelux and Spain feeding its own international distribution pipeline. Other sales include Germany to Senator Entertainment, Middle East to Front Row Entertainment, Nigeria toRed Mist, Russia to Carmen Film Group, Turkey to Mars Entertainment Group
Night Moves
Writer/Director: Kelly Reichart Writer: Jonathan Raymond Starring: Dakota Fanning, Jesse Eisenberg, Peter Sarsgaard, Alia Shawkat Publicity: Ginsberg/Libby, Chris Libby North American Sale: UTA Isa: The Match Factory
Tiff Vanguard
The Sacrament
Writer/Director: Ti West Starring: Joe Swanberg, Aj Bowen, Amy Seimetz, Kate Lyn Sheil, Gene Jones Publicity: Dda, Dana Archer, Alice Zhou North American Sale: UTA / CAA Isa: Im Global sold to Pegasus Motion Pictures Distribution Ltd . For China
As of this writing, rather 1 hour ago, Magnolia Pictures, which lost on an earlier bidding war here for Joe, is finalizing a deal for the picture reportedly for seven figures.
Coincidentallywith the beginning of the Toronto Film Festival, the front page of L.A. Times quoted Rena Ronson in an article called "Making history as cameras roll" (print edition) or "Wadjda' director makes her mark in Saudi cinema" (online edition) about Wadjda , (Isa: The Match Factory) last year’s Venice and Telluride film which Rena had spotted at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, where it won a script award. It was written and directed by a woman which is notable in such a male-dominated part of the world. She met the writer-director, Haifaa Mansour, and that led to working with her for the next two years to finance the film. Its $2.5m budget was backed in part by the Rotana Group, the largest media company in the Middle East, owned primarily by Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. The German production company Razor Film owned and operated by Gerhard Meixner and Roman Paul whose first coproduction in 2005, Paradise Now brought them into international prominence and who also picked up last year’s Tiff groundbreaking film from Afghanistan,The Patience Stone, and previously coproduced Waltz With Bashir, came on board and brought German broadcast deals and German film funds as well.
Doha and Film Financing
The fourth panelist was Paul Miller, Head of Film Financing, from the Doha Film Institute , Qatar's first international organization dedicated to film financing, production, education and two film festivals. Doha encourages submission for financing film financing opportunities from anywhere in the world. The Dfi Grants program supports first- and second-time filmmakers in producing and developing their own stories. There are two funding rounds per year. Applications are considered from three regions (basically divided into the Middle East, developing nations and the rest of the world – with some exceptions -- each with different eligibility criteria.
Consideration for funding is open to feature-length films in development, production and post-production, as well as short films in production and post-production. Since 2010, Dfi has provided funding to more than 138 filmmakers.
Beyond the regional grants program, Dfi also invests in a diverse slate of international productions to encourage greater collaboration, mentorship and co‑production opportunities between Gulf countries and the rest of the world. Co-financing applications apply to both Middle Eastern and international feature films, television and web series. Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year.
Four films at Tiff that Doha has helped finance:
Mohammed Malas’s Ladder to Damacus, screening in Tiff’s Contemporary World Cinema section; Jasmila Žbanic’s For Those Who Can Tell No Tales in the Special Presentation section. Both films were co-financed by Dfi. Dfi grant recipients Néjib Belkadhi’s Bastardo and Mais Darwazah’s My Love Awaits Me by the Sea screening in the Contemporary World Cinema and Discovery sections, respectively.
The fifth panelist, Ted Hope, Director of the San Francisco Film Society, a non-profit training, festival, and funding operation is known to everyone from his history with Good Machine (which was acquired by Universal and renamed Focus Features), and from his blog Hope for Film/ Truly Free Film . In his always-inimitable fashion, Ted proposed a new sort of financing, called "staged financing", based on a progressive meeting of certain criterion from development through distribution. This way of financing is similar to the venture capital models of financing. His broad ideas on what has to change with the industry's funding and packaging methods brought the panelists and the audience to heel at attention. I reprint his blog after this because this idea goes against the current grain of financing an entire film which may or may not prove to be the final box office bingo winner it always purports to be when securing full financing.
The Sffs provided some funding to Thomas Oliver's 1982 which is in Tiff this year. Aside from winning Us in Progress’ $60,000 in post-production services at this year’s Champs Elysees Film Festival, 1982 also received Sffs’s $85,000 post production grant and participated in the Sffs’s A2E labs. The film is being represented by Kevin Iwashina’s Preferred Content.
The panel became very animated as Ted Hope and Rena Ronson faced off about whether a film is made for a broad audience or whether, if targeted correctly, it could actually make money with niche audiences. As always, the two of them, both equally astute, brought much to bear on both sides of the argument. And, I, as the panel’s moderator, hereby declare, They are both right.
The broader the audience the more potential for making money.
However, as Ted points out, with crowd sourcing, crowd funding and crowd theatrical exhibition, there are many other ways beyond ticket purchases that filmmakers can offer in order to make money with their targeted audience.
This, as well as the great contributions made by Doha’s Paul Miller and Revolution’s Andrew Eaton could have extended the panel into a full day. Paul Oliver of Cross Creek was the quietest, perhaps most reticent, of the speakers, but he amply demonstrated that he is one who puts his money where his mouth is. His acumen and taste make us all grateful for his existence as he is a pivotal point person in creating works of art that create substantial revenues for a sustainable art house film business.
The audience as well was most enthusiastic with their questions and post panel discussions with panelists who stayed to talk.
Articles Reprinted Here:
Truly Free Film
Staged Financing Must Become Film Biz’s Immediate Goal
Posted: 06 Sep 2013 05:15 Am Pdt
Each day I become more and more convinced that staged financing could be a cure to much of the Film Biz’s ills. Staged financing? What? Is the phrase not exactly center of your conversations right now? Why not?!! Whatsamattawidyou? Don’t you know a good solution when you see one?
Although it already exists in many fields, and even in a few small patches of our own yard, I recognize that a staged financing strategy is not yet the force behind Indieland’s own gardening. I am however growing convinced it could yield a far more fruitful harvest than our current methods. A staged-financing ecosystem can’t be built in a one-off manner though. Although it also does not need to the rule of the realm, it needs a permanent eco-system to support it.
Staged financing is part of a much bigger solution that we urgently need to bring to our industry: a sustainable investor class . We need smart money and need to stop seeking, encouraging, and propagating dumb money. Most film investors get out, win or lose, by their third film (I have been told this and don’t have the stats to back it up now, but if you do, please share — otherwise just trust that is what my experience has shown). The value of most independent money in the film biz is the money itself, and that is not good for anyone.
Staged financing is exactly what it says to be. I know in this world such literalness is a strange thing, but there is it. Staged financing is a funding process that is there for each distinct stage. In comparison, it is the opposite of up-front financing — the type that monopolizes the narrative feature world. I am proposing that we institutionalize the staged-financing process and make it easier to finance your film in drips and drabs. Why am I so bullish on what probably sounds like hell to many? Why do I think it will save indie film? Let’s count the ways.
Staged financing increases the predictability of success. Investors can base their continued commitment on a proof of prinicipal instead of just a pitch. The longer one waits the more they know — of course the longer one waits the lower the chance for their to be the opportunity for investment, so there. The more investors can project or even predict their success, the longer they will stay in the game, and the more that will gather to pay — i.e. more capital at play! Staged financing allows filmmakers and their supporters to pivot based on real world data. The old way had very little it could do when new information hit. Your film (and investment) could be rendered obsolete over night. But that does not have to be a done deal is this new world. This is just one of the many reasons for #1 above of course. Staged financing diversifies the creative class. Wouldn’t it be great if the film biz was actually a meritocracy? Well, if people had to make good movies to complete their financing, wouldn’t that be a bit closer to the case? Staged financing gives all people the opportunity to prove they have a good idea, whether that idea is completed or not. It is not about who you know, but about what you’ve done and can do. Documentary film — compared to the narrative world — already has a great deal of staged financing institutionalized — and benefits from gender proportional representation among directors. Need I say more?Staged financing allows ambitious artistic work to flourish. Instead of just having “commercial elements”, unique and inspiring work can be recognized for the potential it truly has. Instead of being rewarded for being able to earn trust or arrogantly claim to know what one is doing, staged financing allows good work to be rewarded for being good work. Currently, we mistake confidence for capability and those that boast to be able to predict what the end product will be (where there is no way that they will actually know what the 100+ decisions each day will yield), get to play — not the work that delivers something new and wonderful. Staged financing rewards quality over risk mitigation. Staged financing is actually a better form of risk mitigation than the present form that is only based on regurgitating what has already proven successful. When we limit risk by mimicking what has worked in the past, all we are doing is guessing and covering our ass — and this leads to a film culture of movie titles overrun with numerals. We live in an era of abundance, and as comforting as the familiar may be, we have more access to it than ever before. We rarely need the new version of it. We will however need truly original work more and more as time goes on as we will drowning in the repetitive. How will we prove what works? Staged financing, my friend, staged financing. Staged financing creates a better project as it incentivizes the creators every step of the way. Not that you truly need to incentivize those that are in the passion industries for the right reason, but it never hurts to weed out those that are in it for the wrong reason. When your financing is based on your work and not your connections or investors’ fears, you will do all you can to make each stage of financing shine, justify itself, and be truly competitive. Staged financing requires you to walk a series of steps, proving you have earned the right with every advance — and you better do your homework if you don’t want to get left behind. Staged financing requires you choose your initial partners wisely. It’s not just about the terms of the deal that should determine whom your investors are — but that is how we generally act nowadays. Everyone should instead seek value-add investors. You should get more than just money from your investors. You should benefit from their expertise. Filmmakers, agents, lawyers, and managers, often are willing to leap into bed with anyone who offers the most cash — there’s a name for that practice and it should not be film investment. Staged financing means the creators will have “skin in the game”. When it is an up-front finance model, the creators are not working for a payout in success but working just for the upfornt fees (or some semblance thereof); they may have “profit participation” but basically the only anticipated earnings are what is in the budget. It becomes increasingly difficult to motivate the creative team to be engaged in the needed work after the film premieres. Investors have long recognized that this is not the most beneficial arrangement, yet what can they do? The answer my friend, is… yup, you know the song I am singing: everyone loves that staged financing! Staged financing is a time-tested process that has already been adopted by many industries . Staged financing is the modus operandi of Silicon Valley and all the Vc firms. Other industries, from mining onwards, have seen real benefits from the process. Why do we limit our success and not apply proven models to our field? Could it be that somewhere someone is desperately clutching on to what ever paltry power they perceive themselves to possess? Hmmm… If they don’t offer the model you want at the store, build a new model — or maybe even a chain of stores. Staged financing gives producers of quality work more power. The main objection to staged financing is that it gives financiers more power. That is only true if you are making crap. Or mediocre work. If you are making something wonderfully astounding you will never struggle to progress to the next round — and in fact you will be able to improve your terms. And investors won’t complain either, because they now can have to know a good thing when they see one.
So if Staged Financing is this marvelous thing, why have our leaders not yet delivered it to you? Well, they don’t care about you; didn’t you know that?
And if Staged Financing could really save Indie Film, why has the community not constructed this marvelous ecosystem yet? Well, we’ve all been too busy chasing shiny objects and marveling at the reflections fed back of us.
But change is here. We have hope. We can build it better together. And I have already started. The San Francisco Film Society is committed to it. We have others who want to be part of. We are have spots for more to join in. And we are going to help a few select projects really rock this world.
Watch this space. Let’s do it together and truly astonish the world with your awe inspiring work. Just don’t be slack, okay?
Variety, August 21, 2013:
“Rush,” the high-octane car racing film about the public rivalry between legendary Formula One drivers Niki Lauda and James Hunt during the 1970s, has all the markings of tinseltown’s latest flashy biopic, withRon Howard at the wheel, Chris Hemsworth as its star, and Universal Pictures releasing the film Sept. 27. But that assumption couldn’t be further from the truth.
“It is going to be easy for people to think this is a Hollywood movie, and it just is not,” says the upcoming film’s British screenwriter, Peter Morgan, who penned “Frost/Nixon,” also directed by Howard. “It is a British independent film directed by a Hollywood director.” Get Weekly Online News and alerts free to your inbox
As the majors focus more on putting their money behind mega-budgeted projects with built-in brand awareness — sequels, reboots, films based on toys, videogames and comicbooks — filmmakers are finding Hollywood’s studio system rapidly shifting under their feet.
“Because studios are less interested in the midbudget area, there is a massive opportunity for independents to step into that (area) at the moment,” says “Rush” producer Andrew Eaton of London-based Revolution Films.
Indeed, it’s getting harder to set up a midbudget range original project at a studio, even for veteran filmmakers like Howard and his producing partner Brian Grazer, whose Imagine Entertainment has had an overall deal at Universal for 27 years (the longest standing deal U has had in its 100-year history with a production company). That’s forced directors to look elsewhere to tackle the kinds of films now considered too risky to make or the ones that won’t fill retail shelves with merchandise.
Another Hollywood vet, producer Marc Platt, who’s had a production deal at Universal since 1998 after stepping down as its production head, similarly had to find indie financing for his film “2 Guns” after Universal said it would not bankroll the picture but simply distribute it.
With “Rush,” Howard found himself in an entirely new role as the director of a $50 million film that was his first to be independently financed — through a series of bonds, contingencies and pre-sales. He also was a director for hire, replacing Paul Greengrass, who was originally set to bring the showy personalities of Hunt (Hemsworth), a British playboy; and the more serious Austrian champion Lauda (Daniel Bruhl) to the big screen.
“We must champion the fact that this is basically 80% a British film in terms of the people who worked on it, the way it was structured and the way we ran it,” says Eaton. The exec, who was behind such indie films as “24 Hour Party People” and the “Red Riding” series, is modest, and like most Brits politely shies away from the spotlight, tending not to grab credit even when its due.
