Weekend

From boxoffice.com

Weekend Actuals (Domestic)

Fri, Nov. 30 - Sun, Dec 2

1	The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2	$17,416,362	-60%	4,008	-62	$4,345	$254,598,866	3	Lionsgate / Summit
2	Skyfall	$16,555,894	-53%	3,463	-63	$4,781	$245,585,083	4	Sony / Columbia
3	Rise of The Guardians	$13,388,852	-44%	3,672	19	$3,646	$48,836,105	2	Paramount / DreamWorks
4	Lincoln	$13,376,696	-48%	2,018	0	$6,629	$83,566,169	4	Disney / DreamWorks
5	Life of Pi	$12,151,853	-46%	2,928	1	$4,150	$48,512,994	2	Fox
6	Wreck-It Ralph	$6,948,550	-58%	3,087	-172	$2,251	$158,184,813	5	Disney
7	Killing Them Softly	$6,812,900	--	2,424	--	$2,811	$6,812,900	1	Weinstein Company
8	Red Dawn (2012)	$6,500,245	-54%	2,781	56	$2,337	$31,272,953	2	FilmDistrict
9	Flight	$4,479,067	-47%	2,603	-35	$1,721	$81,465,903	5	Paramount
10	The Collection	$3,104,269	--	1,403	--	$2,213	$3,104,269	1	LD Entertainment
11	Argo	$2,010,349	-48%	1,043	-212	$1,927	$100,990,766	8	Warner Bros.

by Daniel Garris

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 led the box office for a third straight frame this weekend with a $17.42 million. In the process the fifth and final installment of the blockbuster fantasy franchise surpassed the $250 million domestic mark, making it fifth release of 2012 to do so. Breaking Dawn - Part 2 has grossed $254.60 million through 17 days of release. That places the film 3 percent ahead of the $246.93 million 17-day take of last year's The Twilight Saga: Breaking dawn - Part 1 and just 0.3 percent behind the $255.36 million 17-day gross of 2009's The Twilight Saga: New Moon. Breaking Dawn - Part 1 fell 60 percent from last weekend's three-day frame, as the marketplace in general experienced typically large post-Thanksgiving weekend declines this weekend. In comparison, Breaking Dawn - Part 1 fell 60 percent in its third weekend of release to gross $16.54 million, while New Moon fell 64 percent in its third weekend to gross $15.43 million.
Breaking Dawn - Part 2 remained very strong internationally this weekend as it took in $48.8 million. The film has grossed $447.8 million to date internationally and a massive $702.4 million worldwide.

Skyfall finished in a close second this weekend with $16.56 million. The 23rd installment of the James Bond franchise fell 53 percent from last weekend's three-day performance. In comparison 2008's Quantum of Solace fell 64 percent to gross $6.75 million during the weekend after Thanksgiving weekend, while 2006's Casino Royale (in its third weekend instead of its fourth) fell 51 percent to gross $15.11 million during the frame after Thanksgiving weekend. Skyfall has grossed a terrific $245.59 million to date and will soon be joining Breaking Dawn - Part 2 on this year's list of films to have grossed at least $250 million domestically.
Internationally Skyfall grossed $34.0 million this weekend, bringing its international total to $620.6 million and worldwide haul to $866.2 million.

Rise of the Guardians and Lincoln found themselves in a very close battle for third place, with Rise of the Guardians ultimately edging ahead with a weekend take of $13.389 million. Lincoln settled for fourth with $13.377 million, as the two films were separated by just $12,156 for the frame. Lincoln fell 48 percent from last weekend, while Rise of the Guardians fell a solid 44 percent as good word of mouth and the ongoing holiday season both helped the 3D computer animated film out this weekend. In the bigger picture Lincoln has grossed a stronger than expected $83.57 million to date, while Rise of the Guardians is performing below expectations with a twelve-day start of $48.84 million.
On the international front Rise of the Guardians grossed $40 million this weekend from 55 foreign territories. That brings the film's international total to $57 million and worldwide haul to $105.8 million. The film's international performance is especially important given its domestic performance thus far. Key international debuts for Rise of the Guardians this weekend included $4.7 million in France, $3.7 million in Mexico, $3.1 million in Brazil, $3.1 million in Italy and $3.0 million in the United Kingdom.

