At Cannes, Reporters Press Brad Pitt on Marriage, Murder, and Will Smith
There were people other than Brad Pitt at this morning's press conference for the Cannes premiere of Killing Them Softly, but you'd be forgiven for thinking otherwise, given how Pitt was the single target of pretty much every question asked. The
future Mr. Jolie was a charming panelist, gamely answering whatever
questions came his way, even when the Cannes moderator tried to keep him
away from all the fun topics. Every time a journalist queried him, Pitt
made sure he could stare deep into the questioner's eyes while
answering (those lucky dogs), even once asking someone else to move out
of the way so he could continue making eye contact with a reporter. He
also got cheeky, sometimes simply answering "No" when the moderator
asked if he had anything to say, then grinning as the room was overcome
by awkward silence and nervous giggles.
In the talky crime drama,
Pitt plays a professional "enforcer" who attempts to manage the
aftermath when Ray Liotta's illegal gambling operation is robbed by
up-and-comers Scoot McNairy and Ben Mendelsohn. There will be blood, and
at the press conference, violence was a major topic.
When a Spanish journalist
asked Pitt if, as a dad, he had a problem playing a killer, he replied,
"Not in any way, because murder is an accepted possibility when you're
dealing in crime. I would have a much harder time playing a racist or
something along those lines. That would be much more unsettling for me
than a guy who shoots another guy in the face." Later, when the topic
came up again of whether violent video games had influenced the film's
stylized shots of people getting their faces blown off (courtesy of Pitt's The Assassination of Jesse James director, New Zealander Andrew Dominik),
the actor again refused to apologize. "We live in such a violent world.
I certainly grew up hunting, which is a very violent act. Have you ever
had a hamburger? Have you seen how they butcher cows? It's barbaric,
it's horrendous, it's very violent. This is the world we live in, so I
see it as absolutely important to film. Is it how it's shot? Is it
memorialized or aggrandized or romanticized in some way? That's a fair
question, but I don't see a world without it."
With its weirdly bureaucratic system of
hit men and their greedy bosses and the film's constant background noise
of economic stump speeches from the Obama-McCain election, it's obvious
that Dominik means for Killing to stand as a metaphor for the
financial free fall that has hit the United States hard. Naturally,
journalists used the high-minded allusions as cover to ask questions
about Pitt's relationship with Angelina Jolie.
"My question is two-part,"
said one reporter. "Is it a coincidence that this movie is coming out in
an election year, and I understand Angelina Jolie will be with you here
tonight. Are you two ever going to work again in a movie?" The
moderator tried to step in, but Pitt seemed perfectly happy to answer
for his fiancée: "Actually, we'd love to. She's not here now. She's
prepping for a movie that she starts very soon. Uh, what was the first
question? I should say, I don't think we should have press conferences
before 1 p.m. in Cannes. I'm going to start that movement. I'll sign a
petition or something."
Later, a Hong Kong reporter went one better: "As one
of the hottest and hardest-working actors on the market today, I can
imagine how busy your schedule is, but now with the rumors about your
wedding, will that change your working schedule?" Once again, the
moderator tried to lay down the kibosh, and once again Pitt confidently
talked over him: "We have no date. We actually really, truly have no
date. It's something that makes sense to us ... and we're still hoping
we figure out marriage equality in the States before then, before that
date."
He even gamely answered a question about that recent incident where Will Smith slapped a male reporter who tried to kiss him.
"I wouldn't want to slap anyone," Pitt said with kindness in his voice,
though he wasn't aware of the incident in question. "That's mean. I
don't want anyone to get hurt or feel too bad or do any of that."
Really, he'd rather just make people feel safe and then shoot them in
the face. What's wrong with that?
Popsugar
Quotes
- On making another movie together: "We'd love to do a movie together again sometime."
- On Angelina not being in Cannes: "She's actually not here right now. She's prepping for a movie that she starts very soon."
- On the date for the wedding: “We have no date.”"We actually really, truly have no date."“It’s just something that makes sense to us.
- On the rumored date: Absolutely, certainly date-wise, it's just a rumor.”
No wedding date yet: Pitt
By Bruce Kirkland ,QMI Agency CANNES — Despite raging rumours to the contrary, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have not set their wedding plans yet, Pitt confirmed Tuesday.
“We have no date!” Pitt told a Cannes Film Festival press conference. “And we actually, truly, have no date!” he added for emphasis.
The latest stupid rumour mills are churning out possible dates in August for what, when it does finally happen, will become the Royal Wedding of Hollywood. “Absolutely, certainly, date-wise, it is a rumour,” Pitt said with a weary grin, knowing that no matter what he says now that gossip mills will continue to generate new possibilities and make outrageous claims about the couple. But damage control may be why he was willing to talk at all about personal matters at Cannes, where he usually refuses to get off-topic from his film projects.
“It will be something that makes sense to us,” Pitt said of a future date to wed his long-time paramour and fellow movie star. “And we’re still hope we figure out our marriage equality in the States before then, before that date.”
Meanwhile, expect the rumour-mongering to conjure reasons for Jolie’s absence on the Cannes red carpet at Tuesday’s world premiere of Killing Them Softly (in which Pitt plans a mob enforcer sent in to clean up a nasty piece of business). But Pitt said the reason Jolie is not here is simple: “She is preparing for a new film.”
