Brad Pitt hires Lewis Hamilton to teach him all about Formula One ahead of new blockbuster racing movie
THEY’RE both at the top of their respective fields and Brad Pitt and Lewis Hamilton are to become an unlikely double act.
Movie bosses have enlisted the British Formula One ace as a consultant for their latest motor racing-inspired blockbuster.
The so-far untitled movie was confirmed by Apple Studios last month, with Brad in the lead role.
The director will be Joseph Konsinski, the brains behind recent box office smash Top Gun 2, which has propelled Tom Cruise back to the top of the film charts.
And now superstar Mercedes driver Lewis has joined the production team.
He has agreed to serve as a consultant on set, teaching the Hollywood A-lister all he needs to know about motorsport, including getting to grips with a 200mph-plus F1 car.
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A source said: “This is one of those films where everything just seems to be in the right place at the right time.
“F1 is obviously huge, but Brad is totally the right man for this role. Joseph couldn’t be hotter at the moment thanks to the new Top Gun movie and Lewis is excited at the thought of a new experience.
“It’s perfect. They’re all so up for it.” Brad was invited to this month’s British Grand Prix alongside movie pal Tom as a VIP guest to sample the action close-up.
Long-time Cruise collaborator Jerry Bruckheimer, one of the biggest names in action movies, will co-produce the new film, with seven-time world champion Lewis also having an executive producer credit as part of his involvement.
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Brad is a real speed merchant at the moment, his latest movie, Bullet Train, opens next week.
This latest story will see Brad as a once-great racing driver coming out of retirement as a mentor to a promising rookie — before taking one more shot at glory as the young star’s teammate.
I can’t think of a more exciting mix of star names and storylines — though topping the sensationally good Top Gun sequel will take some serious effort.
But if anyone can do it . . .
SHAWN’S ON THE MEND-ES
IT is little wonder Shawn Mendes has so many admirers.
Here is the Stitches singer walking bare-chested near a beach in Santa Monica, California.
Shawn’s been lying low since cancelling a number of dates on his Wonder: The World Tour to focus on his health.
He said at the start of the month: “After a few years off the road, I felt like I was ready to dive back in. But that decision was premature and unfortunately the toll of the road and the pressure has caught up to me and I’ve hit a breaking point.
“I need to take some time to heal and take care of myself and my mental health, first and foremost.”
The break seems to have done Shawn the world of good.
If I was him, I’d give myself a few more weeks in the sun before heading back out on the road. You only live once.
SHANIA IS SAVED BY LIONEL
SHANIA TWAIN has credited Lionel Richie with helping persuade her to return to music after a traumatic few years.
The singer lost her voice and went through a divorce from husband and music partner Mutt Lange in the late Noughties. She struggled to see a point in returning to the studio – until the soul legend finally twisted her arm. She recalled: “When I lost Mutt I guess I was thinking that the grief of that was similarly intense to losing my parents. It was like a death.
“I never got over my parents’ death so I was thinking, ‘S**t, I’m never going to get over this’.
“So all I can do is determine how I’m going to carry on from there, how am I going to crawl out of this hole that I’ve fallen in?”
Lionel begged her repeatedly to do a country version of Endless Love with him and she eventually agreed in 2012.
She said of their day recording together: “It was a lot of pressure. Oh boy, that day was so stressful. I’m so glad that’s over. It took me a lot of encouragement from around me to get me truly doing it for real. Lionel Richie was a big part of that.”
She makes the revelation in her new documentary Not Just A Girl, which is out on Netflix today. It is accompanied by a greatest hits collection of the same name. But she teased she has almost completed her sixth album – and first since 2017’s Now – with producer Mark Ralph, who has previously worked with Jess Glynne and Rag’N’Bone Man.
Shania hinted: “I am here in London finishing my album – and getting with some great UK talent and creatives.”
ED GOES OUT ON PATROL
NOT content with having spent the past few weeks performing in practically every stadium across the country, Ed Sheeran joined Snow Patrol as a surprise guest during their headline set at Latitude Festival.
He looked in good spirits when he sang with frontman Gary Lightbody on Sunday, 11 years after he made his debut at the event.
The band welcomed Ed on stage for a rendition of his No1 single Bad Habits, written with Johnny McDaid from the band, and he then returned for an encore of Just Say Yes.
The event, held less than 20 miles away from Ed’s home in Suffolk, also saw him perform with the group at a secret show in 2015.
The Shivers singer became a dad for the second time in May, so I imagine a few hours out of the house and away from nappy duty was a welcome relief.
AVA’S LP WITH A KILL BILL THRILL
AVA MAX’s second album is all done and ready to go and it will sound strangely familiar when it comes out in October.
I can reveal that the record, Diamonds & Dancefloors, sees her sample other songs, including Leann Rimes’s 2000 hit Can’t Fight The Moonlight.
Ava also pulls off her kookiest sample yet by featuring iconic Kill Bill whistling track Twisted Nerve, which is used in the Uma Thurman films.
A music insider said: “Both tracks are great.
“Honestly, on paper the Kill Bill track shouldn’t work but it’s genius and one of the album’s standout songs.”
Ava has already given fans a taste of what to expect with Maybe You’re The Problem and promised the album will be packed with dance tunes inspired by a recent heartbreak.
That sounds like a recipe for success.
SI SIGNS FOR ANT & DEC FIRM
SIMON COWELL has been winding down his multi-million-pound music empire for two years to focus on his TV career.
And it turns out he is taking his rebranding so seriously that he has now signed with Ant & Dec’s management company, YMU.
I’d have thought he had had enough experience under his belt to look after his own affairs, thanks to his time on screen on The X Factor and the Got Talent franchise here and in the US. But those close to Simon said he wanted a guiding hand.
Insiders told me he signed the deal in March but YMU, which also looks after some of his former X Factor favourites including Jesy Nelson and James Arthur, only announced the news yesterday.
It glowingly branded Simon a “global creative visionary” and a “revered industry entrepreneur”.
Simon’s confirmation was far less gushing in comparison. He simply said: “I’m very excited to be working with YMU in the UK. They are a fantastic team.”
KEKE PALMER looked like a ray of sunshine as she posed on the red carpet in this bright yellow dress at the Italian premiere of her movie Nope.
But the US actress wasn’t feeling as bright when she was caught up in a row after her career was compared to Zendaya’s.
Keke, who was joined by her Nope co-star Daniel Kaluuya in Rome, said on Twitter: “A great example of colourism is to believe I can be compared to anyone.
“I’m the youngest talk show host ever. The first Black woman to star in her own show on Nickelodeon & the youngest & first Black Cinderella on Broadway.
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“I’m an incomparable talent. Baby, THIS, is Keke Palmer.”
Modest, too.