Words by JANE CROWTHER


Made by the same dream team behind Top Gun: Maverick, this high-performance star vehicle is pure popcorn entertainment that slipstreams Tom Cruise’s mega hit with dynamic racing scenes and a storyline that requires paddock-precision suspension (of disbelief). Yes, it’s highly improbable that a sixty-something renegade Indy car racer would be plopped in the number one seat of a F1 team and proceed to smash their cars and methodology to smithereens – but presented this slickly with as much star power to rival the horsepower, you’ll allow it.

Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, F1: The Movie, Javier Bardem, Joseph Kosinski, Kerry Condon
Warner Bros. Pictures/Apple Original Films

Brad Pitt is our rebel, Sonny Hayes, an instinctively brilliant but unpredictable driver with a back scar from an accident when he was the hottest young driver in Formula one. Emotionally scarred (stunted?) by the incident, Sonny now lives out of his van while travelling from driving job to driving job, but never sticking around. While he can push his team to pole position with crafty moves, he’s not interested in glory – until Javiar Bardem’s F1 team owner, Reuben, comes calling with an eyewatering cheque and an offer to know that Hayes could be ‘the best in the world’. His team, Apex, has a hotrod technical director, Kate (Kerry Condon) and a young gun driver, Joshua (Damson Idris) but is lagging behind on the grid. During the next travelogue two hours, Sonny will race the global Grand Prix circuit throwing the rules out the window, romancing the brains of the operation and clashing with his hothead teammate. There’s some corporate shenanigans, F1 cameos (Lewis Hamilton produces) plus a soundtrack filled with stadium bangers and a propulsive Hans Zimmerman score.

Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, F1: The Movie, Javier Bardem, Joseph Kosinski, Kerry Condon
Warner Bros. Pictures/Apple Original Films
Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, F1: The Movie, Javier Bardem, Joseph Kosinski, Kerry Condon
Warner Bros. Pictures/Apple Original Films

The races are joltingly visceral (especially the opening Daytona 24 introduction), giving audiences a glimpse into the claustrophobic, G-force, missile-on-wheels perspective on the track while the characters are elevated by polesitter performers. Condon in particular shines, her charming scepticism and beguiling way of delivering a sentence how you’d least expect it making Kate far more than a simple ‘love interest’, while Bardem barely flexes to steal focus – and that’s not even taking into account his spectacular suits. Idris holds his own against the charisma of Pitt, detonating that Thelma & Louise smile, the zero-Fs of Tyler Durden and the sartorial insouciance of Cliff Booth. If you’re going to believe a driver approaching his pension can outstrip Verstappen, Pitt is the man to do it.

Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, F1: The Movie, Javier Bardem, Joseph Kosinski, Kerry Condon
Warner Bros. Pictures/Apple Original Films

Words by JANE CROWTHER
Photographs courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures/Apple Original Films
F1: The Movie is in cinemas now

Brad Pitt, Wolfs
George Clooney, Wolfs

DISPATCH: GEORGE CLOONEY & BRAD PITT WOLFS
Words by JANE CROWTHER
Photographs by GREG WILLIAMS


George Clooney and Brad Pitt have been working together since they first made Ocean’s Eleven in 2001 – sharing credits in the 23 years since on Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind, Ocean’s Twelve and Thirteen and Burn After Reading. And the off-screen friends were looking for another opportunity to re-team when they were pitched Jon Watts’ original script, Wolfs. The story of two ‘lone wolf’ fixers who are assigned to the same clean-up job when a DA’s dalliance with a young man ends in accidental death, the comedy-actioner premiered at the Venice Film Festival to a standing ovation. Greg Williams traveled with the duo by boat as they attended a press conference and the premiere on Venice’s Lido.

Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Wolfs
Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Wolfs
Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Wolfs

‘We kind of figured there’s gotta be a good reason to get back in a film together, something we feel like we could build upon what we’ve done before,’ Pitt told journalists when he and Clooney discussed the project without their director who had caught Covid on the journey to the floating city. ‘But also, I gotta say, as I get older, working with the people that I just really enjoy spending time with has really become important to me.’

Pitt recalled that both he and Clooney immediately liked the first draft that Watts wrote and pitched to them, and was pleased that the verve of it was retained throughout production to filming in New York. ‘It’s never happened where someone presents you with an idea and you get a first draft of the script and that’s what you end up shooting.’

Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Wolfs
Amal, George Clooney, Wolfs
Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Wolfs
Amy Ryan, Austin Abrams, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Jon Watts, Wolfs

As grouchy hitmen, Clooney and Pitt banter and squabble throughout a long night where they try to unravel a conspiracy – and their teasing affection was on display when they sat down for their press conference and, later, boogied to Sade’s ‘Smooth Operator’ (a key track in the film) as the credits rolled in the Sala Grande. ‘There’s nothing good about it… It’s all a disaster,’ Clooney joked when asked about working with his 60-year-old friend. ‘He’s 74 and he’s lucky at this age to be still working!’

Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Wolfs
Amal, George Clooney, Wolfs
Amy Ryan, Austin Abrams, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Jon Watts, Wolfs

Wolfs is in select cinemas and available to stream on Apple TV+ now
Read our review of
Wolfs here



September 1, 2024

amy ryan, austin abrams, brad pitt, george clooney, jon watts, wolfs

Words by JANE CROWTHER


When a married New York DA (Amy Ryan) finds herself in a sticky situation – a dead hook-up in a penthouse suite – she calls the number of a man whose function is clean-up jobs. As the body of the boy she’s picked up in the lobby lies among shattered glass after bedroom hijinks, the voice on the line assures her he’ll take care of her problem. 