Life of Pi rounded out this weekend's top five with $12.15 million. The Ang Lee directed 3D film was down 46 percent from last weekend's stronger than expected debut. After moving ahead of Rise of the Guardians during the midweek, Life of Pi has fallen slightly behind Rise of the Guardians again with a twelve-day take of $48.51 million, though it should be reminded that Rise of the Guardians was the heavy favorite between the two Thanksgiving weekend releases beforehand.
Internationally, Life of Pi grossed $24.6 million this weekend from just 12 foreign markets. The film's international total now stands at $64.1 million, bringing its worldwide haul to $112.6 million. Life of Pi grossed $13.8 million in China alone this weekend and has now grossed $40.0 million there to date.

It was a tough start for Killing Them Softly as the crime drama starring Brad Pitt debuted in seventh with $6.81 million. That was below the film's modest pre-release expectations and gave The Weinstein Company release a per-location average of $2,811 from 2,424 locations. On top of the lackluster start, Killing Them Softly received an F rating on CinemaScore, which is obviously a very poor sign for the film's holding power going forward. Killing Them Softly delivered the lowest live-action debut ever for a Brad Pitt vehicle opening in at least 1,500 locations (his previous low under the same criteria being the $10.02 million start of 1997's Seven Years in Tibet in 2,103 locations).

The news was significantly better for The Weinstein Company with regard to Silver Linings Playbook. The awards season hopeful starring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence took in $3.090 million from 371 locations, giving it a healthy per-location average of $8,329. The film was down only 30 percent from last weekend's three-day frame and has grossed $10.74 million to date.
The Collection just edged out Silver Linings Playbook for tenth place this weekend with a debut of $3.104 million from 1,403 locations. The R-rated horror sequel from LD Entertainment opened a bit below the $3.58 million start of its predecessor, The Collector, back in the summer of 2009.
In other box office news, Warner's Argo crossed the $100 million domestic mark this weekend. The awards season hopeful starring and directed by Ben Affleck took in $2.01 million this weekend and has grossed $100.99 million to date.



From LA Times

Brad Pitt's 'Killing Them Softly' gets slaughtered by holdovers

By Amy Kaufman

December 2, 2012, 9:22 a.m.

Brad Pitt's "Killing Them Softly" barely had a pulse at the box office this weekend.
Not only did the crime flick debut with a weak $7 million, according to an estimate from distributor The Weinstein Co., but audiences hated it. Those who saw the film assigned it a rare average grade of F, according to market research firm CinemaScore. The last movie to earn that grade was January's horror film "The Devil Inside."

As for "Killing Them Softly," on Sunday morning, even The Weinstein Co. wasn't trying to pretend there was any upside to the film's poor opening.
"We're disappointed, and there's no getting around that,” said Erik Lomis, the independent studio's president of theatrical distribution and home entertainment. "We thought it was deserving of a wide release because it was Brad Pitt in a gangster movie."
Typically, a F CinemaScore indicates that moviegoers were expecting something far different from a movie than they ended up getting. Asked if he thought the marketing campaign for the film was off-base, Lomis replied that he thought "people just didn’t like the movie.""I think if you looked at the reviews, a lot of them were good for Brad, but they weren't all great for the movie," he said. "The headlines looked good, but maybe they weren't as great as they appeared to be."
Indeed, the film notched a strong 79% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie, which stars Pitt as a hit man looking into a crooked poker game, marks the second collaboration for the actor with Australian director Andrew Dominik. Unfortunately, it seems "Killing Them Softly" will follow the same trajectory as their first partnership, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford." That 2007 film earned strong reviews but only collected $3.9 million.
"Killing Them Softly" marks the lowest wide-release opening for Pitt in nearly two decades. He hasn't had a live-action film perform this badly in its first weekend since the beginning of his career, when his 1994 romantic comedy "The Favor" launched with $1.5 million.
The Weinstein Co. co-financed the actor's latest film with Megan Ellison's production company Annapurna Pictures for $15 million.

=========

Conventional thinking is that the people who flock to a movie's opening night are those most excited to see it -- the hard core fans who are most likely to give it the highest marks.  Audiences that come later are generally more indifferent,  so an "A" on opening night may drift down to a "A-" or "B+" by the 2nd week.  The higher the CinemaScore, the greater the probability that good word of mouth will be generated and sustained in the coming weeks, enabling the film to have longer "legs".  A starting grade of at least "B" usually leads to decent "legs" which translates to an eventual total gross of least 3X opening weekend for films on wide release (600 theaters or more).  

