YOU LITTLE DEVIL! – by Lynda Palmer
After months of speculation that he hated working on his new film The Devil’s
Own, Mr Gwyneth Paltrow—that’s bodacious Brad Pitt to you—speaks
out!
LP: Brad, you play Rory, an Irish soldier in The Devil’s Own and your
accent is brilliant. Were you worried about getting it right?
BP: Oh, that’s great. I appreciate that. Because it’s not my strong
point. I did work very hard. No, I felt more pressure speaking for these people
who have suffered from this war. There’s where I felt the pressure. And
I went out of my way to make sure it didn’t become trite or trivial, and
we didn’t get up in preaching politics. Because that’s a whole other
issue. We just deal with the emotions of it all.
LP: Did you ever test out your accent in a pub in Dublin or anything?
BP: I did when I first went to Belfast. I tried it out, and someone went, “Nice
try!” [laughs].
LP: How did you get in touch with the emotional part of this film?
BP: It wasn’t so tough. I met some people, and people were very gracious
to let me into their homes. [Like who wouldn’t?] So I did the research,
I read the books. I did the interviews, I traveled to Belfast several times
on my own. And I’ve got to tell you what I came out with… there’s
no way I’m going to understand it all, from this. Because it runs too
deep.
LP: There’s a lot of controversy that’s been circulating…
BP: Yeah.
LP: Could we have your version?
BP: Addressing which?
LP: The dissatisfaction you expressed about the making of this movie.
BP: Yeah, that was my fault. Because I didn’t clarify. What I was talking
about was the pre-production. We were getting ready to start a film, and we
didn’t have the script nailed down. It was specifically because of this
responsibility I had—I was speaking for these people. Because I saw the
pain. It was in the eyes; you couldn’t get around it, it was just simply
because of this responsibility. I didn’t want to start something that
I didn’t feel was nailed down.
LP: Were you really ready to quit at the beginning?
BP: No, no, no, I did contemplate it when it came close. And what kept me in
was Harrison, and Alan, and Larry [ that’s Brad’s co-star Harrison
Ford, director Alan Pakula and producer Larry Gordon]. Just the discussions
over what we could do, and what we were aiming for, and that we would get there.
But again, it all stems from the people.
LP: Do you go to see many movies?
BP: Yeah. I try to see anything. I’ve been out of the country for half
a year, so I haven’t seen a whole lot. But there’s been great films
this year. I loved Fargo, I loved Jerry Maguire, I loved Sling Blade, I loved
Larry Flint, I loved Flirting With Disaster. There’s quite a few.
LP: Do you see them and long for the roles?
BP: No, no, it’s never like that. It’s more that you see something,
and you get inspired. Because it changes your thinking a little bit. It actually
helps you find another direction. I appreciate it more. But I’ve always
loved movies, since I was little.
LP: Will you and Gwyneth work together again?
BP: Yeah. We’re actually working together in a film that her father’s
directing. He’s a man I highly respect—Bruce Paltrow. Although we’re
not in the film together at all-it’s an ensemble piece, and we kind of
see each other at the very end. But we don’t have our scenes together.
LP: Have you guys thought about when you’re getting married?
BP: [Laughs] Yeah, sure, we have to think about it. How do we keep it private
and special? These are our thoughts. We’ll figure it out.
LP: Will it be this year?
BP: I hope so. You just don’t know.
LP: You’ll let us know, though, right?
BP: Yeah, sure, I’ll call you up. Leave your number, I’ll tell
you when and where.
LP: Can you give us a rundown of what you’re working on next?
BP: We’ve pretty much finished Seven Years In Tibet, it’s been
a six-month process. We’ve got a shot in Austria we have to pick up, I
think, and maybe Katmandu or something. But we’re pretty much finished
with that. And then I started something this summer called Meet Joe Black. I’ll
be working with Sir Anthony Hopkins again.
LP: Is that a remake of Death Takes a Holiday?
BP: Yeah, exactly.
LP: And you play Death?
BP: Yeah. How does Death speak, by the way? Do you know if he has an accent
or anything? [Laughs]
LP: How do you like your work schedule? You’re going from one movie to
the next, without a break.
BP: Well, I usually plan it better than that. I feel it’s very important
to have time to fill back up again, and not drain yourself. It’s just
that movies have gone a little longer that I had planned. But we get a little
bit more time after this. Then we’re getting married.