PITT NO STOP – by
Rumors are that with wife Angelina Jolie he’s looking for a house in the south of France to raise there their four kids. Or maybe, in Spain. For now, he just bought a 600 mq flat in Berlin and Etiopia (no, not the whole nation, it’s just the name of one of the many
artificial islands under construction right now in Dubai). And in the architectural
magazines, long ago entered as one of the most interesting building projects, the villa on the Hollywood hills he projected himself with the Graft Studio.
Brad Pitt’s passion for architecture is not a secret, and it’s not a star fancy interest.
He studied architecture in college “but I didn’t pursuit it back then” says Pitt “because
the exams were very difficult, and I had another idea of college life”. But the passion was always there, and in the last years Pitt registered as a student in the californian studio of Frank Gehry, the father of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao.
The innovative nature of Pitt, on the other hand, it’s not something new. A well known sex symbol, an actor who can claims 20 million dollars for his roles in a movie, Pitt is also a serious producer. His production company Plan B, produced movies such as The Departed, directed by Martin Scorsese, winner of one Oscar, the intense A Mighty Heart (for her role in the movie Jolie coud be nominated for the Oscar) and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, released the 21st december.
We know everything about your acting career, tell us about your passion for architecture.
(Pitt) I’m obsessed by the buildings’ structure. Architecture moves me, I think of it as a fragment of art, an art you can live from the inside. It’s an inside that can raise the
human soul and the human spirit.
Who are your favourite architects?
(Pitt) I admire the work of Frank Lloyd Wright because he taught us to live in harmony
with nature, and to find new ways of expression, even if it means break up with the
traditions. And Frank Gehry, a man I respect very much, and that I have the privilege to
call a friend. Obviously, also the three men at Graft Studio, with whom I created my home
in Hollywood.
Your “extra-professional” interests include also your humanitarian efforts: with Angelina
Jolie you donated millions of dollars through the Jolie-Pitt Foundation, to many african
countries.
(Pitt) Having at heart the poorest and those in need it’s something related to my will of
understanding. I always wanted to educate myself, in order to understand the most difficult situations and the possible solutions. I’ve seen with my own eyes what is poverty, where it can lead, and how easy the solutions could be. And with ‘solutions’ I mean medical care and assistance that cost few cents to the richiest countries of the planet.
What do you do when you’re at home?
I spend time with my kids, I write horrible songs, I play the guitar. I love music, but I
really suck. We watch dvds. I love driving my bike around, play with my dogs. We do lots
of barbecues. We travel a lot. We have a good life, for sure. And I had my pilot license.
Angie is passionate about flying, the idea was to put the kids in the rear seats, and be
free for a while from the paparazzi. Anyway, it’s good to learn something new after being
forty.
This is the life of the man Pitt. And as an actor? At 44 do you choose your roles
differently than before, when you were younger?
Shooting is very hard, and if you must work hard, you have to invest all your energies in
something worth it. And being a father, I want my children to be proud of what I’m doing,
when they will be old enough to see my movies.
You’re producing many movies lately, The Departed, Babel, A Mighty Heart, The Assassination
of jesse James. Do you like to be a producer?
Yes, very much. You don’t gain much and you have to work hard, but it’s funny. I like to
produce movies that couldn’t be seen otherwise.
When you’re shooting a movie, do you already know if it will work at the end?
It’s hard to tell, too many factors in the field. Even with a great script, the movie could end up in tragedy. I try to consider projects that inspire me, and work with people I truly respect.
Which are your next movies?
Burn After Reading with the Coen brothers (for the fifth time with George Clooney and the
first one with John Malkovich) and The Curious Case of Banjamin Button with David Fincher, and with Cate Blanchett again after Babel.
Did you ever think about directing?
No. To be a director, in my opinion, you have to be a real perfectionist. I could get mad. I’d rather build houses. It’s very similar to directing, actually, because you’re inside this piece of art, you’re surrounded by it, everytime. It’s electrifying.