I knew KTS would be divisive and would appeal mostly to anti-establishment, art-house types, but an "F" CinemaScore from opening night audiences is a bit of a shock.  With an "F" score and with less than $7M from 2,400 theaters, KTS may not reach $15M by the end of its domestic run.  It would be interesting to see how far the film's gross will drop in its 2nd weekend.

I can only surmise that the film's cynical views on business and politics and the blunt manner they were laid out may have turned people off, especially as it comes on the heels of a polarising presidential campaign.  An "F" indicates that many of the moviegoers emerged angry and offended -- principally at the movie and the writer- director -- but Brad won't get away unscathed.  And coupled with the general bewilderment over his Chanel ad, his brand is going through a bruising and rough patch after what had been an exceptionally strong year last year.

Brad has frequently said that he wants to support niche movies and use his clout both to get the films made and to attract an audience.  In this instance he was hoping to help Andrew Dominik get out of director's jail after Jesse James.  JJ performed even worse than KTS but went on to become a cult favorite, in no small part because of Roger Deakins' (Skyfall) gorgeous cinematography.  This may have emboldened Brad to give Dominik another try especially as he was coming off the most successful year of his career.  But KTS is much more overt and heavy-handed in its message and without Deakins' lush and moody imagery to enthrall viewers, it is doubtful it can achieve the same post-release cult status.

It goes without saying that this will put Dominik swiftly back in director's jail, and he'll need to find someone else the next time he wants to try and break out because at this point in his career, Brad no longer has the time or the capital to expend on another failed enterprise.

While I liked the film, I could also see the point of view of critics like NYTimes' A.O. Scott who wrote "the movie is more concerned with conjuring an aura of meaningfulness than with actually meaning anything."  

Most of the film's financing was put up by Oracle heiress Megan Ellison who, like Brad, has shown a willingness to back risky films.   Even if KTS fails to earn back its $15M + cost, it's not going to be a huge loss for her Annapurna Pictures.  Among the other films she backed this year are The Master, Lawless and probable Best Picture contender Zero Dark Thirty.

What's more critically important for Brad is WWZ, his big-budget, franchise hopeful that will be released June 21, 2013.  WWZ  will be Brad's first blockbuster* since Ocean's 13 (2007),  the first where he has a lead starring role since Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005), and the first where he is the solo star since Troy (2004).  He also has 12 Years A Slave due on Sept. 6, 2013, and The Counselor on Nov. 15, 2013, but while he's a producer of 12 Years, his part in that film and in The Counselor are little more than cameos.

Serious films like Tree of Life and Moneyball establish Brad's acting and producing creds.  They and small niche film like KTS can't be used as a full measure of Brad's box office clout.  But a big blockbuster* like WWZ will be scrutinized carefully as it will be seen to reflect his current marquee value.  It will used to determine how much he can command from studios for future films.   

With an initial budget of $170M -- and that's probably gone up with the ongoing costly reshoots -- WWZ's troubled production has attracted a lot of attention.  After KTS, the stakes are higher for Brad and he will have a lot more riding on WWZ's success. 

- Fussy


*blockbuster - high-budget production aimed at mass markets, with associated merchandising, on which the financial fortunes of film studio or distributor depended - Wikipedia
==============





Matt Patches ‏@misterpatches

It's not that Brad Pitt's movies are failing, it's that he's purposefully starring in niche movies that will fail to lose his celeb status. 

11:06 AM - 1 Dec 12

Jim Shi ‏@jimshi809

#BradPitt, Chanel No. 5 face, & #AngelinaJolie will attend Chanel's pre-fall Metiers d'Art fashion show in Edinburgh, Scotland on Dec. 4! 

1:04 PM - 1 Dec 12 

Guy Lodge ‏@GuyLodge

Question for everyone who has fancied Brad Pitt at one point: did your crush survive the Chanel No. 5 ad? I don't see how it could. 