But he believes “Rush” shows off Blighty’s mettle.
“These are the kinds of films we should be making in the U.K. because we can do it, and we can do it for better value of money,” he says.
Morgan began writing the story of Lauda, a friend of his wife’s, on spec some years ago, intrigued by the driver’s courageous comeback just 40 days after a devastating crash at the 1976 German Grand Prix that severely burned his face and saw him lapse into a coma, and how that might play against Hunt’s notorious womanizing and party lifestyle that gained him rock-star status.
Eager to work with Eaton again after Fernando Meirelles’ “360,” Morgan showed the producer the first draft of “Rush,” and Eaton was hooked.
“Andrew was always going to be a great fit for this project,” Morgan says. “If (the) responsibility was to make this at a price, Andrew could do this. He could make a $50 million film feel like a $150 million film.”
With Greengrass, another Brit, attached to direct, Morgan showed the script to close friend Eric Fellner at his Universal-owned British production outfit Working Title. Fellner, who had worked with him on “Frost/Nixon,” loved the new script and offered it to Universal for funding.
But the studio passed, considering it risky subject matter, given the biopic elements and low profile of F1 racing in the U.S. Universal also didn’t believe the film could be made for the right price. Still Fellner stayed onboard, and his contacts in the F1 arena proved invaluable. His relationships with Ferrari and McLaren thanks to his work on documentary “Senna” enabled “Rush” to enlist the brands in the pic without losing editorial control.
“Ron (Howard) jokes that my major contribution was engine noise,” Fellner says. “Maybe I can take credit for a bit of that.”
Soon after Universal passed, Cross Creek Pictures topper Brian Oliver reached out to Eaton to finance the project — so eager that he offered to put up $2 million before he even signed the deal so that Eaton could order replicas of the 1970s cars to be ready in time for the shoot. He also was instrumental in steering Hemsworth toward the project.
“Typically we don’t spend that kind of money without knowing the movie is going and the budget is done,” Oliver says. “But I was passionate about the script, and I really thought it was a film with a lot of heart, not just a race car movie.”
Cross Creek, also behind “The Ides of March” and “Black Swan,” has quickly become one of Hollywood’s biggest and more unusual financiers of risky films, with coin coming mostly from oil and real estate investments in Texas.
“He’s an unusual maverick in Hollywood because he really fought to get the budget to the highest level he could,” says Eaton of Oliver. “There’s no bullshit with him — he gets stuff done.” Adds Fellner: “Without Brian, the film wouldn’t have gotten off of the ground. He put his money where his mouth is.”
Shortly after funding started coming together, Greengrass dropped off the project due, ironically, to his issues with the budget. Within 24 hours, Morgan and Fellner enticed Howard to come onboard. The financing arrangement intrigued him, but what really attracted Howard was the ability to re-create the world of Formula One in the 1970s “when sex was safe and driving was dangerous,” as he has said in past interviews.
“Ron was incredibly gracious in trusting us to deliver,” Eaton says. “He was very smart about knowing we needed to make this film in a different way. He’d never made a film with a bond before, and never made a film with a contingency before, but he rolled up his sleeves and was ready to learn.” Some of that indie spirit has already rubbed off on Howard, who is now sticking with a mostly British crew on his next project, “In the Heart of the Sea,” including “Rush” cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle and costume designer Julian Day. “Heart” lenses in London.
Exclusive Media came in as the final partner on “Rush,” brought in by Oliver under his deal with Exclusive to jointly finance two projects per year.
Cross Creek split the cost of the pic with Exclusive, with the former putting its own cash in to the pic and the latter financing through a bank loan made against pre-sales generated in 2011 at the Afm, where Howard helped shop the project to buyers. The move proved a success, as Exclusive secured $33 million in foreign pre-sales.
Additionally, Oliver and Eaton structured the project as a U.K.-German co-production, enabling them to secure about $12 million in soft money.
As a result, U.K. rights ended up going to Studiocanal. Universal agreed to distribute “Rush” in the U.S. through its output deal with Cross Creek.
Eaton pressed to put all of the money raised on the screen. “Rush” became the highest-budget film he had ever worked with after 2000’s “The Claim,” which cost $18 million to produce.
“(‘Rush’) was financed in exactly the same way we finance every independent film, and we approached shooting in the same way as we do everything — you try to put as much money as you can onscreen,” Eaton says. “It’s about not wasting money on things you don’t need, like private jets and extravagances.”
Hollywood has tried to bring to life the world of Formula One before.
Sylvester Stallone directed “Driven,” which originally was set in the world of F1, before he changed course and based it on rival Cart racing, instead.
The reason? To gain access to F1, filmmakers must first get the greenlight from the often polarizing Bernie Ecclestone, the 82-year-old billionaire who holds a tight grip on the racing league that has long counted the elite as fans, including Carlos Slim, the world’s richest man, and celebs including Michael Fassbender, Patrick Dempsey, Gordon Ramsey, George Lucas, and Cirque de Soleil founder Guy Laliberte.
Although Stallone tried to gain Ecclestone’s approval, “I apologize to fans of Formula 1, but there is a certain individual there who runs the sport that has his own agenda,” Stallone said in 2000. “F1 is very formal, and it’s very hard to get to know people.”
David Cronenberg also planned to direct a tentpole around F1 for Paramount, in 1986, with the director scouting the project by attending Grand Prix races in Australia and Mexico. The film, “Red Cars,” would have revolved around American driver Phil Hill winning the world championship for Ferrari in 1961. Plans were shelved when Ecclestone decided not to support the project. Instead, Cronenberg published a limited edition art book based on the screenplay in 2005.
One of the few cinematic standouts so far is Asif Kapadia’s documentary “Senna,” about the charismatic Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna, killed in a race in 1994 that’s show in the docu. “Senna” went on to earn $8.2 million, and helped educate viewers of the sport by focusing not on the races but Senna’s iconic presence and his impact on pop culture.
“Rush” is looking to put a spotlight on the personalities behind the wheel and the often riveting rivalries between drivers — what many consider the real draw to the sport. Bruhl has compared them to “modern knights constantly facing death.”
As the film races toward its September release — it will be shown at the Toronto Film Festival out of competition — Howard has screened it for not only racing fans but Formula One, itself.
He recently showed the film to a group of F1 drivers (including Lauda, Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Felipe Massa) at Germany’s Grand Prix, calling that audience the toughest test so far, and comparing the experience to screening “Apollo 13” to Nasa’s astronauts and mission controllers in 1995.
In his efforts to promote the film, Howard has called the Hunt-Lauda rivalry one of the greatest in all of sports. “Their story is so remarkable, you (could) only do it if it was true, because people wouldn’t quite believe it. They were willing to risk their lives to attain this elite status. They paid a price for it, but they defined themselves.”
Morgan also has been doing his part to reassure F1 fans that the film is authentic, stressing that it’s about the people in the cars, and not the sport itself.
Any way the wheel’s spun, it’s clear the film’s overall success will largely be driven by how it plays overseas. “Rush” will need to appeal to an international audience that’s more familiar with F1 — a sport second in popularity only to soccer — than to those in the U.S.
But Howard needs to hook moviegoers closer to home — making the American director’s job a much tougher sell.
It’s not really that surprising that there’s nothing all that American about “Rush.”
Formula One is still struggling to find an audience in the U.S. It’s looking to change that through a new $3 million broadcasting deal with NBC Sports that airs 13 races on the cable channel, two on CNBC, and four on NBC. The Monaco Grand Prix was the first of four F1 races to air live on NBC this year, with the final race taking place Nov. 24 from Brazil.
Ratings have averaged a 0.3 rating, although the Monaco race was watched by 1.5 million viewers, making it the most-watched Formula One race on U.S. television in six years, and up 40% over last year’s race when it aired on Speed TV, Nielsen said.
Promos have emphasized the speed of F1’s jetfighter cars, its international appeal and Olympics-like profiles of the drivers.
Formula One also is looking to rev up new fans in the U.S. through the opening of its first permanent track in Austin, Texas, last year, known as the Circuit of the Americas. Howard attended its first race, where Lauda also roamed the track’s garages.
What’s ironic is that Howard isn’t a very good driver. He proved that recently racing around the track of BBC’s hit show “Top Gear” to promote “Rush,” ending up in second to last place on the series’ celebrity leader board — behind Genesis’ Mike Rutherford.
Host Jeremy Clarkson was quick to mock him, saying “We finally found something you can’t do. Good at directing, brilliant in ‘Happy Days,’ a charming human being — but utterly crap at driving.”
Ron Howard's Risky Formula One Movie, 'Rush'
Can this Euro-centric car racing film play in the U.S.?
By Rachel Dodes Conn
Ron Howard's films, like "Apollo 13" and "Frost/Nixon," typically deal with issues very familiar to American audiences. His latest project, Mr. Howard's first independently financed film, is a bit of a departure: "Rush" chronicles the rivalry between Austrian Formula One racer Niki Lauda and his nemesis, the British driver James Hunt, over the course of the historic 1976 season. While competing in Nürburg, Germany during treacherous weather conditions, Mr. Lauda (Daniel Brühl, right) crashed his Ferrari and sustained severe burns to his face and lungs. Yet, fueled by a desire to beat Mr. Hunt (Chris Hemsworth, above), a playboy type whose wife (Olivia Wilde) ran off with Richard Burton, Mr. Lauda was back in his car just six weeks later—still wearing his bandages—to race against him in the Italian Grand Prix.
When Mr. Howard received the script on spec from screenwriter Peter Morgan ("Frost/Nixon," "The Last King of Scotland"), he wasn't a Formula One fan and didn't know who Messrs. Hunt and Lauda were. "I looked them up on Wikipedia," he admits. But as he read about the racers' personalities, he started to see broader themes that would appeal to U.S. moviegoers. "Maybe this is the American in me identifying this," he says, "but both these guys are utterly and entirely individuals—there was no Yoda telling them to seek their higher self."
For Mr. Howard, the process of researching "Rush" was surprisingly similar to learning about space travel for his "Apollo 13," because he found himself having to make arcane automotive engineering terms accessible to viewers. "It was really fun to understand a sport that combines cutting-edge technology with very dangerous competition," he says. "The visceral, cool and sexy element offered a kind of cinematic experience that nowadays exists only with sci-fi."
Formula One isn't nearly as popular in the U.S. as Nascar, and the subject matter is likelier to play well overseas, where the film's financing came from. It premiered Monday, in London, a few weeks before its U.S. opening. The filmmakers say it's more than just a sports picture, and they expect it to appeal to women as well as men.
Saudi Female Filmmaker Succeeds In Making A Movie About A Girl Who Wants A Bicycle
Los Angeles Times
By Rebecca Keegan
Sept. 6, 2013
In a country where women can't freely move around, Haifaa Mansour covertly films the story of a girl's quest for a bicycle.
The production lost two days to sandstorms. The crew faced a last-minute scramble when the nervous owner of a mall changed his mind about allowing filming there. Some days locals chased the cameras away; other days they brought platters of lamb and rice to the set, and asked to be extras.
Meanwhile, the director hid in a van, speaking to her cast via walkie-talkie. In Saudi Arabia, where driving a car is a subversive act for a woman, a 39-year-old mother of two has done something remarkable: written and directed what her distributor believes is the first feature film shot entirely in the ultraconservative kingdom.
Haifaa Mansour is the director of "Wadjda," a drama about a plucky 10-year-old girl who enrolls in a Koran recitation competition in order to win money for a bicycle she's forbidden by law to ride.
Like her young protagonist, Mansour's own story is one of feminine moxie.
In a sly protest of the country's ban on women behind the wheel, she drove herself to her wedding in a golf cart. Because women in Saudi Arabia can't mingle publicly with men outside their families, she shot her movie covertly on the streets of the capital, Riyadh. With movie theaters banned, she screened "Wadjda" in two foreign embassies and a cultural center.
Petite, self-assured, wearing white high-tops and blue nail polish, Mansour is modern in both her fashion and bearing. She speaks English quickly and colloquially, dropping frequent "you knows" into conversation. And she isn't afraid to counter misperceptions about her homeland, as when she gently corrected Bill Maher for calling Mecca the Saudi capital during a recent appearance on his HBO show.
Laced with empathy and humor, "Wadjda" is a quietly provocative portrait of a culture that straddles the centuries, where men wear the ancient white thobe but carry the latest iPads and women hold important jobs as doctors and news anchors but have yet to vote in an election.
"I didn't want to make a movie about women being raped or stoned," Mansour said in an interview in Beverly Hills in June. "For me it is the everyday life, how it's hard. For me, it was hard sometimes to go to work because I cannot find transportation. Things like that build up and break a woman."
The eighth of 12 children of a poet, Mansour grew up in a small town in a home that she describes as nurturing for a little girl.
"My family is very traditional, but my parents are very supportive, very kind," she said. "I never felt I can't do things because I'm a woman."
When Mansour was a teen, her mother removed the light veil she wore while picking her daughter up from school, a gesture that mortified the young woman at the time, but empowers her when she reflects on it now.
Though movie theaters have been shuttered in Saudi Arabia for decades for religious reasons, Mansour said her father, like others, often rented VHS tapes at Blockbuster for the family to watch -- she grew up on Jackie Chan movies, Bollywood productions, Egyptian cinema and Disney animated films. "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" was a particular favorite.
"In small-town Saudi, there is nothing to do. You don't get to exercise your emotions because nothing much is happening, you know?" she said. "So to see people falling in love and fighting, it's so powerful, you see beyond your small town."
After earning her bachelor's degree in comparative literature at the American University in Cairo, she returned to Saudi Arabia but quickly felt stymied.
"Going back to Saudi as a young woman, trying to assert yourself in the workplace, you have all those ideas … and all of a sudden you realize because you are a woman you are not heard," she said. "It was such a frustrating moment in my life. It was as if you are screaming in a vacuum."
