For a couple of weeks now, since SAG-AFTRA officially decided to go on strike alongside the WGA, eyebrows have been raised over Brad Pitt’s F1 film, Apex, because they initially claimed that they’d be shutting down production in support of the writers and actors only to show up at the Hungarian GP with cameras rolling.
Which is why people were wondering whether or not Brad Pitt was scabbing while Dwayne Johnson was writing seven figure cheques to fund the SAG-AFTRA Foundation and helping actors with their insurance and other household expenses.
This weekend, curiously, the UK Sun reported that production on Apex, an Apple project, has finally been halted “in solidarity with the strikes” with a source telling the Sun that:
“Brad is arguably one of the nicest guys in Hollywood and this move seals that reputation.”
I’m not sure how that “seals” his reputation when Apex continued shooting two f-cking weeks after the union called the work stoppage but OK, we know what this is, we can smell it – they knew it wasn’t a good look and now they’re trying to reframe it like Brad is some kind of hero now for hitting the pause button half a month after his peers.
But the reason I’m calling this curious is because it came from the Sun, not one of the Hollywood trades. Variety, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap – all of these outlets usually have muuuuuuch better intel on film productions and for whatever reason they let the Sun lead with this story instead of confirming it through their own connections with the studios?!
It was only after the Sun went ahead with their story that Deadline jumped on it and repeated the Sun’s details while also adding this:
“Another source has told Deadline that the crew were scheduled to film at the The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps frequently referred to as Spa, in Belgium this weekend – with the country’s real-life Grand Prix taking place on Sunday – but this won’t now be happening.”
So…wait, they were actually expecting to shoot at the Belgian GP but ended up cancelling? That seems like it’s been conveniently buried under the Sun’s exclusive, doesn’t it? Like, tell me more about these plans in Belgium. Why does it sound like they were still on the books until they showed up in Hungary last weekend and everyone started thinking Brad Pitt might be scabbing so then they scrapped Belgium, but only AFTER the blowback?
This, I guess, is the power of Brad Pitt. For whatever reason, production on his film continued well after the union, of which he is one of its most prominent members, unanimously called for a strike. But none of the trades or the mainstream entertainment media wanted to put a lot of heat on that. Instead, when the production finally decided to respect the terms that the union has set out for the strike, more than two weeks later, they’re trying to give him his flowers for standing in solidarity? That’s the Brad Pitt privilege in effect right there.