4:21 PM - 2 Dec 12

From Deadline



Traditionally the weekend after Thanksgiving gives new definition to the term ‘quiet’. I’m told it’s failed to produce a wide release hit for 20 years and counting. So there were low expectations for producer Brad Pitt‘s R-rated ruthless star turn in Killing Them Softly (2,424 theaters) from his Plan B production company and Oracle heiress Megan Ellison’s Annapurna Pictures which financed it for $15M. But Friday night it received a miserable ‘F’ CinemaScore from audiences despite decent reviews and a stellar cast including Ray Liotta, Richard Jenkins, and James Gandolfini. Little wonder that distributor The Weinstein Company dumped the film this off-weekend – when no movie has opened north of $10 million since 2005′s Aeon Flux - after acquiring it post its Cannes premiere for a release commitment only in the U.S./Canada. “If we do double digit millions, we will be fine. And if it happens to get into the teens, we would be very happy,” an exec told me before it opened. So TWC must be mad as hell because the pic will only open to single digits. One film financing exec tells me about the TWC deal on this pic, “Killing Them Softly will be lucky to reach $15M box office when all is said and done. Using that figure and extrapolating out their Showtime pay TV deal (which is not that great), potential TV deal, VOD, and DVD, they are going to be unrecouped about $12M in P&A assuming they spent $27M to release. Not good.”
Killing Them Softly was scheduled to be released September 21st, then moved to this weekend to avoid competing against TWC’s The Master. (Although it moves another ‘R’ movie against TWC’s Silver Linings Playbook.) The actioner retained its original release date in other regions where Inferno International is representing overseas sales which have produced nearly $15M in grosses so far. (Inferno filed for bankruptcy protection in Los Angeles earlier this year, citing a legal judgment related to the 2005 release of the Ryan Reynolds comedy Just Friends.) The film, shot in New Orleans for tax credits, follows three dumb guys who think they’re smart and rob a Mob-protected card game, causing the local criminal economy to collapse. Pitt plays the hit man enforcer hired to track them down and restore order. Based on George V. Higgins’ 1974 crime novel Cogan’s Trade, it was scripted and directed by Australian Andrew Dominik who previously teamed up with Pitt on another of Brad’s puny-grossing passion projects – 2007′s The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (just $3.9M). Harvey and Bob Weinstein, as well as Ellison, are among the executive producers. Besides Pitt, Dede Gardner, Steve Schwartz, Paula Mae Schwartz, and Anthony Katagas produced the film.



From Team Coco via L.A. Times

'Killing Them Softly' gets mashed with Chanel No. 5 on 'Conan'

Brad Pitt (Joel Ryan / AP / November 30, 2012)

By Patrick Kevin Day

November 30, 2012, 11:49 a.m.

Last month Brad Pitt appeared in a head-scratching commercial for the fragrance Chanel No. 5. This month he's starring in the small-time gangster flick "Killing Them Softly." How are these things related?
They're not. But on Thursday night's episode of "Conan," Conan O'Brien and his writers took the opportunity to slip Pitt's bizarre spoken-word non sequiturs from the Chanel No. 5 ad into a scene with Pitt opposite his old "True Romance" co-star, James Gandolfini.
The results, surprisingly, aren't bad. And some might argue it improves the film, which has received mixed reviews.
O'Brien isn't the first person to parody Pitt's bizarre ads. "Saturday Night Live" also mocked the spot. And to his credit, Pitt has had good humor about them, telling "Access Hollywood" that "I haven't [seen the parodies], but I say absolutely fair play, fair play."



From THR

Box Office Preview: Brad Pitt No Match for 'Breaking Dawn - Part 2,' 'Skyfall'

7:29 PM PST 11/29/2012 by Pamela McClintock 

Andrew Dominik's Killing Them Softly, opening Friday, could mark Brad Pitt's lowest nationwide opening in more than a decade,

Box office observers expect the modestly budgeted independent film to gross in the $8 million to $10 million range. The Weinstein Co. bought U.S. distribution rights to the film from Inferno Entertainment, which financed the crime drama with Pitt's Plan B production company and Megan Ellison's Annapurna Pictures.
PHOTOS: Outtakes from Brad Pitt's THR Cover Shoot
Holdovers The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -- Part 2 and Skyfall are expected to lead the box office overall, with a crush of films duking it out for the remaining top spots, including Killing Them Softly, Lincoln, Life of Pi, Rise of the Guardians and Wreck-It Ralph.
The weekend after Thanksgiving is generally devoid of big studio releases, and this year is no exception.
After Killing Them Softly, the only other new release is horror pic The Collection, a sequel to the 2009 The Collector. Both were independently financed, with The Collection distributed in North America by LD Entertainment. The movie is expected to open in the $4 million range.
PHOTOS: Brad Pitt's Most Memorable Movies
Killing Them Softly, based on the 1974 novel Cogan's Trade by George V. Higgins, stars Pitt as professional enforcer Jackie Cogan, who is charged with investigating a robbery at a mob-protected poker game. Budgeted at $15 million, the film also stars Ray Liotta, James Gandolfini and Sam Shepard.
The movie made its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May; its release was subsequently moved from September to November.
Pitt is a consistently strong box-office draw, and there's always a chance Killing Them Softly could overperform. Among his nationwide live-action releases, his last lowest opening was $11 million for Fight Club in 1999.