The idea of women holding jobs still unnerves some Saudi men -- writer Abdullah Mohammed Daoud recently encouraged his more than 97,000 Twitter followers to sexually harass female grocery store clerks to intimidate women from working.
Recalling the freedom she found in movies, Mansour decided to make a short film with her siblings serving as cast and crew, a thriller about a male serial killer who hides under the black abaya worn by Muslim women. Her work -- two more shorts, a documentary and a stint hosting a talk show for a Lebanese network -- focused largely on the untold stories of Saudi women.
In 2005, at a U.S. embassy screening of her documentary, "Women Without Shadows," Mansour met her future husband, American diplomat Bradley Neimann. They now have two children, 2 and 5, and live in Bahrain, where Neimann works for the State Department.
When her husband was posted in Australia, Mansour pursued a master's in film studies at the University of Sydney, and wrote the script that became "Wadjda."
The story was inspired by her now teenage niece, who has tamped down her rambunctious personality to fit into Saudi norms.
"I thought, 'Wow, a woman writer from Saudi Arabia won?'" Rena Ronson said. "I had to meet her. She was so open and tenacious and smart."When Mansour's script for "Wadjda" won an award at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, it caught the eye of the co-head of the independent film group at United Talent Agency.
Over the next two years Ronson helped Mansour secure financing for her film, which cost a little less than $2.5 million. The primary obstacle, as far as many potential Middle Eastern producers were concerned, was Mansour's desire to shoot in Saudi Arabia, which she felt lent her story authenticity.
The production finally won the tacit approval of the Saudi government -- one of its backers is Rotana Group, an entertainment company primarily owned by Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. Another major financier is the German company Razor Film.
Finding actors was another hurdle. Mansour and her producers recruited child performers through small companies that hire folkloric dancers for the Eid holidays. Many of their parents were uncomfortable with a movie about empowering women.
A week before she was scheduled to start shooting, Mansour still hadn't cast her title character when 12-year-old Waad Mohammed entered the room in blue jeans, with headphones clapped over her ears. Singing along to Justin Bieber, she won over Mansour with her sweet singing voice and tomboyish style.
The movie's half-German, half-Saudi crew worked around the rhythms of Saudi life, using cellphone apps that alerted them of the five daily prayer calls. The Germans carried notebooks; the Saudis relied on oral planning.
On the first day of shooting, a start time of 7:20 a.m. came and went. "I don't know what we were thinking," said German producer Roman Paul. "I don't think 7:20 exists in Saudi time. We Germans learned to relax, and the Saudis learned that there is a benefit to doing things at a certain time."
Despite tension on the set -- both from disapproving observers and from the German and Saudi crews learning to work together -- Mansour was buoyant, Paul said.
"She's very fast in overcoming new difficulties, and in an upbeat spirit," Paul said.
Last summer "Wadjda" premiered at the Venice and Telluride film festivals, earning praise for Mansour's subtle direction and a U.S. release from Sony Pictures Classics, which handled the Oscar-winning 2011 Iranian drama "A Separation," about the dissolution of a marriage.
"'A Separation' was such an eye-opener to me in the sense that there were people questioning whether the film went too specific into the Iranian culture," said Michael Barker, co-president and co-founder of the Sony unit. "But if the overall story has a universal appeal, in 'Wadjda' it's about parents and kids and restrictions and freedom, that's something we can all relate to."
Sony Classics has been showing the film to noted feminists -- Gloria Steinem and Queen Noor of Jordan both attended screenings -- and will release it in the U.S. slowly over the fall, starting Sept. 13. (The movie premiered in multiple European countries this summer.)
Mansour said she plans to work in Saudi Arabia again. For her, screening her movie in the kingdom was a high.
"Film is about uplifting, embracing the love of life, it's about moving ahead, it's about victory," she said. "It's not about defeat."
One victory has already been won. This spring, a new law went into effect: With some restrictions, Saudi women are now allowed to ride bicycles.
Rush (U.S. Universal, International Sales by Exclusive)
Ron Howard and his producing partner Brian Grazer whose imagine Entertainment have had an overall deal at Universal for 27 years, however, this mid-budget range film of some $50,000,000 was considered not "big enough" for the majors.
To read more about this complex and fascinating film and its international film business background, read the following articles which are quoted throughout this article with thanks and acknowledgement to:
· Variety September 13, 2013 (reprinted at the end of this blog) · Wall Street Journal, September 5, 2013 · The Hollywood Reporter September 28, 2011
Aside from major director Ron Howard himself, the second “major” element of the film is that Universal is the North American distributor of the film. This happens through the three year minimum-6-picture distribution deal Brian Oliver’s Cross Creek has with Universal in which Cross Creek produces and finances either its own films or films chosen from Universal’s development slate. Cross Creek is set up to generate up to four films per year, with Universal to distribute at least two of them with a wide-release commitment.
Isa (International Sales Agent) Exclusive Media is also an independent. This too is the result of Oliver’s deal with Exclusive to jointly finance two projects per year.
Cross Creek, putting its own cash into the project, split the cost of the picture with Exclusive who financed it through a bank loan made against pre-sales generated in 2011 at the Afm. With Howard there to promote the project to buyers, Exclusive secured around $33 million in foreign pre-sales. See Cinando’s list of distributors .
Additionally, Oliver and Eaton structured the project as a U.K.- German co-production, enabling them to secure about $12 million in soft money from Germany (Egoli Tossell) in accordance with U.K.’s co-production treaty. As a result, U.K. rights ended up with Studiocanal.
Brian Oliver is a “one of Hollywood’s biggest and more unusual financiers of risky films, with coin coming mostly from oil and real estate investments in Texas”. This major Hollywood financier/ producer takes chances which prove his astute, if askew, view of what makes a “Hollywood” picture an indie at the same time, as shown by his credits, The Ides of March and Black Swan.
Andrew Eaton is a British producer with deep Hollywood connections through the British community here, e.g., Eric Fellner of Working Title, the British production company currently owned by Universal. (Parenthetically, I bought U.S. rights to Working Title’s first film, My Beautiful Laundrette for Lorimar along with Orion Classics and so I was quite thrilled to have a chance to be in touch with the talented Brits once again).
Working Title had worked with Andrew Easton on Frost/Nixon. Eric Fellner loved the script and offered it to Universal for funding. However, as said, Universal passed on it because it was too small.
“It is going to be easy for people to think this is a Hollywood movie, and it just is not,” quotes Variety from the film’s British screenwriter, Peter Morgan, who penned Frost/Nixon which was also directed by Howard. “It is a British independent film directed by a Hollywood director.”
Eaton and Oliver spoke of how they put this film together.
“We must champion the fact that this is basically 80% a British film in terms of the people who worked on it, the way it was structured and the way we ran it,” says Eaton, who was behind such indie films as 24 Hour Party People and the Red Riding TV series.
Can a Song Save Your Life? (U.S. UTA, Isa: Exclusive)
Exclusive has another film here, Can a Song Save Your Life? which is also repped by Rena Ronson, Co-Head of the Independent Film Group of UTA. Directed by John Carney who came to the public’s attention with his micro-budgeted Once which plays on stage here in Toronto at the moment, in New York and elsewhere regularly. The Weinstein Company picked it up in Toronto, reportedly paying around a $7 million minimum guarantee for U.S. rights with a P&A commitment of at least $20 million.
UTA as an agency also packages both large (studio) and smaller indie films. Rena Ronson, the co-head of UTA Indie explained how her own indie roots -- first at indie distributor Fox-Lorber and continuing into international sales before becoming the “indie agent” at Wma, succeeding the “indie” founder, Bobbi Thompson, have taught her to speak the language of the international as well as the independent film business. She knows the major modes of operating as well as she knows the independent style of business. She further explained that the successes of the larger films permit the “smaller”, i.e., “indie” films to be made.
UTA repped films in Toronto are listed below. For a full report of rights sold, before, during and after Toronto, watch SydneysBuzz.com for the Fall 2013 Rights Roundup.
Can A Song Save Your Life?
Writer/Director: John Carney Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Keira Knightley, Hailee Steinfeld, Adam Levine, Catherine Keener, Mos Def, Cee-Lo Green Publicity: Falco / Shannon Treusch, Monica Delameter U.S. Producer Rep: UTA / CAA . Isa: Exclusive Media Group
U.S. rights were acquired at Tiff 13 by TWC for a record breaking $7 million.
Since first announcing it in Cannes 2012, Exclusive has made other deals as well for Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan (Tanweer), Germany (Studiocanal), Japan (Pony Canyon Inc), Philippines (Solar Entertainment), Russia (A Company), So. Korea ( Pancinema), Switzerland ( Ascot Elite Entertainment Group ), Taiwan ( Serenity Entertainment International ), Turkey (D Productions), the Middle East ( Front Row Filmed Entertainment).
Tiff Special Presentations:
Hateship, Loveship
Director: Liza Johnson Writer: Mark Poirier Writer (Novel): Alice Munro Starring: Kristen Wiig, Guy Pearce, Hailee Steinfeld, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nick Nolte Publicity: Prodigy PR, Erik Bright
North American Sale: UTA / Cassian Elwes. Isa: The Weinstein Co. Sena has rights for Iceland.
The F Word
Director: Michael Dowse Writer: Elan Mastai Writers (Play): Michael Rinaldi & T.J. Dawe Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Zoe Kazan, Rafe Spall, Adam Driver, Mackenzie Davis, Amanda Crew Publicity: Strategy PR / Cynthia Schwartz, Michael Kupferberg Us Sale: UTA / Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Adler & Feldman. Isa: eOne
After UTA sold the The F Word to CBS Films for the U.S. for around $3 million in Toronto, Entertainment One Films International completed other international sales. Besides Canada and the U.K., eOne itself will release the film in Australia/New Zealand, Benelux and Spain feeding its own international distribution pipeline. Other sales include Germany to Senator Entertainment, Middle East to Front Row Entertainment, Nigeria toRed Mist, Russia to Carmen Film Group, Turkey to Mars Entertainment Group
Night Moves
Writer/Director: Kelly Reichart Writer: Jonathan Raymond Starring: Dakota Fanning, Jesse Eisenberg, Peter Sarsgaard, Alia Shawkat Publicity: Ginsberg/Libby, Chris Libby North American Sale: UTA Isa: The Match Factory
Tiff Vanguard
The Sacrament
Writer/Director: Ti West Starring: Joe Swanberg, Aj Bowen, Amy Seimetz, Kate Lyn Sheil, Gene Jones Publicity: Dda, Dana Archer, Alice Zhou North American Sale: UTA / CAA Isa: Im Global sold to Pegasus Motion Pictures Distribution Ltd . For China
As of this writing, rather 1 hour ago, Magnolia Pictures, which lost on an earlier bidding war here for Joe, is finalizing a deal for the picture reportedly for seven figures.
Coincidentallywith the beginning of the Toronto Film Festival, the front page of L.A. Times quoted Rena Ronson in an article called "Making history as cameras roll" (print edition) or "Wadjda' director makes her mark in Saudi cinema" (online edition) about Wadjda , (Isa: The Match Factory) last year’s Venice and Telluride film which Rena had spotted at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, where it won a script award. It was written and directed by a woman which is notable in such a male-dominated part of the world. She met the writer-director, Haifaa Mansour, and that led to working with her for the next two years to finance the film. Its $2.5m budget was backed in part by the Rotana Group, the largest media company in the Middle East, owned primarily by Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. The German production company Razor Film owned and operated by Gerhard Meixner and Roman Paul whose first coproduction in 2005, Paradise Now brought them into international prominence and who also picked up last year’s Tiff groundbreaking film from Afghanistan,The Patience Stone, and previously coproduced Waltz With Bashir, came on board and brought German broadcast deals and German film funds as well.
Doha and Film Financing
The fourth panelist was Paul Miller, Head of Film Financing, from the Doha Film Institute , Qatar's first international organization dedicated to film financing, production, education and two film festivals. Doha encourages submission for financing film financing opportunities from anywhere in the world. The Dfi Grants program supports first- and second-time filmmakers in producing and developing their own stories. There are two funding rounds per year. Applications are considered from three regions (basically divided into the Middle East, developing nations and the rest of the world – with some exceptions -- each with different eligibility criteria.
Consideration for funding is open to feature-length films in development, production and post-production, as well as short films in production and post-production. Since 2010, Dfi has provided funding to more than 138 filmmakers.
Beyond the regional grants program, Dfi also invests in a diverse slate of international productions to encourage greater collaboration, mentorship and co‑production opportunities between Gulf countries and the rest of the world. Co-financing applications apply to both Middle Eastern and international feature films, television and web series. Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year.
Four films at Tiff that Doha has helped finance:
Mohammed Malas’s Ladder to Damacus, screening in Tiff’s Contemporary World Cinema section; Jasmila Žbanic’s For Those Who Can Tell No Tales in the Special Presentation section. Both films were co-financed by Dfi. Dfi grant recipients Néjib Belkadhi’s Bastardo and Mais Darwazah’s My Love Awaits Me by the Sea screening in the Contemporary World Cinema and Discovery sections, respectively.
The fifth panelist, Ted Hope, Director of the San Francisco Film Society, a non-profit training, festival, and funding operation is known to everyone from his history with Good Machine (which was acquired by Universal and renamed Focus Features), and from his blog Hope for Film/ Truly Free Film . In his always-inimitable fashion, Ted proposed a new sort of financing, called "staged financing", based on a progressive meeting of certain criterion from development through distribution. This way of financing is similar to the venture capital models of financing. His broad ideas on what has to change with the industry's funding and packaging methods brought the panelists and the audience to heel at attention. I reprint his blog after this because this idea goes against the current grain of financing an entire film which may or may not prove to be the final box office bingo winner it always purports to be when securing full financing.
