Category: By the Sea

Pitt on Working with Angelina Jolie Pitt: ‘I Trust Her with My Life’

By the Sea / photoshoots
October 31, 2015

While many people might find it challenging to work alongside their spouse, for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie Pitt, the arrangement seems to suit them just fine.

In the winter issue of V magazine – which PEOPLE debuted the cover of in the current issue – Pitt, 51, opened up about what it was like being directed by his wife on their upcoming film, By the Sea.

“It’s surprising how much I enjoy the direction of my wife,” he admitted.

When Jolie Pitt, 40, first presented him with the idea of making the film together, he said it was an easy decision to reunite with his wife onscreen for the first time in 10 years. (The two first costarred in 2005’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith.)

Why?

“I trust her with my life,” he said.

In fact, Pitt quite enjoys seeing his wife in a position of power.

“She’s decisive, incredibly intuitive, knife-sharp and, might I say, sexy at her post,” he said.

The AFI FEST Interview: BY THE SEA Director Angelina Jolie Pitt

By the Sea
October 30, 2015

Angelina Jolie Pitt’s third narrative feature, BY THE SEA, centers on a married couple (Jolie Pitt and Brad Pitt) in the 1970s on vacation in a small seaside town, struggling to save their relationship. The film, set in France, is based on an original idea by Jolie Pitt.

AFI: The film’s narrative and its characters are evocative of French and Italian films of the late 1960s and 1970s. Were there any specific films that served as an inspiration as you wrote and directed BY THE SEA?

Angelina Jolie Pitt: No. But I was conscious of the creative freedom that artists had at that time. That was an influence and something we were trying to explore.

The time and place in which this film is set are essential to how the couple relate to each other and the emotional crisis at the heart of the story. Was this always a story that was set in the 1970s, or did this evolve as you wrote and developed the characters and the script?

It was always set in the 1970s because it was a very unique and rich time for art and politics.

New ‘By the Sea’ trailer

By the Sea
October 30, 2015

The new By the Sea trailer for the film written and directed by Angelina Jolie Pitt

Universal Pictures has released (via EW) the new trailer for By the Sea, Academy Award winner Angelina Jolie Pitt’s directorial follow-up to the studio’s Unbroken that stars herself and her real-life husband, Brad Pitt. You can watch the By the Sea trailer in the player below.

Written, directed and produced by Jolie Pitt, the dramatic film also features an international ensemble led by Mélanie Laurent, Niels Arestrup, Melvil Poupaud and Richard Bohringer.

By the Sea follows an American writer named Roland (Pitt) and his wife, Vanessa (Jolie Pitt), who arrive in a tranquil and picturesque seaside resort in 1970s France, their marriage in apparent crisis. As they spend time with fellow travelers, including young newlyweds Lea (Laurent) and François (Poupaud), and village locals Michel (Arestrup) and Patrice (Bohringer), the couple begins to come to terms with unresolved issues in their own lives.

In its style, and its treatment of themes of the human experience, By the Sea is inspired by European cinema and theater of the ’60s and ’70s.

“This is a story about a relationship derailed by loss, the tenacity of love, and the path to recovery and acceptance,” said Jolie Pitt in a statement earlier this year. “It has been a privilege to explore these universal human experiences with such a generous and talented cast and crew.”

Brad Pitt Channels Robert Redford for V magazine

BP Gallery / By the Sea / magazines / photoshoots
October 29, 2015

Brad Pitt is only getting more handsome with age.

The 51-year-old actor recently posed for the cover of V magazine**, showing off his legendary good looks. He also bears a striking resemblance to the iconic Robert Redford in the new photos, who he memorably worked with on 2001’s Spy Game.

Inside the magazine, Brad works a ’70s vibe, and it’s safe to say that he completely pulls it off.

The By the Sea star opens up about his highly anticipated new romance drama in the accompanying interview, and what it was like being directed by his wife, 40-year-old Angelina Jolie. Brad and Angelina play a married couple in the film — set in mid-1970s France — who experience some heavy ups and downs in their relationship.

“It’s surprising how much I enjoy the direction of my wife,” Brad says. “She’s decisive, incredibly intuitive, and might I say sexy at her post. I trust her with my life.”

The two memorably worked together on 2005’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith, but he makes it clear that their latest project together couldn’t be more different.

“Mr. & Mrs. Smith this is not,” he stresses. “By the Sea deals with that period when the honeymoon is well over and the couple is faced with the banality of every day and the pains of the unplanned. There are no Hallmark cards that define the next chapter, or the value of a history together. So who are you?”