From L.A. Times

Movie Projector

Brad Pitt's 'Killing Them Softly' poised for soft box office debut

By Amy Kaufman

November 29, 2012, 1:21 p.m.

Brad Pitt's latest movie "Killing Them Softly" won't make a killing at the box office this weekend.
Rather, the violent dark comedy will debut softly with about $10 million domestically, according to those who have seen pre-release audience surveys. The film is expected to get slaughtered by a handful of pictures that have been in theaters for weeks.
"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Down -- Part 2" could be the No. 1 film at the multiplex for the third consecutive weekend. The vampire flick is expected to add another $15 million to $20 million to its to-date take of $230 million this weekend.
The latest James Bond movie, "Skyfall," will be fighting "Twilight" for the top spot, while DreamWorks Animation's 3-D picture "Rise of the Guardians" could end up in third place after a disappointing debut last weekend.
The only other new entry this weekend is the horror film "The Collection," which is expected to fare even worse than Pitt's film. The movie, which has no recognizable stars, is projected to start off with around $5 million.
"Killing Them Softly" is the latest passion project for Pitt, who is teaming with Australian director Andrew Dominik for the second time. The two first worked together on 2007's "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," which received positive reviews but tanked at the box office with only $3.9 million.
The pair's latest film has received slightly better reviews. On Thursday, it had an 84% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. In the crime picture, Pitt plays a hit man who is looking into a heist that occurred during a poker game. After premiering to mixed response at the Cannes International Film Festival in May, the movie was pushed off of its original September release date.
Financed primarily by Megan Ellison's production company Annapurna Pictures for $15 million, the movie is being distributed by the Weinstein Co.
Even though Pitt is a proven box office draw, his latest film may attract the smallest number of moviegoers since his last collaboration with Dominik five years ago. The star's artsy independent movie "The Tree of Life," directed by Terrence Malick, did solid business at the box office last year, grossing $54 million worldwide.
"The Collection" is a sequel to 2009's "The Collector," which only bagged $7.7 million in North America. The new film, which has received middling reviews, centers around a young woman who is kidnapped by a killer called "The Collector" who takes all of his victims to an empty hotel rigged with a trap-filled maze.
The movie was directed by Marcus Dunstan, who co-wrote the screenplay with Patrick Melton. The two veterans of the horror genre have co-written a number of scary flicks including four installments in the "Saw" franchise.




From BoxOffice.com

Weekend Predictions: 'Killing Them Softly' & 'The Collection'

November 28, 2012 by BOXOFFICE Staff

Following a record-breaking Thanksgiving weekend, audiences will take a pause in between two major holidays while studios follow suit. Killing Them Softly and The Collection are the only scheduled wide releases for this weekend.
Fandango reports that The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey currently leads activity on the site with 17% of all sales today. Breaking Dawn - Part 2 is close behind with 16%, followed by Lincoln (13%), Life of Pi (9%) and Skyfall (7%).

Killing Them Softly
PROS:
- Brad Pitt's presence gives this otherwise under-the-radar pic a fighting chance for intriguing some audiences.
- Early reviews have been solid.
- Twitter activity hasn't been impressive, although the film's 98% "want to see" score across 24,000+ Flixster voters is strong.
CONS:
- Demand for a new film the week after a record-breaking holiday - especially given the amount of competition in the market currently - will be considerably low.
- The film's marketing campaign has been quite subtle. On top of the numerous release date changes over the past year, awareness seems lacking for a Pitt movie.

The Collection
PROS:
- Reviews are strong, so the die hard horror audience could turn out.
- Horror fans don't have much in the market place to check out right now, especially after the disappointing word of mouth surrounding Paranormal Activity 4.
CONS:
- Releasing a horror film after Halloween hasn't historically led to big box office.
- The low 1,700 theater count will work against it.