The Sffs provided some funding to Thomas Oliver's 1982 which is in Tiff this year. Aside from winning Us in Progress’ $60,000 in post-production services at this year’s Champs Elysees Film Festival, 1982 also received Sffs’s $85,000 post production grant and participated in the Sffs’s A2E labs. The film is being represented by Kevin Iwashina’s Preferred Content.
The panel became very animated as Ted Hope and Rena Ronson faced off about whether a film is made for a broad audience or whether, if targeted correctly, it could actually make money with niche audiences. As always, the two of them, both equally astute, brought much to bear on both sides of the argument. And, I, as the panel’s moderator, hereby declare, They are both right.
The broader the audience the more potential for making money.
However, as Ted points out, with crowd sourcing, crowd funding and crowd theatrical exhibition, there are many other ways beyond ticket purchases that filmmakers can offer in order to make money with their targeted audience.
This, as well as the great contributions made by Doha’s Paul Miller and Revolution’s Andrew Eaton could have extended the panel into a full day. Paul Oliver of Cross Creek was the quietest, perhaps most reticent, of the speakers, but he amply demonstrated that he is one who puts his money where his mouth is. His acumen and taste make us all grateful for his existence as he is a pivotal point person in creating works of art that create substantial revenues for a sustainable art house film business.
The audience as well was most enthusiastic with their questions and post panel discussions with panelists who stayed to talk.
Articles Reprinted Here:
Truly Free Film
Staged Financing Must Become Film Biz’s Immediate Goal
Posted: 06 Sep 2013 05:15 Am Pdt
Each day I become more and more convinced that staged financing could be a cure to much of the Film Biz’s ills. Staged financing? What? Is the phrase not exactly center of your conversations right now? Why not?!! Whatsamattawidyou? Don’t you know a good solution when you see one?
Although it already exists in many fields, and even in a few small patches of our own yard, I recognize that a staged financing strategy is not yet the force behind Indieland’s own gardening. I am however growing convinced it could yield a far more fruitful harvest than our current methods. A staged-financing ecosystem can’t be built in a one-off manner though. Although it also does not need to the rule of the realm, it needs a permanent eco-system to support it.
Staged financing is part of a much bigger solution that we urgently need to bring to our industry: a sustainable investor class . We need smart money and need to stop seeking, encouraging, and propagating dumb money. Most film investors get out, win or lose, by their third film (I have been told this and don’t have the stats to back it up now, but if you do, please share — otherwise just trust that is what my experience has shown). The value of most independent money in the film biz is the money itself, and that is not good for anyone.
Staged financing is exactly what it says to be. I know in this world such literalness is a strange thing, but there is it. Staged financing is a funding process that is there for each distinct stage. In comparison, it is the opposite of up-front financing — the type that monopolizes the narrative feature world. I am proposing that we institutionalize the staged-financing process and make it easier to finance your film in drips and drabs. Why am I so bullish on what probably sounds like hell to many? Why do I think it will save indie film? Let’s count the ways.
Staged financing increases the predictability of success. Investors can base their continued commitment on a proof of prinicipal instead of just a pitch. The longer one waits the more they know — of course the longer one waits the lower the chance for their to be the opportunity for investment, so there. The more investors can project or even predict their success, the longer they will stay in the game, and the more that will gather to pay — i.e. more capital at play! Staged financing allows filmmakers and their supporters to pivot based on real world data. The old way had very little it could do when new information hit. Your film (and investment) could be rendered obsolete over night. But that does not have to be a done deal is this new world. This is just one of the many reasons for #1 above of course. Staged financing diversifies the creative class. Wouldn’t it be great if the film biz was actually a meritocracy? Well, if people had to make good movies to complete their financing, wouldn’t that be a bit closer to the case? Staged financing gives all people the opportunity to prove they have a good idea, whether that idea is completed or not. It is not about who you know, but about what you’ve done and can do. Documentary film — compared to the narrative world — already has a great deal of staged financing institutionalized — and benefits from gender proportional representation among directors. Need I say more?Staged financing allows ambitious artistic work to flourish. Instead of just having “commercial elements”, unique and inspiring work can be recognized for the potential it truly has. Instead of being rewarded for being able to earn trust or arrogantly claim to know what one is doing, staged financing allows good work to be rewarded for being good work. Currently, we mistake confidence for capability and those that boast to be able to predict what the end product will be (where there is no way that they will actually know what the 100+ decisions each day will yield), get to play — not the work that delivers something new and wonderful. Staged financing rewards quality over risk mitigation. Staged financing is actually a better form of risk mitigation than the present form that is only based on regurgitating what has already proven successful. When we limit risk by mimicking what has worked in the past, all we are doing is guessing and covering our ass — and this leads to a film culture of movie titles overrun with numerals. We live in an era of abundance, and as comforting as the familiar may be, we have more access to it than ever before. We rarely need the new version of it. We will however need truly original work more and more as time goes on as we will drowning in the repetitive. How will we prove what works? Staged financing, my friend, staged financing. Staged financing creates a better project as it incentivizes the creators every step of the way. Not that you truly need to incentivize those that are in the passion industries for the right reason, but it never hurts to weed out those that are in it for the wrong reason. When your financing is based on your work and not your connections or investors’ fears, you will do all you can to make each stage of financing shine, justify itself, and be truly competitive. Staged financing requires you to walk a series of steps, proving you have earned the right with every advance — and you better do your homework if you don’t want to get left behind. Staged financing requires you choose your initial partners wisely. It’s not just about the terms of the deal that should determine whom your investors are — but that is how we generally act nowadays. Everyone should instead seek value-add investors. You should get more than just money from your investors. You should benefit from their expertise. Filmmakers, agents, lawyers, and managers, often are willing to leap into bed with anyone who offers the most cash — there’s a name for that practice and it should not be film investment. Staged financing means the creators will have “skin in the game”. When it is an up-front finance model, the creators are not working for a payout in success but working just for the upfornt fees (or some semblance thereof); they may have “profit participation” but basically the only anticipated earnings are what is in the budget. It becomes increasingly difficult to motivate the creative team to be engaged in the needed work after the film premieres. Investors have long recognized that this is not the most beneficial arrangement, yet what can they do? The answer my friend, is… yup, you know the song I am singing: everyone loves that staged financing! Staged financing is a time-tested process that has already been adopted by many industries . Staged financing is the modus operandi of Silicon Valley and all the Vc firms. Other industries, from mining onwards, have seen real benefits from the process. Why do we limit our success and not apply proven models to our field? Could it be that somewhere someone is desperately clutching on to what ever paltry power they perceive themselves to possess? Hmmm… If they don’t offer the model you want at the store, build a new model — or maybe even a chain of stores. Staged financing gives producers of quality work more power. The main objection to staged financing is that it gives financiers more power. That is only true if you are making crap. Or mediocre work. If you are making something wonderfully astounding you will never struggle to progress to the next round — and in fact you will be able to improve your terms. And investors won’t complain either, because they now can have to know a good thing when they see one.
So if Staged Financing is this marvelous thing, why have our leaders not yet delivered it to you? Well, they don’t care about you; didn’t you know that?
And if Staged Financing could really save Indie Film, why has the community not constructed this marvelous ecosystem yet? Well, we’ve all been too busy chasing shiny objects and marveling at the reflections fed back of us.
But change is here. We have hope. We can build it better together. And I have already started. The San Francisco Film Society is committed to it. We have others who want to be part of. We are have spots for more to join in. And we are going to help a few select projects really rock this world.
Watch this space. Let’s do it together and truly astonish the world with your awe inspiring work. Just don’t be slack, okay?
Variety, August 21, 2013:
“Rush,” the high-octane car racing film about the public rivalry between legendary Formula One drivers Niki Lauda and James Hunt during the 1970s, has all the markings of tinseltown’s latest flashy biopic, withRon Howard at the wheel, Chris Hemsworth as its star, and Universal Pictures releasing the film Sept. 27. But that assumption couldn’t be further from the truth.
“It is going to be easy for people to think this is a Hollywood movie, and it just is not,” says the upcoming film’s British screenwriter, Peter Morgan, who penned “Frost/Nixon,” also directed by Howard. “It is a British independent film directed by a Hollywood director.” Get Weekly Online News and alerts free to your inbox
As the majors focus more on putting their money behind mega-budgeted projects with built-in brand awareness — sequels, reboots, films based on toys, videogames and comicbooks — filmmakers are finding Hollywood’s studio system rapidly shifting under their feet.
“Because studios are less interested in the midbudget area, there is a massive opportunity for independents to step into that (area) at the moment,” says “Rush” producer Andrew Eaton of London-based Revolution Films.
Indeed, it’s getting harder to set up a midbudget range original project at a studio, even for veteran filmmakers like Howard and his producing partner Brian Grazer, whose Imagine Entertainment has had an overall deal at Universal for 27 years (the longest standing deal U has had in its 100-year history with a production company). That’s forced directors to look elsewhere to tackle the kinds of films now considered too risky to make or the ones that won’t fill retail shelves with merchandise.
Another Hollywood vet, producer Marc Platt, who’s had a production deal at Universal since 1998 after stepping down as its production head, similarly had to find indie financing for his film “2 Guns” after Universal said it would not bankroll the picture but simply distribute it.
With “Rush,” Howard found himself in an entirely new role as the director of a $50 million film that was his first to be independently financed — through a series of bonds, contingencies and pre-sales. He also was a director for hire, replacing Paul Greengrass, who was originally set to bring the showy personalities of Hunt (Hemsworth), a British playboy; and the more serious Austrian champion Lauda (Daniel Bruhl) to the big screen.
“We must champion the fact that this is basically 80% a British film in terms of the people who worked on it, the way it was structured and the way we ran it,” says Eaton. The exec, who was behind such indie films as “24 Hour Party People” and the “Red Riding” series, is modest, and like most Brits politely shies away from the spotlight, tending not to grab credit even when its due.
But he believes “Rush” shows off Blighty’s mettle.
“These are the kinds of films we should be making in the U.K. because we can do it, and we can do it for better value of money,” he says.
Morgan began writing the story of Lauda, a friend of his wife’s, on spec some years ago, intrigued by the driver’s courageous comeback just 40 days after a devastating crash at the 1976 German Grand Prix that severely burned his face and saw him lapse into a coma, and how that might play against Hunt’s notorious womanizing and party lifestyle that gained him rock-star status.
Eager to work with Eaton again after Fernando Meirelles’ “360,” Morgan showed the producer the first draft of “Rush,” and Eaton was hooked.
“Andrew was always going to be a great fit for this project,” Morgan says. “If (the) responsibility was to make this at a price, Andrew could do this. He could make a $50 million film feel like a $150 million film.”
With Greengrass, another Brit, attached to direct, Morgan showed the script to close friend Eric Fellner at his Universal-owned British production outfit Working Title. Fellner, who had worked with him on “Frost/Nixon,” loved the new script and offered it to Universal for funding.
But the studio passed, considering it risky subject matter, given the biopic elements and low profile of F1 racing in the U.S. Universal also didn’t believe the film could be made for the right price. Still Fellner stayed onboard, and his contacts in the F1 arena proved invaluable. His relationships with Ferrari and McLaren thanks to his work on documentary “Senna” enabled “Rush” to enlist the brands in the pic without losing editorial control.
“Ron (Howard) jokes that my major contribution was engine noise,” Fellner says. “Maybe I can take credit for a bit of that.”
Soon after Universal passed, Cross Creek Pictures topper Brian Oliver reached out to Eaton to finance the project — so eager that he offered to put up $2 million before he even signed the deal so that Eaton could order replicas of the 1970s cars to be ready in time for the shoot. He also was instrumental in steering Hemsworth toward the project.
“Typically we don’t spend that kind of money without knowing the movie is going and the budget is done,” Oliver says. “But I was passionate about the script, and I really thought it was a film with a lot of heart, not just a race car movie.”
Cross Creek, also behind “The Ides of March” and “Black Swan,” has quickly become one of Hollywood’s biggest and more unusual financiers of risky films, with coin coming mostly from oil and real estate investments in Texas.
“He’s an unusual maverick in Hollywood because he really fought to get the budget to the highest level he could,” says Eaton of Oliver. “There’s no bullshit with him — he gets stuff done.” Adds Fellner: “Without Brian, the film wouldn’t have gotten off of the ground. He put his money where his mouth is.”
Shortly after funding started coming together, Greengrass dropped off the project due, ironically, to his issues with the budget. Within 24 hours, Morgan and Fellner enticed Howard to come onboard. The financing arrangement intrigued him, but what really attracted Howard was the ability to re-create the world of Formula One in the 1970s “when sex was safe and driving was dangerous,” as he has said in past interviews.
“Ron was incredibly gracious in trusting us to deliver,” Eaton says. “He was very smart about knowing we needed to make this film in a different way. He’d never made a film with a bond before, and never made a film with a contingency before, but he rolled up his sleeves and was ready to learn.” Some of that indie spirit has already rubbed off on Howard, who is now sticking with a mostly British crew on his next project, “In the Heart of the Sea,” including “Rush” cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle and costume designer Julian Day. “Heart” lenses in London.
Exclusive Media came in as the final partner on “Rush,” brought in by Oliver under his deal with Exclusive to jointly finance two projects per year.
Cross Creek split the cost of the pic with Exclusive, with the former putting its own cash in to the pic and the latter financing through a bank loan made against pre-sales generated in 2011 at the Afm, where Howard helped shop the project to buyers. The move proved a success, as Exclusive secured $33 million in foreign pre-sales.
Additionally, Oliver and Eaton structured the project as a U.K.-German co-production, enabling them to secure about $12 million in soft money.
As a result, U.K. rights ended up going to Studiocanal. Universal agreed to distribute “Rush” in the U.S. through its output deal with Cross Creek.
Eaton pressed to put all of the money raised on the screen. “Rush” became the highest-budget film he had ever worked with after 2000’s “The Claim,” which cost $18 million to produce.