Pitt also said he would love to make another movie with Jolie. The two superstars first met on the set of the comedy spy thriller Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
bruce.klirkland@sunmedia.ca
Brad Pitt: No date set for wedding to Angelina Jolie
By Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY
By VALERY HACHE, AFP/Getty Images
Brad Pitt: Wedding Engagement 'Made Sense'
Brad Pitt
Jean-Paul Pelissier/Landov
Angelina Jolie wasn't by his side to promote his new film at this year's Cannes Film Festival, but that didn't stop Brad Pitt from sharing details about his bride-to-be.
Their long-awaited engagement was "something that made sense," he told reporters Tuesday on the French Riviera as he helped promote his new gangster film, Killing Them Softly.
In response to rumors that the couple, who have been together since 2005, are tying the knot in August, Pitt, 48, added, "We have no date at all right now – there is no date. We're still hoping for marriage equality in the States before we [get married.].
Reporters asked if he minded playing a killer in the thriller, in which Pitt grabs a gun to take on the mob, knowing his kids (Maddox, 10, Pax, 8, Zahara, 7, Shiloh, 5, Knox, 3, Vivienne, 3) might see it some day.
"Not at all," Pitt said in response to the criticism. "Violence is an accepted part of the gangster world. I'd have a harder time playing a racist than some guy who shoots another guy in the face."
Added Pitt: "Ever seen them butcher a cow for hamburger? It's incredibly brutal and violent. We live in a very violent world."
Brad Pitt admits there's no date for wedding ... as fianceé Angelina Jolie prepares to film new movie
By Kimberley Dadds and Baz Bamigboye05:40 EST, 22 May 2012 UPDATED: 10:48 EST, 22 May 2012
Actor Brad Pitt has revealed that despite the recent announcement of his engagement to Angelina Jolie - the pair have not set a date yet.
While it was widely rumoured he planned to wed Angelina this year, at the photocall for new film Killing Them Softly he was quick to dispel talk.
Brad, 48, told Mail Online: 'We truly have no date. I'm still hoping we'll figure out our marriage equality in the States before then', Pitt said referring to the debate in the US over same sex marriage.
Star attendee: Brad Pitt stepped out to promote his latest movie at the Cannes Film Festival this morning showing off his boyish look
Crowd pleaser: The Hollywood star had a break
from Angelina Jolie and their brood of six children as he showed up and
waved at fans
Summery get-up: He wore a dapper outfit suitable for the warm weather as he showed off his longer hairstyle and goatee
Film launch: He appears as a contract killer in the new Andrew Dominick movie
Pitt said he would have little problem with his children watching violent movies when they're older.
'I would find playing a racist more unsettling than playing someone who shoots someone in the face', Pitt declared.
'We live in such a violent world', Pitt said and then asked people who love hamburgers to think about the killing involved in creating that burger. 'I don't see a world without violence', he added.
Photo call: After he posed for photos Brad chatted amongst friends before the screening
Causing a stir: Hordes of onlookers went wild as he stepped out for the Cannes Film Festival
Indeed one line in the film is sure to become much quoted. Pitt's character says to Jenkins, 'America's not a country, it's just a business'.
Killing Them Softly was having its gala screening in Cannes tonight.
It uses the gangster genre, and humour, to make larger points, not always successfully, about the state of the economy.
However, the acting particularly from Pitt, Scott McNairy and Jenkins is terrific.
Cuddles! Brad Pitt put his arms around producer of the film Dede Gardner as he greeted her
Cast: Brad Pitt stood out in his dapper ensemble as he stood next to Dede Gardner, as well as Scoot McNairy and Ray Liotta
Baz Bamigboye in Cannes - Killing Them Softly Review
Starring: Brad Pitt, Ray Liotta, Scoot McNairy, & Ben Mendelsohn.
Brad Pitt plays a hit-man who simply wants to be paid for a job well done and quite frankly he deserves every penny.The three-time Oscar nominee stars in Killing Them Softly, so called because his Jackie Cogan character dislikes getting all touchy feely over his intended targets, he would rather kill them softly.
Pitt's at the top of his game here. He doesn't labor over gestures, he just gives it to us simply. He has evolved into such a fascinating actor who just happens to possess gold-plated star quality.
Pitt's enforcer is dispatched to track down the guys who robbed the participants of a card game. Big mistake! It was a Mob-controlled game and the two junkies who pulled off the caper - fabulous performance from Scoot McNairy who plays one of them -- suddenly have a price on their heads.
Poor old Ray Liotta runs the poker game and he has every reason to be feeling nervous because he pulled a similar heist before, so now he's a number one suspect in the one involving Nairy and Ben Mendelsohn, an Australian actor.
Director Andrew Dominik has based his film on George V. Higgins' 1974 novel Cogan's Trade. He has updated it to 2008 and uses the 2008 US presidential election as a backdrop trying to link the economic recession to the seamier minutiae of the criminal underworld.
It's a stretch and that aspect of the movie doesn't quite work, although Pitt does get to argue that he shouldn't have to take a cut in his rates because of the state of the economy .
'America's not a country', he insists, 'It's just a business'. It's a good line and Pitt puts it over well.
There are no likable characters in this movie although many who amuse, particularly James Gandolfini's drunken hit man. There are no characters who emerge with honour. They are all low-life scumbags who are at home in the gutter.
It's a bloody and violent film. Liotta is beaten to a pulp by two thugs in an outrageous orgy of blood and spittle. I had to turn away but I could see how it was in keeping with the story and I can see how violence in movies is just part of business and how brutal betrayal is part of bloody life.
“We have no date”: Brad Pitt opens up about his (lack of) wedding plans
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