Check out the rest at boxoffice.com

Title	Release Date	Distributor	Opening Weekend	Cumulative
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2	Nov 16, 2012	Lionsgate / Summit	$17,000,000	$254,000,000
Skyfall	Nov 8, 2012	Sony / Columbia	$16,800,000	$246,000,000
Lincoln	Nov 9, 2012	Disney / DreamWorks	$15,800,000	$85,800,000
Life of Pi	Nov 21, 2012	Fox	$13,200,000	$49,700,000
Rise of The Guardians	Nov 21, 2012	Paramount / DreamWorks	$13,000,000	$48,600,000
Killing Them Softly	Nov 30, 2012	Weinstein Company	$7,900,000	$7,900,000

From Variety

Leftovers warm up box-office horserace

'Skyfall' expected to surpass 'Twilight' in fourth frame

By Andrew Stewart

This weekend's sluggish domestic box office will suffer from the usual Thanksgiving gluttony after-effects, but an interesting horse-race among leftovers should keep observers awake. Leading the charge in the high teens is Sony-MGM's "Skyfall," expected to eke past Summit's "Twilight" finale, "Breaking Dawn -- Part 2" to claim its second Stateside victory in its fourth frame.
Last weekend, "Skyfall" tallied just $8 million less than "Twilight," which grossed $43.6 million in three days. The James Bond pic should close the gap, down 50% or so, as "Twilight" pics tend to drop more than that in repeat frames. "Breaking Dawn -- Part 1," for instance, fell 60% this same frame last year, with $16.5 million.
"Skyfall" has collected $225 million domestically so far; "Part 2," $232 million.
This weekend already has an advantage over last year's, which had no wide releases. Bowing Friday, the Weinstein Co.'s "Killing Them Softly" should gross $10 million with a possible low-teens upside. Start-up distrib LD Entertainment, meanwhile, launches torture-porn pic "The Collection," with at-best expectations in the $5 million range.

Contact Andrew Stewart at andrew.stewart@variety.com

From NYTimes

Movie Review

One Bad Turn Deserves Another

‘Killing Them Softly,’ With Brad Pitt, From Andrew Dominik

The Weinstein Company

Brad Pitt in "Killing Them Softly."

By A. O. SCOTT

Published: November 29, 2012

A mobbed-up poker game has been robbed, and the guys who did it — a twitchy ex-con (Scoot McNairy), his drug-addled Australian partner (Ben Mendelsohn) and the businessman (Vincent Curatola) who is the lame brains of the operation — need to be dealt with. That rough justice, to be carried out by a melancholy hit man after a series of philosophical conversations with various associates, is the main concern of “Killing Them Softly,” a grisly little crime movie directed by Andrew Dominik and based on the novel “Cogan’s Trade,” by George V. Higgins.

In spite of the golden presence of Brad Pitt as the killer, a level-headed professional named Jackie Cogan, the movie has an agreeably scuzzy, small-time feeling. Shot in and around New Orleans but set (as far as can be surmised from accents, geographical references and the source material) in a broken-down Boston, it savors the company of losers, fixers and would-be wiseguys. And they are all guys, with the exception of a briefly encountered prostitute identified in the end credits by profession rather than by name.

Higgins, who died in 1999 and whose book “The Friends of Eddie Coyle” was adapted into a first-rate movie starring Robert Mitchum, was a master of hard-boiled, world-weary macho dialogue. Mr. Dominik, who wrote “Killing Them Softly,” carefully transfers the novelist’s pungent idiom to the screen.

Mr. Pitt is cool and detached, retreating from his emotionally open recent performances into the studied charisma of “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” (also directed by Mr. Dominik, in 2007) and leaving the emoting to others. His chief foils are an anxious, middle-management gangster played by Richard Jenkins and a sodden fellow hit man incarnated with rancid swagger by James Gandolfini. Ray Liotta, who frequently shows up in movies like this one, shows up as the guy who oversees the ill-starred poker game.

It can be a pleasure to watch them all work, even in what turns out to be a disappointing job. Higgins was a genre magician. Mr. Dominik is a clever hand at genre pastiche, and the result is a movie, like “The Assassination of Jesse James,” that is sapped of vitality by its own self-conscious, curatorial fastidiousness. It takes place entirely in a universe of tropes and archetypes, which is a polite way of saying clichés and pretensions.