“(‘Rush’) was financed in exactly the same way we finance every independent film, and we approached shooting in the same way as we do everything — you try to put as much money as you can onscreen,” Eaton says. “It’s about not wasting money on things you don’t need, like private jets and extravagances.”
Hollywood has tried to bring to life the world of Formula One before.
Sylvester Stallone directed “Driven,” which originally was set in the world of F1, before he changed course and based it on rival Cart racing, instead.
The reason? To gain access to F1, filmmakers must first get the greenlight from the often polarizing Bernie Ecclestone, the 82-year-old billionaire who holds a tight grip on the racing league that has long counted the elite as fans, including Carlos Slim, the world’s richest man, and celebs including Michael Fassbender, Patrick Dempsey, Gordon Ramsey, George Lucas, and Cirque de Soleil founder Guy Laliberte.
Although Stallone tried to gain Ecclestone’s approval, “I apologize to fans of Formula 1, but there is a certain individual there who runs the sport that has his own agenda,” Stallone said in 2000. “F1 is very formal, and it’s very hard to get to know people.”
David Cronenberg also planned to direct a tentpole around F1 for Paramount, in 1986, with the director scouting the project by attending Grand Prix races in Australia and Mexico. The film, “Red Cars,” would have revolved around American driver Phil Hill winning the world championship for Ferrari in 1961. Plans were shelved when Ecclestone decided not to support the project. Instead, Cronenberg published a limited edition art book based on the screenplay in 2005.
One of the few cinematic standouts so far is Asif Kapadia’s documentary “Senna,” about the charismatic Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna, killed in a race in 1994 that’s show in the docu. “Senna” went on to earn $8.2 million, and helped educate viewers of the sport by focusing not on the races but Senna’s iconic presence and his impact on pop culture.
“Rush” is looking to put a spotlight on the personalities behind the wheel and the often riveting rivalries between drivers — what many consider the real draw to the sport. Bruhl has compared them to “modern knights constantly facing death.”
As the film races toward its September release — it will be shown at the Toronto Film Festival out of competition — Howard has screened it for not only racing fans but Formula One, itself.
He recently showed the film to a group of F1 drivers (including Lauda, Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Felipe Massa) at Germany’s Grand Prix, calling that audience the toughest test so far, and comparing the experience to screening “Apollo 13” to Nasa’s astronauts and mission controllers in 1995.
In his efforts to promote the film, Howard has called the Hunt-Lauda rivalry one of the greatest in all of sports. “Their story is so remarkable, you (could) only do it if it was true, because people wouldn’t quite believe it. They were willing to risk their lives to attain this elite status. They paid a price for it, but they defined themselves.”
Morgan also has been doing his part to reassure F1 fans that the film is authentic, stressing that it’s about the people in the cars, and not the sport itself.
Any way the wheel’s spun, it’s clear the film’s overall success will largely be driven by how it plays overseas. “Rush” will need to appeal to an international audience that’s more familiar with F1 — a sport second in popularity only to soccer — than to those in the U.S.
But Howard needs to hook moviegoers closer to home — making the American director’s job a much tougher sell.
It’s not really that surprising that there’s nothing all that American about “Rush.”
Formula One is still struggling to find an audience in the U.S. It’s looking to change that through a new $3 million broadcasting deal with NBC Sports that airs 13 races on the cable channel, two on CNBC, and four on NBC. The Monaco Grand Prix was the first of four F1 races to air live on NBC this year, with the final race taking place Nov. 24 from Brazil.
Ratings have averaged a 0.3 rating, although the Monaco race was watched by 1.5 million viewers, making it the most-watched Formula One race on U.S. television in six years, and up 40% over last year’s race when it aired on Speed TV, Nielsen said.
Promos have emphasized the speed of F1’s jetfighter cars, its international appeal and Olympics-like profiles of the drivers.
Formula One also is looking to rev up new fans in the U.S. through the opening of its first permanent track in Austin, Texas, last year, known as the Circuit of the Americas. Howard attended its first race, where Lauda also roamed the track’s garages.
What’s ironic is that Howard isn’t a very good driver. He proved that recently racing around the track of BBC’s hit show “Top Gear” to promote “Rush,” ending up in second to last place on the series’ celebrity leader board — behind Genesis’ Mike Rutherford.
Host Jeremy Clarkson was quick to mock him, saying “We finally found something you can’t do. Good at directing, brilliant in ‘Happy Days,’ a charming human being — but utterly crap at driving.”
Ron Howard's Risky Formula One Movie, 'Rush'
Can this Euro-centric car racing film play in the U.S.?
By Rachel Dodes Conn
Ron Howard's films, like "Apollo 13" and "Frost/Nixon," typically deal with issues very familiar to American audiences. His latest project, Mr. Howard's first independently financed film, is a bit of a departure: "Rush" chronicles the rivalry between Austrian Formula One racer Niki Lauda and his nemesis, the British driver James Hunt, over the course of the historic 1976 season. While competing in Nürburg, Germany during treacherous weather conditions, Mr. Lauda (Daniel Brühl, right) crashed his Ferrari and sustained severe burns to his face and lungs. Yet, fueled by a desire to beat Mr. Hunt (Chris Hemsworth, above), a playboy type whose wife (Olivia Wilde) ran off with Richard Burton, Mr. Lauda was back in his car just six weeks later—still wearing his bandages—to race against him in the Italian Grand Prix.
When Mr. Howard received the script on spec from screenwriter Peter Morgan ("Frost/Nixon," "The Last King of Scotland"), he wasn't a Formula One fan and didn't know who Messrs. Hunt and Lauda were. "I looked them up on Wikipedia," he admits. But as he read about the racers' personalities, he started to see broader themes that would appeal to U.S. moviegoers. "Maybe this is the American in me identifying this," he says, "but both these guys are utterly and entirely individuals—there was no Yoda telling them to seek their higher self."
For Mr. Howard, the process of researching "Rush" was surprisingly similar to learning about space travel for his "Apollo 13," because he found himself having to make arcane automotive engineering terms accessible to viewers. "It was really fun to understand a sport that combines cutting-edge technology with very dangerous competition," he says. "The visceral, cool and sexy element offered a kind of cinematic experience that nowadays exists only with sci-fi."
Formula One isn't nearly as popular in the U.S. as Nascar, and the subject matter is likelier to play well overseas, where the film's financing came from. It premiered Monday, in London, a few weeks before its U.S. opening. The filmmakers say it's more than just a sports picture, and they expect it to appeal to women as well as men.
Saudi Female Filmmaker Succeeds In Making A Movie About A Girl Who Wants A Bicycle
Los Angeles Times
By Rebecca Keegan
Sept. 6, 2013
In a country where women can't freely move around, Haifaa Mansour covertly films the story of a girl's quest for a bicycle.
The production lost two days to sandstorms. The crew faced a last-minute scramble when the nervous owner of a mall changed his mind about allowing filming there. Some days locals chased the cameras away; other days they brought platters of lamb and rice to the set, and asked to be extras.
Meanwhile, the director hid in a van, speaking to her cast via walkie-talkie. In Saudi Arabia, where driving a car is a subversive act for a woman, a 39-year-old mother of two has done something remarkable: written and directed what her distributor believes is the first feature film shot entirely in the ultraconservative kingdom.
Haifaa Mansour is the director of "Wadjda," a drama about a plucky 10-year-old girl who enrolls in a Koran recitation competition in order to win money for a bicycle she's forbidden by law to ride.
Like her young protagonist, Mansour's own story is one of feminine moxie.
In a sly protest of the country's ban on women behind the wheel, she drove herself to her wedding in a golf cart. Because women in Saudi Arabia can't mingle publicly with men outside their families, she shot her movie covertly on the streets of the capital, Riyadh. With movie theaters banned, she screened "Wadjda" in two foreign embassies and a cultural center.
Petite, self-assured, wearing white high-tops and blue nail polish, Mansour is modern in both her fashion and bearing. She speaks English quickly and colloquially, dropping frequent "you knows" into conversation. And she isn't afraid to counter misperceptions about her homeland, as when she gently corrected Bill Maher for calling Mecca the Saudi capital during a recent appearance on his HBO show.
Laced with empathy and humor, "Wadjda" is a quietly provocative portrait of a culture that straddles the centuries, where men wear the ancient white thobe but carry the latest iPads and women hold important jobs as doctors and news anchors but have yet to vote in an election.
"I didn't want to make a movie about women being raped or stoned," Mansour said in an interview in Beverly Hills in June. "For me it is the everyday life, how it's hard. For me, it was hard sometimes to go to work because I cannot find transportation. Things like that build up and break a woman."
The eighth of 12 children of a poet, Mansour grew up in a small town in a home that she describes as nurturing for a little girl.
"My family is very traditional, but my parents are very supportive, very kind," she said. "I never felt I can't do things because I'm a woman."
When Mansour was a teen, her mother removed the light veil she wore while picking her daughter up from school, a gesture that mortified the young woman at the time, but empowers her when she reflects on it now.
Though movie theaters have been shuttered in Saudi Arabia for decades for religious reasons, Mansour said her father, like others, often rented VHS tapes at Blockbuster for the family to watch -- she grew up on Jackie Chan movies, Bollywood productions, Egyptian cinema and Disney animated films. "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" was a particular favorite.
"In small-town Saudi, there is nothing to do. You don't get to exercise your emotions because nothing much is happening, you know?" she said. "So to see people falling in love and fighting, it's so powerful, you see beyond your small town."
After earning her bachelor's degree in comparative literature at the American University in Cairo, she returned to Saudi Arabia but quickly felt stymied.
"Going back to Saudi as a young woman, trying to assert yourself in the workplace, you have all those ideas … and all of a sudden you realize because you are a woman you are not heard," she said. "It was such a frustrating moment in my life. It was as if you are screaming in a vacuum."
The idea of women holding jobs still unnerves some Saudi men -- writer Abdullah Mohammed Daoud recently encouraged his more than 97,000 Twitter followers to sexually harass female grocery store clerks to intimidate women from working.
Recalling the freedom she found in movies, Mansour decided to make a short film with her siblings serving as cast and crew, a thriller about a male serial killer who hides under the black abaya worn by Muslim women. Her work -- two more shorts, a documentary and a stint hosting a talk show for a Lebanese network -- focused largely on the untold stories of Saudi women.
In 2005, at a U.S. embassy screening of her documentary, "Women Without Shadows," Mansour met her future husband, American diplomat Bradley Neimann. They now have two children, 2 and 5, and live in Bahrain, where Neimann works for the State Department.
When her husband was posted in Australia, Mansour pursued a master's in film studies at the University of Sydney, and wrote the script that became "Wadjda."
The story was inspired by her now teenage niece, who has tamped down her rambunctious personality to fit into Saudi norms.
"I thought, 'Wow, a woman writer from Saudi Arabia won?'" Rena Ronson said. "I had to meet her. She was so open and tenacious and smart."When Mansour's script for "Wadjda" won an award at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, it caught the eye of the co-head of the independent film group at United Talent Agency.
Over the next two years Ronson helped Mansour secure financing for her film, which cost a little less than $2.5 million. The primary obstacle, as far as many potential Middle Eastern producers were concerned, was Mansour's desire to shoot in Saudi Arabia, which she felt lent her story authenticity.
The production finally won the tacit approval of the Saudi government -- one of its backers is Rotana Group, an entertainment company primarily owned by Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. Another major financier is the German company Razor Film.
Finding actors was another hurdle. Mansour and her producers recruited child performers through small companies that hire folkloric dancers for the Eid holidays. Many of their parents were uncomfortable with a movie about empowering women.
A week before she was scheduled to start shooting, Mansour still hadn't cast her title character when 12-year-old Waad Mohammed entered the room in blue jeans, with headphones clapped over her ears. Singing along to Justin Bieber, she won over Mansour with her sweet singing voice and tomboyish style.
The movie's half-German, half-Saudi crew worked around the rhythms of Saudi life, using cellphone apps that alerted them of the five daily prayer calls. The Germans carried notebooks; the Saudis relied on oral planning.
On the first day of shooting, a start time of 7:20 a.m. came and went. "I don't know what we were thinking," said German producer Roman Paul. "I don't think 7:20 exists in Saudi time. We Germans learned to relax, and the Saudis learned that there is a benefit to doing things at a certain time."
Despite tension on the set -- both from disapproving observers and from the German and Saudi crews learning to work together -- Mansour was buoyant, Paul said.
"She's very fast in overcoming new difficulties, and in an upbeat spirit," Paul said.
Last summer "Wadjda" premiered at the Venice and Telluride film festivals, earning praise for Mansour's subtle direction and a U.S. release from Sony Pictures Classics, which handled the Oscar-winning 2011 Iranian drama "A Separation," about the dissolution of a marriage.
"'A Separation' was such an eye-opener to me in the sense that there were people questioning whether the film went too specific into the Iranian culture," said Michael Barker, co-president and co-founder of the Sony unit. "But if the overall story has a universal appeal, in 'Wadjda' it's about parents and kids and restrictions and freedom, that's something we can all relate to."
Sony Classics has been showing the film to noted feminists -- Gloria Steinem and Queen Noor of Jordan both attended screenings -- and will release it in the U.S. slowly over the fall, starting Sept. 13. (The movie premiered in multiple European countries this summer.)
Mansour said she plans to work in Saudi Arabia again. For her, screening her movie in the kingdom was a high.
"Film is about uplifting, embracing the love of life, it's about moving ahead, it's about victory," she said. "It's not about defeat."
One victory has already been won. This spring, a new law went into effect: With some restrictions, Saudi women are now allowed to ride bicycles.
- 9/15/2013
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Interview Seb Patrick 13 Sep 2013 - 06:58
Ahead of the release of F1 biopic Rush, we chat to co-star Daniel Bruhl about playing the legendary driver Niki Lauda...
