HOLLYWOOD 2012: Brad Pitt and Bennett Miller (Part One)
Krista Smith talks with Moneyball star Brad Pitt and director Bennett Miller about the themes of the film, its long road to the big screen, and the thrill of seeing it connect with audiences.

He’s certainly in full steam ahead promotional mode, and Brad Pitt added another cover gig to his efforts by fronting the February 2012 issue of Backstage.

The 48-year-old big screen superstar spoke at length with the publication while beginning with his tale of falling in love with acting/storytelling and working through topics such as the auditioning experience and his take on whether he feels underrated as a thespian.

Highlights from Brad’s interview are as follows. For more, be sure to visit Backstage!

On when he first realized he wanted to be an actor:
“I grew up in Oklahoma and Missouri, and I just loved film. My folks would take us to the drive-in on summer nights, and we’d sit on the hood of the car. I just had this profound love for storytelling. I think it’s just an amazing thing we get to do. We are so complex, we are mysteries to ourselves, we are difficult to each other. And then here’s this storytelling that reminds us we are all the same. I consider it such a privilege.”

On whether he’s ever felt underrated as an actor:
“No. I thought I could always get there or make that turn as long as they let me stay in the game. Listen, I’ve been pretty fortunate. And if I’ve ever been underrated, it’s actually been something I’ve been able to work with; I can surprise people. It sets me up to exceed expectations, so I don’t mind.

Read more. Thanks Gabriella. Can anyone provide (HQ) scans please?

The film star has criticised some of his most well-known film roles

He may be one of Hollywood’s most respected male stars but Brad Pitt has delivered a damning verdict of some of his most famous film roles.

Pitt, who was in Glasgow last summer filming Zombie flick World War Z, has laid into some of his much loved performances, saying he “flatlined” and “flunked”.

Speaking of his Oscar nominated role in Twelve Monkeys, Pitt said: “I think I was forced on Terry (Gilliam). I got the first half dead-on but I flunked the second.”

In an interview with a newspaper, he was even more scathing of his starring role in the 1998 film Meet Joe Black, saying: “I flatlined in that one.”

Pitt said he felt “miscast” in the Hollywood epic Interview with the Vampire, in which he starred alongside Tom Cruise and Christian Slater.

And on one of his first lead roles as a cowboy in Ridley Scott’s Thelma and Louise, he said: “That was the first time I was let into the show. I remember thinking, ‘oh that’s how I come off.’ I felt I could have had more weight.

Even though he spoke negatively about some of his most famous film roles, Pitt refused to say a bad word about the critically-panned 2005 release Mr and Mrs Jones, where he met his future partner, Angelina Jolie.

He said: “That was a monumental change for more reasons than one, six plus one, to be exact. I think the film has merit too. It’s really good fun,” he said.

Read more.

Bennett Miller’s adaptation of Michael Lewis’ non-fiction best seller Moneyball stars Brad Pitt as Billy Beane, a one-time phenom who flamed out in the big leagues and now works as the GM for the Oakland Athletics, a franchise that’s about to lose their three best players to free agency. Because the team isn’t in a financial position to spend as much as perennial favorites like the Yankees and the Red Sox, Beane realizes he needs to radically change how he evaluates what players can bring to the squad. After he meets Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), an Ivy League economics major working as an executive assistant for scouting on another team, Beane realizes he’s found the man who understands how to subvert the system of assessing players that’s been in place for nearly a century.

A Conversation with Academy Award Nominees Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill and Billy Beane Followed by a screening of Moneyball. February 06, 2012
2011/color/133 min. | Scr: Steven Zaillian , Aaron Sorkin /dir: Bennett Miller; w/ Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Wright.

Tickets are free and open only to Film Independent, LACMA Film Club and New York Times Film Club members.

Read more.

We sit in silent “Fiji” water in the Gulf of Mexico. Swim out and waving his children: “There is nothing that changes your life more than being a father. It’s such a wonderful change your life perspectives. Everything is relative. I would never trade youth for wisdom that I learn every day and go for it!”

He is considering a 50 step down from the canvas: “I want to realize many important projects.”

BILD: You have gray hair. Fear of old age?
“Grey I’m already long, I’m afraid of dying, but not before getting old.”

You can lead a normal life?
He laughs and itches his chin. “What is normal? You have to enjoy it. In New Orleans we can walk. I love the variety of noises and there to open a window and the feeling to hear the music. And to drink a beer on the balcony.”

They love Europe?
“Yes. Our fortress is our castle in France. Since we have our own protected world. A little paradise.”

Read more. Thanks Gabriella. Translation credit to Hefi!

Thanks Sara.

With his first two feature films (Shame and Hunger), Steve McQueen has already established a distinctive visual style, and that’s no mean feat. Most of the great directors have all taken at least double that amount to make their style completely distinguishable from others. Perhaps it’s because his style is so intense and visceral and doesn’t make any compromises. Whatever the reason, McQueen has broken the mould and is consistently working far outside the box to deliver harrowing but elegiac masterpieces, striving to make each scene perfect, making the audience take in every single minute detail.

Another star all set to play a role in the film is Brad Pitt. Until recently, we had no idea of the scope of his role. Unfortunately, it turns out that it’s only going to be a cameo, with a confirmation from the man himself:

“I’m only doing a small cameo, but it stars Michael Fassbender and Chiwetel Ejiofor, and there’ve been very few movies about slavery, certainly that had the impact of ’Roots.’”

Read more. Thanks Danielle.