There is one desperate, misguided attempt to drag the story toward some kind of contemporary relevance. Even though the cars, the attitudes and the overall griminess of the production design evoke a bygone era, “Killing Them Softly” unfolds at a specific moment in the recent past, namely the autumn of 2008, when the American financial system spun into crisis in the climactic weeks of the presidential campaign. The voices of George W. Bush, Henry Paulson and Barack Obama float into the action from televisions and radios, occasionally inspiring comments from the characters.

It’s a clumsy device, a feint toward significance that nothing else in the movie earns. Perhaps the bankers and speculators who ruined the economy are linked in some way to the punks and lowlifes who ruin themselves, and maybe Cogan is the allegorical double of Ben Bernanke. Anything is possible, since the movie is more concerned with conjuring an aura of meaningfulness than with actually meaning anything.

In the last scene Mr. Obama’s victory speech provokes a cynical tirade from Cogan, who scoffs, in a carefully nonpartisan fashion, at the president-elect’s idealism. “America isn’t a country; it’s a business,” this thoughtful killer declares, turning to one of his colleagues. “Now give me my money.”

Fair enough. But it’s still a free country, and you don’t owe this movie anything.

People

From People

Brad Pitt: Fatherhood Has Made Me a Better Man

By Mary Green

Thinking back over 2012, Brad Pitt acknowledges it's been a big year for his "familia" since proposing to Angelina Jolie – whom he affectionately calls "Mama" – last April.

"It's been a family type of year, a down-home type of year," he tells PEOPLE in this week's cover story. "Mama's worked more. And quite frankly I've really enjoyed it."

The actor, whose Mob drama, Killing Them Softly, hits theaters Friday, chatted with PEOPLE between bites of his dinner with 4-year-old twins, Knox and Vivienne, at their rental home outside of London. While he stopped short of confirming a wedding date, he did reveal what the couple have in mind for their big day: "Just family," Pitt says. "Keep it simple. Keep it simple – really."

For now, the actor is looking forward to being reunited with the rest of his brood – Maddox, 11, Pax, 9, Zahara, 7, and Shiloh, 6 – who were in Cambodia working on the family's foundation with Jolie.

Has fatherhood made him a better man? "Absolutely," Pitt says. Being a dad "takes you right off yourself."

As for turning 50 next year, the actor insists he's taking it all in stride. "This is what I think about: 'Okay, you're way over the mid-point [of your life]. You don't know how much time you have left,' " Pitt says. "I want to enjoy this year more than ever."

• Reporting by K.C. BAKER

For more of our interview with Pitt, including wedding plans and his "intense" life with Jolie and their kids, pick up this week's issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Click to view actual size

Promos 2

I can't seem to find the original source of interviews being quoted by some tabs (M&C & Virgin).  The quotes echo words he has said before but in the absence of a bonafide, verifiable source, they remain question marks.

From Monsters & Critics

People News

Brad Pitt love children's chaos

Dec 6, 2012, 4:01 GMT

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie

Brad Pitt says spending a morning with six children is 'a beautiful form of chaos'.
The 48-year-old actor - who raises six kids, Maddox, 11, Pax, eight, Zahara, seven, Shiloh, six, and four-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne, with his fiancee Angelina Jolie - is trying to enjoy every moment he can with his children because he knows they wont be young forever.
He said: 'I would describe it as a beautiful and controlled form of chaos. Sometimes you're tired and you kind of function on automatic but I really appreciate this time where the kids are still young and they're forming right in front of your eyes.
'I'm trying to enjoy it all because I know that one day I'm going to look back and they'll all be grown up and I'll miss this time.'
Brad and Angelina's older children have got used to travelling around the world with their busy parents, and the 'World War Z' star revealed the couple's youngsters love to create their own 'fantasy playgrounds' when they are staying in hotels.
He added: 'They're expert travellers. The older ones are getting very adept at packing up and taking along the books or toys they like to have with them wherever we're living. They know the routine by now and so it's much easier for me to organise everyone while Angie can pay more attention to getting the twins ready.
'They also love staying at hotels because it's this pretend world for them that they get to be part of. It's quite something to watch them create their own little fantasy playground wherever we go - running around, jumping, playing make-believe. I love it! Most of the time!'