Spanish-born German actor Daniel Brühl has been something of an indie cinema darling for a decade, now, following his breakthrough in the delightful Goodbye, Lenin in 2003. He came to the wider attention of English-speaking audiences with a superb turn in Inglourious Basterds, but 2013 looks to be the year in which he'll announce himself as a major, and prominent, talent. Later this year he plays Wikileaks spokesman Daniel Domscheit-Berg alongside Benedict Cumberbatch in The Fifth Estate, and it's also being rumoured that he'll be appearing in Michael Winterbottom's The Face of An Angel, based on the Amanda Knox murder trial.
Before all of that, though, comes his turn as 1970s racing driver Niki Lauda in Ron Howard's enthralling biopic Rush. Brühl's performance is dazzling,...
Ahead of the release of F1 biopic Rush, we chat to co-star Daniel Bruhl about playing the legendary driver Niki Lauda...
Spanish-born German actor Daniel Brühl has been something of an indie cinema darling for a decade, now, following his breakthrough in the delightful Goodbye, Lenin in 2003. He came to the wider attention of English-speaking audiences with a superb turn in Inglourious Basterds, but 2013 looks to be the year in which he'll announce himself as a major, and prominent, talent. Later this year he plays Wikileaks spokesman Daniel Domscheit-Berg alongside Benedict Cumberbatch in The Fifth Estate, and it's also being rumoured that he'll be appearing in Michael Winterbottom's The Face of An Angel, based on the Amanda Knox murder trial.
Before all of that, though, comes his turn as 1970s racing driver Niki Lauda in Ron Howard's enthralling biopic Rush. Brühl's performance is dazzling,...
- 9/11/2013
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
Though Rush director Ron Howard told us that German investors were keen for an American movie star to play the role of Niki Lauda in the forthcoming biopic, any such apprehensions will have since been put to bed, following the sublime performance by Daniel Brühl – and we had the great pleasure of discussing the film with the actor.
Out on September 13th, Rush explores the intense rivalry between Lauda and James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth), which culminated dramatically in the 1976 season. Brühl tells us about his own personal meetings with Lauda – and what the racer had to say of his performance. He also tells us which of the two F1 racers he is more similar to in personality – and who would win in a race between himself and co-star Hemsworth.
What attracted you to Rush and what were your first thoughts when reading the script?
Well, I grew up in Cologne,...
Out on September 13th, Rush explores the intense rivalry between Lauda and James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth), which culminated dramatically in the 1976 season. Brühl tells us about his own personal meetings with Lauda – and what the racer had to say of his performance. He also tells us which of the two F1 racers he is more similar to in personality – and who would win in a race between himself and co-star Hemsworth.
What attracted you to Rush and what were your first thoughts when reading the script?
Well, I grew up in Cologne,...
- 9/11/2013
- by Stefan Pape
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The Spa Grand Prix is the longest track in the F1 calendar with a total length of 7km per lap. Spa is famous for it’s multiple overtaking spots and famous corners such as Eau Rouge and Blanchimot. I personally love the Spa circuit as it always provides an exciting race.
Qualifying
The qualifying this year was a wet affair with some discrepancies in the usual starting order. Both Marussias and Giedo van der Garde managed to get into Q2 because of excellent tyre choices in the wet weather. This meant that both Williams and Toro Roso drivers were out along with Caterham’s Charles Pic and Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez.
Q2 saw the exclusion of the other Caterham driver Giedo van der Garde in 14th, a career best for him, along with the two Marussias of Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton in 15th and 16th place respectively. Sergio Perez...
Qualifying
The qualifying this year was a wet affair with some discrepancies in the usual starting order. Both Marussias and Giedo van der Garde managed to get into Q2 because of excellent tyre choices in the wet weather. This meant that both Williams and Toro Roso drivers were out along with Caterham’s Charles Pic and Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez.
Q2 saw the exclusion of the other Caterham driver Giedo van der Garde in 14th, a career best for him, along with the two Marussias of Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton in 15th and 16th place respectively. Sergio Perez...
- 8/30/2013
- by James Bale
- Obsessed with Film
Rosberg picks up the Pieces
Nico Rosberg took victory in a thrilling British Grand Prix that culminated in a breathless finish that showed what Formula 1 is all about. After a poor start, Rosberg drove a strong race to take it to Vettel following Hamilton’s unfortunate tyre failure, keeping him under pressure and being in the right place to seize the victory from his fellow German when his gearbox failed. After a safety car, he then held off mighty Mark Webber to the flag to win by less than a second, and with Hamilton recovering fantastically to grab fourth place they helped Mercedes take second place in the constructors championship from Ferrari.
Britain provided an astounding race overall under clear skies as Formula 1 boiled over with tyre failures, breakdowns, safety cars and incredible racing to bring the championship to life.
Into the Weekend
The main story going into the British...
Nico Rosberg took victory in a thrilling British Grand Prix that culminated in a breathless finish that showed what Formula 1 is all about. After a poor start, Rosberg drove a strong race to take it to Vettel following Hamilton’s unfortunate tyre failure, keeping him under pressure and being in the right place to seize the victory from his fellow German when his gearbox failed. After a safety car, he then held off mighty Mark Webber to the flag to win by less than a second, and with Hamilton recovering fantastically to grab fourth place they helped Mercedes take second place in the constructors championship from Ferrari.
Britain provided an astounding race overall under clear skies as Formula 1 boiled over with tyre failures, breakdowns, safety cars and incredible racing to bring the championship to life.
Into the Weekend
The main story going into the British...
- 7/1/2013
- by Jonathan Dunn
- Obsessed with Film
The Wall of Champions is perhaps one of the most recognisable walls in Formula 1. It has claimed the cars of many champions over the years such as Hill, Schumacher, Vettel and Jacques Villeneuve the son of the great Gilles Villeneuve whom the Canadian circuit is named after. Partly wet and partly dry, this race weekend was excellent.
Qualifying
Throughout qualifying there was a steady amount of rainfall which helped in mixing the grid up for the race. Q1 saw both Marussia and Caterham drivers out along with Romain Grosjean and Paul Di Resta again. A poor showing from the Force India team as Di Resta had to start out of position again. Romain Grosjean was also put to the back of the grid after he was given a 10 place grid penalty for his collision with Daniel Ricciardo in Monaco. Q2 was disrupted towards the end by Felipe Massa spinning off...
Qualifying
Throughout qualifying there was a steady amount of rainfall which helped in mixing the grid up for the race. Q1 saw both Marussia and Caterham drivers out along with Romain Grosjean and Paul Di Resta again. A poor showing from the Force India team as Di Resta had to start out of position again. Romain Grosjean was also put to the back of the grid after he was given a 10 place grid penalty for his collision with Daniel Ricciardo in Monaco. Q2 was disrupted towards the end by Felipe Massa spinning off...
- 6/12/2013
- by James Bale
- Obsessed with Film
The classic street circuit played host to the sixth round of the championship and always provides an incident or two. Here is the roundup of what happened at the weekend.
Qualifying
Q1 saw Massa fail to set a lap after smashing into the barriers at the first corner. Ferrari tried their best to fix the car in time for qualifying, but the damage was too great. Jules Bianchi suffered car issues and would start in 21st with Massa in 22nd. Max Chilton secured 20th, with Gutierrez 19th, Charles Pic 18th and Paul Di Resta an unexpected 17th. He was unable to pit for a fresh set of intermediate tyres and subsequently lost out on Q2. Q2 saw Maldonado who had been fastest in Q1 only manage16th in his Williams with the Caterham of van der Garde gaining 15th, Caterham’s best qualifying result and he is now starting to show great promise.
Qualifying
Q1 saw Massa fail to set a lap after smashing into the barriers at the first corner. Ferrari tried their best to fix the car in time for qualifying, but the damage was too great. Jules Bianchi suffered car issues and would start in 21st with Massa in 22nd. Max Chilton secured 20th, with Gutierrez 19th, Charles Pic 18th and Paul Di Resta an unexpected 17th. He was unable to pit for a fresh set of intermediate tyres and subsequently lost out on Q2. Q2 saw Maldonado who had been fastest in Q1 only manage16th in his Williams with the Caterham of van der Garde gaining 15th, Caterham’s best qualifying result and he is now starting to show great promise.
- 5/30/2013
- by James Bale
- Obsessed with Film
Rosberg cleans up in Monte Carlo
Nico Rosberg took an untouchable win at his boyhood home this weekend, topping all three practice sessions, storming to pole and then dominating from the front to deliver an excellent win during an incident-strewn race around the streets of Monaco.
Mercedes put their tyre woes behind them as they led from the front, ignoring the unfolding controversy of “test-gate” as they managed the race perfectly, balancing tyre control with pace to get their season back on track with their first victory of 2013. Controlling the pack as they endured two safety car periods and a red flag, Rosberg picked his way through on a two-stop strategy to take an unstoppable victory and collect a handsome trophy, with Hamilton taking a close fourth to take them within just three points of Lotus in the constructors championship.
Into the Weekend
Two weeks after a fairly typical Spanish Grand Prix,...
Nico Rosberg took an untouchable win at his boyhood home this weekend, topping all three practice sessions, storming to pole and then dominating from the front to deliver an excellent win during an incident-strewn race around the streets of Monaco.
Mercedes put their tyre woes behind them as they led from the front, ignoring the unfolding controversy of “test-gate” as they managed the race perfectly, balancing tyre control with pace to get their season back on track with their first victory of 2013. Controlling the pack as they endured two safety car periods and a red flag, Rosberg picked his way through on a two-stop strategy to take an unstoppable victory and collect a handsome trophy, with Hamilton taking a close fourth to take them within just three points of Lotus in the constructors championship.
Into the Weekend
Two weeks after a fairly typical Spanish Grand Prix,...
- 5/27/2013
- by Jonathan Dunn
- Obsessed with Film
The 2013 Monaco Grand Prix came and went on Sunday, with German driver Nico Rosberg winning the day. The other highlight of the day came from all the star sightings in Monaco, from Stacy Keibler to David Hasselhoff. Meanwhile Nicole Scherzinger‘s beau Lewis Hamilton finished the Grand Prix in fourth place, behind Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. “Roscoe putting...Read more»...
- 5/26/2013
- by Peggy Truong
- Celebuzz.com
The Circuit de Catalunya begins the start of the European F1 tour, with a small detour to Canada, and saw host to the 5th round of the championship. Spain is the home to a certain Fernando Alonso and the crowd were certainly out in force to cheer on their driver.
Qualifying
Qualifying saw the usual four cars drop out at the first stage. Giedo van der Garde out-qualified both his teammate and both Marussias to claim 19th ahead of Bianchi, Chilton and teammate Pic in 22nd. Surprisingly both Williams’ were knocked out in Q1 as last year’s winner Pastor Maldonado could only manage 18th behind his rookie teammate Bottas in 17th. Q2 saw both Saubers pick up 15th and 16th with Hulkenberg in front of newcomer Gutierrez. Jenson Button had a terrible qualifying session only managing 14th in the McLaren, not a place he wanted to be in. The...
Qualifying
Qualifying saw the usual four cars drop out at the first stage. Giedo van der Garde out-qualified both his teammate and both Marussias to claim 19th ahead of Bianchi, Chilton and teammate Pic in 22nd. Surprisingly both Williams’ were knocked out in Q1 as last year’s winner Pastor Maldonado could only manage 18th behind his rookie teammate Bottas in 17th. Q2 saw both Saubers pick up 15th and 16th with Hulkenberg in front of newcomer Gutierrez. Jenson Button had a terrible qualifying session only managing 14th in the McLaren, not a place he wanted to be in. The...
- 5/13/2013
- by James Bale
- Obsessed with Film
Bahrain is currently in amidst with protests and civil unrest, yet as with last year the Grand Prix went ahead as planned. Security was increased dramatically around the circuit and it proved effective as no indecencies were reported. The circuit is again a high wear track much like China last week, so there was plenty of pit lane action. Two Drs zones and a multitude of overtaking spots made this race an excellent one to watch.
Qualifying
Q1 saw the battle at the back continue with Caterham finally managing to out-qualify the Marussia of Jules Bianchi. Charles Pic with some new upgrades was able to go nearly a second faster to secure 19th. However he was still half a second off the pace of Gutierrez in 18th and Maldonado, who was surprisingly evicted to 17th by Jean-Eric Vergne. Vergne narrowly avoided the first drop with his 16th place, behind the second Williams of Bottas.
Qualifying
Q1 saw the battle at the back continue with Caterham finally managing to out-qualify the Marussia of Jules Bianchi. Charles Pic with some new upgrades was able to go nearly a second faster to secure 19th. However he was still half a second off the pace of Gutierrez in 18th and Maldonado, who was surprisingly evicted to 17th by Jean-Eric Vergne. Vergne narrowly avoided the first drop with his 16th place, behind the second Williams of Bottas.
- 4/23/2013
- by James Bale
- Obsessed with Film
The Chinese Gp has been on the F1 calendar for nine years and features a bit of everything. From some of the most technical corners to one of the longest straights, China has it all. The circuit features two Drs zones which should encourage a lot of overtaking throughout the race. Tyres are a big thing here as the circuit wears more on the front than the rear, meaning that teams have to plan their strategies to utilise the tyres as efficiently as possible.
Qualifying
Q1 saw both Caterhams and the Marussias drop out as usual. Jules Bianchi out-shined his teammate Max Chilton again by being almost a second faster. He is most certainly one to watch for the future. He is in the Ferrari program after all. Marussia have done some excellent work to get their car significantly quicker than the Caterhams. The other new boys to F1, Gutierrez...
Qualifying
Q1 saw both Caterhams and the Marussias drop out as usual. Jules Bianchi out-shined his teammate Max Chilton again by being almost a second faster. He is most certainly one to watch for the future. He is in the Ferrari program after all. Marussia have done some excellent work to get their car significantly quicker than the Caterhams. The other new boys to F1, Gutierrez...