Enter George Clooney’s nameless lone wolf, an anonymous man with a body bag and a grumpy demeanour. ‘Nobody can do what I do,’ he insists. As he sets about his task, there’s a knock at the penthouse door: Brad Pitt’s fixer has also arrived. Dressed similarly and touting the same skill set, it seems Clooney’s not the only hitman in town – and now both of them are mixed up in a mess that reaches further than the luggage trolley of a high end hotel.

amy ryan, austin abrams, brad pitt, george clooney, jon watts, wolfs

The whys and wherefores of plot are immaterial in a film that understands the main attraction is seeing real-life buddies zing off each other as two grouchy middle-aged mystery men forced to work together when a standard job takes an unexpected turn. Suffice to say, drugs, cartels, shootouts, gangster weddings and a dopey business student (Euphoria’s Austin Abrams) are involved as the duo try to unravel a conspiracy overnight and in the process discover a grudging respect for each other.

Written and directed by Jon Watts as an amiable Ocean’s II, the appeal of Wolfs is the built-in chemistry between Pitt and Clooney as they banter and bitch through Chinatown foot and car chases, Croatian dance routines, and an interrogation in a hideous rent-by-the-hour hotel room. Their overlapping chatter plays like jazz, the result of years of off-screen friendship and the experience to inhabit these roles effortlessly.  Both actors have fun with their age, leaning into gags about bones cracking, needing Advil after some strenuous gunslinging and struggling to read pager messages without their glasses. Clooney’s car playlist is also a nice boomer dig; he listens to Sade’s Smooth Operator as he drives to a job.

amy ryan, austin abrams, brad pitt, george clooney, jon watts, wolfs
amy ryan, austin abrams, brad pitt, george clooney, jon watts, wolfs

It’s a tough gig for Abrams to steal any focus as the third wheel, a daffy teen who fancies a bit danger and ends up with the equivalent of a two killer dads (who might ice him but will also tell him to eat with his mouth closed), but he makes a lively impression – not least in a practical effect when he leaps over a moving car in tighty-whities and tube socks.

Clooney and Pitt clearly had a hoot making the film and the door is left open for more of the same if audiences also have a laugh. Abandon plot logic and Wolfs is daft fun with a rat pack vibe..


Words by JANE CROWTHER
Wolfs releases in cinemas 20 Sept before transferring to Apple TV+

March 13, 2023

brad Pitt and margot robbie, babylon, golden globe awards, hollywood authentic, greg williams, greg williams photography

Highlights from this year’s Golden Globe and Critics Choice Awards.

martin mcdonagh, phoebe waller-bridge, golden globe wwards, hollywood authentic, greg williams, greg williams photography
Martin McDonagh and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Golden Globe Awards
jennifer coolidge, the white lotus, golden globe awards, hollywood authentic, greg williams, greg williams photography
Jennifer Coolidge, The White Lotus, Golden Globe Awards
eddie murphy, golden globe awards, hollywood authentic, greg williams, greg williams photography
Eddie Murphy, Golden Globe Awards
brad Pitt and margot robbie, babylon, golden globe awards, hollywood authentic, greg williams, greg williams photography
Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie, Babylon, Golden Globe Awards
angela bassett, black panther: wakanda forever, naacp, 9-1-1, hollywood authentic, greg williams, greg williams photography
Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Critics Choice Awards
ke huy quan, everything everywhere all at once, golden globe awards, hollywood authentic, greg williams, greg williams photography
Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Golden Globe Awards
jenna ortega, wednesday, golden globe awards, hollywood authentic, greg williams, greg williams photography
Jenna Ortega, Wednesday, Golden Globe Awards
selena gomez, only murders in the building, golden globe awards, hollywood authentic, greg williams, greg williams photography
Selena Gomez, Only Murders in the Building, Golden Globe Awards
judd hirsch, seth rogen, michelle williams and steven spielberg, the fabelmans, golden globe awards, hollywood authentic, greg williams, greg williams photography
Judd Hirsch, Seth Rogen, Michelle Williams and Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans, Golden Globe Awards
sadie sink, the whale, critics choice awards, hollywood authentic, greg williams, greg williams photography
Sadie Sink, The Whale, Critics Choice Awards
cate blanchett, tár, pre-critics choice awards, hollywood authentic, greg williams, greg williams photography
Cate Blanchett, Tár, pre-Critics Choice Awards
colin farrell, the banshees of inisherin, golden globe awards, hollywood authentic, greg williams, greg williams photography
Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin, Golden Globe Awards
miles teller, anya taylor-joy, critics choice awards, hollywood authentic, greg williams, greg williams photography
Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy, Critics Choice Awards
viola davis, the woman king, critics choice awards, hollywood authentic, greg williams, greg williams photography
Viola Davis, The Woman King, Critics Choice Awards
austin butler, elvis, golden globe awards, hollywood authentic, greg williams, greg williams photography
Austin Butler, Elvis, Golden Globe Awards
cast and crew, everything everywhere all at once, critics choice awards, hollywood authentic, greg williams, greg williams photography
Cast and crew, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Critics Choice Awards
julia garner, ozark, critics choice wwards, hollywood authentic, greg williams, greg williams photography
Julia Garner, Ozark, Critics Choice
michelle yeoh, everything everywhere all at once, golden globe awards, hollywood authentic, greg williams, greg williams photography
Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Golden Globe Awards
barry keoghan, The banshees of inisherin, golden globe awards, hollywood authentic, greg williams, greg williams photography
Barry Keoghan, The Banshees of Inisherin, Golden Globe Awards
jamie lee curtis and tracy morgan, golden globe awards, hollywood authentic, greg williams, greg williams photography
Jamie Lee Curtis and Tracy Morgan, Golden Globe Awards