- 4/16/2013
- by James Bale
- Obsessed with Film
The Malaysian Grand Prix usually doesn’t fail to provide a thrilling race. Last year we saw Fernando Alonso holding off youngster Sergio Perez to win in wet weather, and this time round we saw a slightly different picture. Plagued by controversy it was more the after story rather than the race itself grabbing the headlines. So let us delve into what happened over the weekend’s action.
Qualifying
Qualifying produced a mixed bag of results with it being dry for Q1 and the beginning of Q2, and wet for the rest of the hour. Q1 saw the usual suspects fail to qualify for Q2. Marussia won the battle of back end with Jules Bianchi gaining 19th nearly a second quicker that Charles Pic in the Caterham who could only manage 20th. Max Chilton wasn’t too far off Pic’s pace getting 21st and van der Garde occupied 22nd.
Qualifying
Qualifying produced a mixed bag of results with it being dry for Q1 and the beginning of Q2, and wet for the rest of the hour. Q1 saw the usual suspects fail to qualify for Q2. Marussia won the battle of back end with Jules Bianchi gaining 19th nearly a second quicker that Charles Pic in the Caterham who could only manage 20th. Max Chilton wasn’t too far off Pic’s pace getting 21st and van der Garde occupied 22nd.
- 3/26/2013
- by James Bale
- Obsessed with Film
Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel has caused controversy at this weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix after ignoring his team’s instructions to maintain formation and allow his partner Mark Webber to drive home to victory.
Webber led the race after the final pit stops and the drivers were told to hold position to the end of the race but Vettel passed Webber with only thirteen laps remaining. Britain’s Lewis Hamilton finished third ahead of his Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg, who followed the instruction of his team to remain behind the former World Champion.
Vettel has apologised for the situation saying he did not hear the instruction but it hasn’t eased tensions in the Red Bull camp angering both his team and his fellow driver Mark Webber who was supposed to win the race. The decision was made to keep Webber up front late into the race but...
Webber led the race after the final pit stops and the drivers were told to hold position to the end of the race but Vettel passed Webber with only thirteen laps remaining. Britain’s Lewis Hamilton finished third ahead of his Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg, who followed the instruction of his team to remain behind the former World Champion.
Vettel has apologised for the situation saying he did not hear the instruction but it hasn’t eased tensions in the Red Bull camp angering both his team and his fellow driver Mark Webber who was supposed to win the race. The decision was made to keep Webber up front late into the race but...
- 3/25/2013
- by Matt Aspin
- Obsessed with Film
A new season brings a new look to Formula 1, slightly new rules, one less team and a host of new drivers. The stepped noses have gone! No more ugly cars for us to look at. Double Drs made famous by Mercedes is now banned for all the teams this season. As there is one less team this year, six cars instead of seven will be eliminated in each stage of qualifying which will still leave the final 10 to battle out for the pole position.
So let’s take a look at the drivers and teams for this year.
Red Bull
1 – Sebastian Vettel, 2 – Mark Webber
The same team from last year are back to hopefully maintain their run of excellent results not only in the constructors championship, but for three time and current reigning world champion Vettel.
Ferrari
3 – Fernando Alonso, 4 – Felipe Massa
Ferrari stick to their same driver line up which...
So let’s take a look at the drivers and teams for this year.
Red Bull
1 – Sebastian Vettel, 2 – Mark Webber
The same team from last year are back to hopefully maintain their run of excellent results not only in the constructors championship, but for three time and current reigning world champion Vettel.
Ferrari
3 – Fernando Alonso, 4 – Felipe Massa
Ferrari stick to their same driver line up which...
- 3/18/2013
- by James Bale
- Obsessed with Film
Lotus Racing’s Kimi Raikkonen showed exactly why he has been considered a title contender in pre-season with a solid win in Melbourne.
The 2007 world champion finished more than 12 seconds ahead of Fernando Alonso, whose Ferrari showed great pace in the dry conditions. Sebastian Vettel, who had started on pole, finished third.
Vettel’s Red Bull team will be disheartened by their lack of pace, struggling in particular with tyre degradation. “After a good two-three laps the tyres were falling apart,” said the third-placed German. “We couldn’t go as long as other people.”
It was a world away from the latter half of last season, where a Red Bull pole position had almost guaranteed a Red Bull win. Mark Webber, who had an awful start in what could be his last home Grand Prix, passed the chequered flag in sixth place.
Mercedes, too, will be slightly disappointed by the result.
The 2007 world champion finished more than 12 seconds ahead of Fernando Alonso, whose Ferrari showed great pace in the dry conditions. Sebastian Vettel, who had started on pole, finished third.
Vettel’s Red Bull team will be disheartened by their lack of pace, struggling in particular with tyre degradation. “After a good two-three laps the tyres were falling apart,” said the third-placed German. “We couldn’t go as long as other people.”
It was a world away from the latter half of last season, where a Red Bull pole position had almost guaranteed a Red Bull win. Mark Webber, who had an awful start in what could be his last home Grand Prix, passed the chequered flag in sixth place.
Mercedes, too, will be slightly disappointed by the result.
- 3/17/2013
- by Jamie Cotton
- Obsessed with Film
After a break of several months, the start of the new Formula One season dawns upon us once again, with less than a fortnight remaining until the first race of the year in Australia.
Last season was, without a doubt, one of the most riveting few months of Formula One in recent history, giving the upcoming 2013 season a lot to live up to.
The first seven races were won by seven different drivers, from usual suspects like Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso to first-time victors such as Nico Rosberg and Pastor Maldonado. It wasn’t until June that Alonso became the first driver his second race, and began to take a lead in the driver’s championship.
Alonso maintained his lead until race sixteen, when defending champion Vettel, after a poor start to the season, took advantage of his rival’s retirements in Belgium and Japan to usurp him, ultimately...
Last season was, without a doubt, one of the most riveting few months of Formula One in recent history, giving the upcoming 2013 season a lot to live up to.
The first seven races were won by seven different drivers, from usual suspects like Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso to first-time victors such as Nico Rosberg and Pastor Maldonado. It wasn’t until June that Alonso became the first driver his second race, and began to take a lead in the driver’s championship.
Alonso maintained his lead until race sixteen, when defending champion Vettel, after a poor start to the season, took advantage of his rival’s retirements in Belgium and Japan to usurp him, ultimately...
- 3/6/2013
- by Alex Antliff
- Obsessed with Film
While it could be argued that the 2012 Formula One season was one of the best on record, it ended up being a two horse race between the usual suspects – Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel.
Yes I admit it was a turn out for the books after the first seven races were won by seven different drivers, including a first win for Mercedes Amg and Nico Rosberg. However, from the European Gp onwards it was plain to see that McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull had built the best cars and even a rejuvanated Lotus with grumpy Kimi at the wheel could not stop the same old train running.
However, that said the end of 2012 saw some significant changes: one driver has retired again – that’s you Schumacher, one driver has decided to move between teams faster than Martin Brundle on a grid walk – that’s you Ferrari Simulator Tester Pedro De La Rosa.
Yes I admit it was a turn out for the books after the first seven races were won by seven different drivers, including a first win for Mercedes Amg and Nico Rosberg. However, from the European Gp onwards it was plain to see that McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull had built the best cars and even a rejuvanated Lotus with grumpy Kimi at the wheel could not stop the same old train running.
However, that said the end of 2012 saw some significant changes: one driver has retired again – that’s you Schumacher, one driver has decided to move between teams faster than Martin Brundle on a grid walk – that’s you Ferrari Simulator Tester Pedro De La Rosa.
- 2/21/2013
- by Joe Hudson
- Obsessed with Film
Lewis Hamilton didn't get off to a good start in Formula One preseason trials Wednesday. Fox Sports reports, after a brake failure, the race car driver crashed his Mercedes into the wall.
Traveling at 170 miles per hour at the time of the collision, Hamilton was miraculously unhurt, climbing from the wrecked car and walking away. He's the second member of his team to go down in the trials. Teammate Nico Rosberg's car erupted in flames during a test run Tuesday, due to an electrical problem, and has yet to be repaired.
Mercedes tweeted that work continues on Hamilton's car, but in the meantime his replacement, Sergio Perez, has taken to the track.
Traveling at 170 miles per hour at the time of the collision, Hamilton was miraculously unhurt, climbing from the wrecked car and walking away. He's the second member of his team to go down in the trials. Teammate Nico Rosberg's car erupted in flames during a test run Tuesday, due to an electrical problem, and has yet to be repaired.
Mercedes tweeted that work continues on Hamilton's car, but in the meantime his replacement, Sergio Perez, has taken to the track.
- 2/7/2013
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
An eighth different driver winning a race and this time it was the ever out spoken Kimi Raikkonen of Lotus. The Lotus team (formally Renault of course) hadn’t won a race since 2008, and it was Raikkonen’s first win since 2009 when he left to try his hand at rallying. He had mixed results in rallying so it is good to see the “Ice Man” back on top in F1.
In Other News…
The Fia have warned all the drivers about bad language during live interviews for the media. This comes about after both Raikkonen and Vettel swore in their post podium interview with David Coulthard. A spokesman for the Fia said there could be disciplinary actions in the future if another instance of bad language occurs during a live broadcast.
Caterham have a new Team Principal. Cyril Abiteboul has become the youngest team boss at just 35 years old. He’s younger than Michael Schumacher!
In Other News…
The Fia have warned all the drivers about bad language during live interviews for the media. This comes about after both Raikkonen and Vettel swore in their post podium interview with David Coulthard. A spokesman for the Fia said there could be disciplinary actions in the future if another instance of bad language occurs during a live broadcast.
Caterham have a new Team Principal. Cyril Abiteboul has become the youngest team boss at just 35 years old. He’s younger than Michael Schumacher!
- 11/12/2012
- by James Bale
- Obsessed with Film
Kimi Raikkonen won the 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix following Lewis Hamilton’s retirement and a late surge from Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari, his first win since the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix for Ferrari.
Raikkonen had looked quick all weekend – in practice, Lotus had displayed a strong race pace and the general consensus amongst the paddock was that Lotus were going to be a dark horse this weekend.
The same story showed again on Saturday however, as Lotus were again unable to deliver that single qualifying lap to put them at the front of the grid to challenge initially for the race win.
Following a poor start by Mark Webber, Kimi was able to jump into 2nd place before challenging Hamilton’s McLaren on the 2nd lap of the race. Meanwhile Alonso jumped Button for 5th place and then passed Webber for 4th.
Sebastian Vettel’s Red Bull had been disqualified from...
Raikkonen had looked quick all weekend – in practice, Lotus had displayed a strong race pace and the general consensus amongst the paddock was that Lotus were going to be a dark horse this weekend.
The same story showed again on Saturday however, as Lotus were again unable to deliver that single qualifying lap to put them at the front of the grid to challenge initially for the race win.
Following a poor start by Mark Webber, Kimi was able to jump into 2nd place before challenging Hamilton’s McLaren on the 2nd lap of the race. Meanwhile Alonso jumped Button for 5th place and then passed Webber for 4th.
Sebastian Vettel’s Red Bull had been disqualified from...
- 11/6/2012
- by Gareth Davies
- Obsessed with Film
The news was not a shock. Eddie Jordan on the BBC website was the first to reveal Hamilton and Mercedes were in negotiations, and with each passing interview with Martin Whitmarsh or Lewis Hamilton, I never had the feeling either British party was going all in to sign on the dotted line.
The first thought that comes to mind is money. Reports are mixed as to which team – McLaren or Mercedes – offered the largest basic salary. The Telegraph pointed to sources saying Mercedes were offering close to £60million over three years, an increase on Hamilton’s current £15million a season deal with McLaren. The Woking based team, on the other hand, were looking to make economies. Ron Dennis said his contract was signed during less austere times, indicating McLaren were looking to offer the former World Champions less money. The signing of the talented Sergio Perez, backed by Carlos Slim’s billions,...
The first thought that comes to mind is money. Reports are mixed as to which team – McLaren or Mercedes – offered the largest basic salary. The Telegraph pointed to sources saying Mercedes were offering close to £60million over three years, an increase on Hamilton’s current £15million a season deal with McLaren. The Woking based team, on the other hand, were looking to make economies. Ron Dennis said his contract was signed during less austere times, indicating McLaren were looking to offer the former World Champions less money. The signing of the talented Sergio Perez, backed by Carlos Slim’s billions,...
- 9/30/2012
- by Alan Frost
- Obsessed with Film
The summer break for the Formula 1 drivers is now over. They have had their time to relax and are greeted by one of the most historic race tracks in the calendar. Spa Francorchamps. The legendary circuit has been part of F1 for well over 60 years (in one form or another) and has always pleased the crowds with great racing, great overtaking and an occasional large incident. The race at the weekend was certainly all of these.
Friday practice is one of those things that you rarely watch. If there isn’t a good news breakfast show on or an early film you wouldn’t even know it was there. Spa’s was utterly washed out. Nothing massively interesting happened bar what could only be described as the longest pad I have ever heard a commentator do. Top marks to James Allen and Jaime Alguersuari (former Toro Rosso driver from 2009 to...
Friday practice is one of those things that you rarely watch. If there isn’t a good news breakfast show on or an early film you wouldn’t even know it was there. Spa’s was utterly washed out. Nothing massively interesting happened bar what could only be described as the longest pad I have ever heard a commentator do. Top marks to James Allen and Jaime Alguersuari (former Toro Rosso driver from 2009 to...
- 9/4/2012
- by James Bale
- Obsessed with Film
At a wet Hockenheim, Fernando Alonso stormed to pole for Sunday’s German Grand Prix. Sebastien Vettel will join him on the front row, while a five place grid penalty means Mark Webber will start eighth, with Michael Schumacher and Niko Hulkenberg making it three Germans in the top 4.
Jenson Button is 6th, Lewis Hamilton will be 7th, and Paul Di Resta will be 9th.
Q1 started dry but rain came down in Q2, and teams quickly moved from dry to intermediate, and finally full wet tyres. The lap times demonstrated the unpredictability that rain brings, especially when race day is set to be dry, as the teams are locked into their set up from the end of qualifying. Do they gamble with a dry set up that will make them slow in the race, or go for grid position hoping the notoriously poor weather forecasts that accompany F1 races turn out to be wrong?...
Jenson Button is 6th, Lewis Hamilton will be 7th, and Paul Di Resta will be 9th.
Q1 started dry but rain came down in Q2, and teams quickly moved from dry to intermediate, and finally full wet tyres. The lap times demonstrated the unpredictability that rain brings, especially when race day is set to be dry, as the teams are locked into their set up from the end of qualifying. Do they gamble with a dry set up that will make them slow in the race, or go for grid position hoping the notoriously poor weather forecasts that accompany F1 races turn out to be wrong?...
- 7/22/2012
- by Alan Frost
- Obsessed with Film
Fernando Alonso once again enjoyed his day in the rain, mastering Hockenheim and taking pole by nearly half a second. Red Bull tried to challenge but Alonso not only held them off with his lap, he set the final lap of the day and beat his own time leaving a large gap with the conditions.
Vettel and Webber line up 2nd and 3rd respectively with good laps considering the weather conditions, a lot of drivers venturing into gravel traps and run off areas. Michael Schumacher followed them with an impressive showing considering his team mate couldn’t even get out of Q2 in the Mercedes.
The McLarens struggled to get their tyres working in the wet conditions, Button and Hamilton starting 7th and 8th but they may be set up for a dry race so should be Ok for tomorrow. Force India looked very strong considering they are a mid-pack team,...
Vettel and Webber line up 2nd and 3rd respectively with good laps considering the weather conditions, a lot of drivers venturing into gravel traps and run off areas. Michael Schumacher followed them with an impressive showing considering his team mate couldn’t even get out of Q2 in the Mercedes.
The McLarens struggled to get their tyres working in the wet conditions, Button and Hamilton starting 7th and 8th but they may be set up for a dry race so should be Ok for tomorrow. Force India looked very strong considering they are a mid-pack team,...
- 7/21/2012
- by Jon Bentham
- Obsessed with Film
Sebastian Vettel has taken everyone’s breath away with a sublime one-lap stint at the end of Qualifying to start tomorrow’s race at the front. His nearest challenger was Lewis Hamilton but he was 0.3 of a second away from what could only be described as a perfect lap of Valencia. This put Vettel alongside the likes of Alain Prost and Jim Clark, and only at 24 this is shaping to be a career to match or even eclipse that of the greats.
In Q1, Red Bull’s Mark Webber struggled with a broken Drs rear wing so lost out on over a second a lap with it’s use. This left him in the clutches of the mid-pack teams but, suprisingly, Heikki Kovalainen also took advantage of it and pipped Webber and Vergne to steal 17th place on his final lap as the Chequered flag came down.
Timo Glock hasn...
In Q1, Red Bull’s Mark Webber struggled with a broken Drs rear wing so lost out on over a second a lap with it’s use. This left him in the clutches of the mid-pack teams but, suprisingly, Heikki Kovalainen also took advantage of it and pipped Webber and Vergne to steal 17th place on his final lap as the Chequered flag came down.
Timo Glock hasn...
- 6/23/2012
- by Jon Bentham
- Obsessed with Film
Practice reveals the teething problems in Melbourne.
The first practice session ahead of the Australian Grand Prix started in the rain on Friday morning (UK time). The teams were slow to get their cars out on the track but after some adjustments and tyre changes most of the drivers got some practice time.
The Hispania Racing Team (Hrt) barely used their car during pre-season testing and Pedro de la Rosa hadn’t even driven it before the green light at Friday’s session. His team-mate Narain Karthikeyan is joining him in putting on a smile for the cameras, but inside they both must know how difficult this season will be. The Indian had to pull his car up on the side of the road when it broke down a few minutes into their first time out on the damp track. Hrt will clearly be using Sunday’s race as a...
The first practice session ahead of the Australian Grand Prix started in the rain on Friday morning (UK time). The teams were slow to get their cars out on the track but after some adjustments and tyre changes most of the drivers got some practice time.
The Hispania Racing Team (Hrt) barely used their car during pre-season testing and Pedro de la Rosa hadn’t even driven it before the green light at Friday’s session. His team-mate Narain Karthikeyan is joining him in putting on a smile for the cameras, but inside they both must know how difficult this season will be. The Indian had to pull his car up on the side of the road when it broke down a few minutes into their first time out on the damp track. Hrt will clearly be using Sunday’s race as a...
- 3/16/2012
- by Chris Deacon
- Obsessed with Film
The new Formula One season revs into gear this weekend, but who’s who and which team will be employing those hopeful drivers this year?
This is a quick summary of the key facts you need to know about the first six drivers for 2012.
Mercedes
7. Michael Schumacher (Ger)
43 years old
Former World Champion with Benetton (1994, 1995) and Ferrari (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004)
He finished eighth in 2011 with 76 points.
Former F1 Employers: Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari
8. Nico Rosberg (Ger)
26 years old
Best Championship result: seventh with Williams and Mercedes
He finished seventh in 2011 with a score of 89 points.
Former F1 employers: BMW, Williams
Lotus
9. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin)
32 years old
Former World Champion with Ferrari (2007)
Took a break from F1 from 2009-2011
Former F1 employers: Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari
10. Romain Grosjean (Fra)
25 years old
Youngster
He has competed in seven races in his entire F1 career.
Former F1 employers: Renault
Force India
11. Paul di Resta (Gbr)
25 years old
Youngster...
This is a quick summary of the key facts you need to know about the first six drivers for 2012.
Mercedes
7. Michael Schumacher (Ger)
43 years old
Former World Champion with Benetton (1994, 1995) and Ferrari (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004)
He finished eighth in 2011 with 76 points.
Former F1 Employers: Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari
8. Nico Rosberg (Ger)
26 years old
Best Championship result: seventh with Williams and Mercedes
He finished seventh in 2011 with a score of 89 points.
Former F1 employers: BMW, Williams
Lotus
9. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin)
32 years old
Former World Champion with Ferrari (2007)
Took a break from F1 from 2009-2011
Former F1 employers: Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari
10. Romain Grosjean (Fra)
25 years old
Youngster
He has competed in seven races in his entire F1 career.
Former F1 employers: Renault
Force India
11. Paul di Resta (Gbr)
25 years old
Youngster...
- 3/16/2012
- by Chris Deacon
- Obsessed with Film
Mark Webber takes the honours in Brazilian Grand Prix as Vettel nurses ‘Kinky Kylie’ home.
The final race of the season proved to be more than a foregone conclusion with Sebastian Vettel suffering with a gearbox problem and having to nurse his car home, Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren retired with a broken gearbox and Virgin Racing’s Timo Glock caused chaos in the pit lane as he set off before his wheels were on his car.
It was a thrilling way to end the 2011 season and from the very start it was going to be something special. All the cars made it safely through the first corner with the Ferraris of Fernando Alonso and Filipe Massa moving up a place each to fourth and sixth place respectively and Jenson Button threatening Mark Webber but as the race wore on it became apparent that no one was going to have an easy race.
The final race of the season proved to be more than a foregone conclusion with Sebastian Vettel suffering with a gearbox problem and having to nurse his car home, Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren retired with a broken gearbox and Virgin Racing’s Timo Glock caused chaos in the pit lane as he set off before his wheels were on his car.
It was a thrilling way to end the 2011 season and from the very start it was going to be something special. All the cars made it safely through the first corner with the Ferraris of Fernando Alonso and Filipe Massa moving up a place each to fourth and sixth place respectively and Jenson Button threatening Mark Webber but as the race wore on it became apparent that no one was going to have an easy race.
- 11/28/2011
- by Gordon Bibby
- Obsessed with Film
RedBull Racing’s Sebastian Vettel claimed another title to add to his collection at the Interlagos circuit as he snatched a record breaking 15th pole position from his team mate Mark Webber.
RedBull’s ‘WunderKind’ took the record set in 1992 by Nigel Mansell in the dying seconds of qualifying for tomorrows Brazillian Grand Prix as he crossed the line almost a second faster than Webber.
Webber himself had just pipped Jenson Button who was looking likely to have secured McLaren a front row place ahead of his team mate Lewis Hamilton but Vettels performance shuffled the McLarens back into third and fourth places leaving the Ferraris struggling to match the pace set by their rivals.
Fernando Alonso was the faster of the Ferrari drivers and had seemed to find the limits of his car better than his team mate Filipe Massa who was wrestling with a stiff set up that...
RedBull’s ‘WunderKind’ took the record set in 1992 by Nigel Mansell in the dying seconds of qualifying for tomorrows Brazillian Grand Prix as he crossed the line almost a second faster than Webber.
Webber himself had just pipped Jenson Button who was looking likely to have secured McLaren a front row place ahead of his team mate Lewis Hamilton but Vettels performance shuffled the McLarens back into third and fourth places leaving the Ferraris struggling to match the pace set by their rivals.
Fernando Alonso was the faster of the Ferrari drivers and had seemed to find the limits of his car better than his team mate Filipe Massa who was wrestling with a stiff set up that...
- 11/27/2011
- by Gordon Bibby
- Obsessed with Film
Lewis Hamilton fought a terse battle with Fernando Alonso to take a convincing victory after Sebastian Vettel made an unscheduled exit from the race on the first lap at the Yas Marina circuit today.
Vettel looked confident that he would bring another race victory after his qualifying performance yesterday but fate conspired against him and after flying ahead in his usual style he was pitched unceremoniously from the track as his right rear tyre suddenly exploded. The young German was spun violently across the runoff area with his tyre in shreds and despite managing to limp back to the pits he was clearly unhappy when his engineers told him the damage was to severe to repair.
As Lewis Hamilton took full advantage of his good fortune and set about building up his lead, further down the field the Mercedes Petronas pairing of Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg pushed each other...
Vettel looked confident that he would bring another race victory after his qualifying performance yesterday but fate conspired against him and after flying ahead in his usual style he was pitched unceremoniously from the track as his right rear tyre suddenly exploded. The young German was spun violently across the runoff area with his tyre in shreds and despite managing to limp back to the pits he was clearly unhappy when his engineers told him the damage was to severe to repair.
As Lewis Hamilton took full advantage of his good fortune and set about building up his lead, further down the field the Mercedes Petronas pairing of Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg pushed each other...
- 11/15/2011
- by Gordon Bibby
- Obsessed with Film
http://www.flickr.com/photos/theseoduke/6340894942/
Fia F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2011
Race Report
Hamilton seizes glory as Vettels luck runs out.
Lewis Hamilton fought a terse battle with Fernando Alonso to take a convincing victory after Sebastian Vettel made an unscheduled exit from the race on the first lap at the Yas Marina circuit today.
Vettel looked confident that he would bring another race victory after his qualifying performance yesterday but fate conspired against him and after flying ahead in his usual style he was pitched unceremoniously from the track as his right rear tyre suddenly exploded. The young German was spun violently across the runoff area with his tyre in shreds and despite managing to limp back to the pits he was clearly unhappy when his engineers told him the damage was to severe to repair.
As Lewis Hamilton took full advantage of his good fortune and...
Fia F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2011
Race Report
Hamilton seizes glory as Vettels luck runs out.
Lewis Hamilton fought a terse battle with Fernando Alonso to take a convincing victory after Sebastian Vettel made an unscheduled exit from the race on the first lap at the Yas Marina circuit today.
Vettel looked confident that he would bring another race victory after his qualifying performance yesterday but fate conspired against him and after flying ahead in his usual style he was pitched unceremoniously from the track as his right rear tyre suddenly exploded. The young German was spun violently across the runoff area with his tyre in shreds and despite managing to limp back to the pits he was clearly unhappy when his engineers told him the damage was to severe to repair.
As Lewis Hamilton took full advantage of his good fortune and...
- 11/13/2011
- by Gordon Bibby
- Obsessed with Film
New Delhi, Oct 25: India's brush with classic automobiles will complete a historic journey when 28 vintage and classic automobiles dating from 1920-70 take the roll of honour at the F1 Drivers' Parade Friday.
The vehicles, registerred with the Heritage Motoring Club of India, will carry 24 F1 racers from 12 teams, including Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Nico Rosberg, N. Karthikeyan and Adrian Sutil.
Auto-collector and restorer Awini Ambuj Shankar will drive Ferrari racer Fernando Alonso in his 1930 Studebaker Commander - a family heirloom - that drove Mahatma Gandhi from an area behind Birla Temple.
The vehicles, registerred with the Heritage Motoring Club of India, will carry 24 F1 racers from 12 teams, including Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Nico Rosberg, N. Karthikeyan and Adrian Sutil.
Auto-collector and restorer Awini Ambuj Shankar will drive Ferrari racer Fernando Alonso in his 1930 Studebaker Commander - a family heirloom - that drove Mahatma Gandhi from an area behind Birla Temple.
- 10/25/2011
- by Smith Cox
- RealBollywood.com
Rupert Grint closed out the Singapore F1 Grand Prix in grand style along with many other VIPs and celebrities at Amber Lounge, as reported by Plushasia.com At the exclusive club, revelers celebrated the end of the Grand Prix over two nights of music, mingling, and dancing. Along with our own favorite F1 aficionado, Amber Lounge played host to many F1 drivers, including Singapore Grand Prix winner Fernando Alonso, Rubens Barichello, Felipe Massa, and Nico Rosberg, to name but a few. Photos of Rupert from Amber Lounge can be seen here in our gallery .
- 9/28/2010
- RupertGrint.net
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.