From Daily Mail

Doting dad Pitt

Brad Pitt loves spending mornings with his six children. The actor is trying to enjoy every moment he can with his and Angelina Jolie's kids - Maddox, 11, Pax, eight, Zahara, seven, Shiloh, six, and four-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne because he knows they won't be young forever. "I would describe it as a beautiful and controlled form of chaos," he said. "Sometimes you're tired and you kind of function on automatic but I really appreciate this time where the kids are still young and they're forming right in front of your eyes." - showbizspy.com




From OK Germany via entertainmentwise

Brad Pitt: 'I'm Blunt With Angelina Jolie When Something's Wrong'

Actor opens up about relationship with Hollywood siren

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are one of the hottest couple's in showbiz with many wondering how the hunk managed to tame the sultry sex symbol, who was once one of the wildest stars in Hollywood.

According to Brad he's not scared to stand up to his fiancee and can be “blunt” when they're is something wrong. The star, who is currently promoting new movie 'Killing Me Softly' told German OK! Magazine that he's not scared to stand up to Ang.

"We always say openly and sometimes bluntly if there is anything wrong. We are so unbelievably close to each other - in the way we think and the way we live," he revealed.

Speaking of what he loves about his partner of seven years, who he has six children with, Brad went on: "And I admire Angie for her ability to stay cool in times of crisis, she always knows the answer. I'm much more unbalanced in that way! But these are the things I'm learning from her - at least I try."

 (WENN)

With such a spotlight on their relationship Brad admitted at times it can be difficult to handle their brood of children and with six under 11, just leaving the house can be a military operations.

"Believe me, every time we want to leave the house to do some shopping it's like planning an escape. It's as if there's money on our heads?," he explained.

"I'm happy that at least the older kids aren't afraid of the paparazzi any more and are used to it."
But it's not just leaving the house that puts Brad under pressure, he recently admitted the children are impatient for the couple to tie the knot having got engaged in April this year.

Speaking at a press conference for his new movie earlier this week, he said: "I will admit we have had some pressure from our kids. We didn't realise how much it means to them, and in getting engaged, we didn't realise how much it means to ourselves."





From USAToday

Brad Pitt is a man on the move

Donna Freydkin, USA TODAY 

The Oscar-nominated superstar deftly navigates a life in the spotlight and the beloved 'chaos' of six kids at home.

5:22PM EST November 28. 2012 - NEW YORK – Brad Pitt bounds into a suite at the Waldorf-Astoria, doles out a quick handshake that turns into a hug, and sprints to one of the three windows in the room. He pulls open the curtains and looks at the sleet and rain hammering Manhattan 29 floors below him. Like any commuter, Pitt is concerned about annoying travel delays and getting to work on time.
"I gotta get out of here. I go straight to set," he says, referring to the London re-shoots of the zombie flick World War Z. "I just buzzed in and am buzzing out. I hit the plane this afternoon."
Yes, this is what the most famous actor in the world is really like. Shockingly, weirdly, almost off-puttingly accessible. Once you get past the thick layers of security – necessary, as evidenced by a hotel employee who had earlier flipped out in ecstasy after seeing Pitt in person – and peel back all your expectations, fed by years of panting tabloid coverage of everything Pitt, you meet a guy who's friendly, a bit tired, and exceedingly pleasant.
"He's the most normal guy. I spent a lot of time with him on those Ocean's movies – he doesn't do anything to drum up that insanity. He lives in the middle of that and he's somehow found a way to not go crazy. He's not crazy," confirms his friend Matt Damon, who had just seen Pitt. "I don't know if that's his family or his upbringing and now it's become his children and his wife. It's incredible – seeing him yesterday, he's the same great guy from Missouri. I don't understand how he keeps doing great work. It would seem to me that you would lose your ability to be a human being. I genuinely don't know how he's still such a great guy, such a real guy."
Ask Pitt that question and he just laughs. That's probably the better and smarter alternative to furiously and futilely fighting the constant scrutiny lavished on him and his family, fiancée Angelina Jolie and their six kids, Maddox, 11, Pax, 9, Zahara, 7, Shiloh, 6, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 4.
"We're a double whammy, Angie and I. I jumped into this thing somehow as a tabloid magnet. I'm not sure what I did," says Pitt. "We stay blissfully naïve to all of it. You can't do anything about it. More importantly, I trust my decision-making process. When you have that other feedback, those other comments, they're always in the back there. They color your thinking in an unpure way. I don't like that. I don't want anything steering me right or left. I find it a much healthier way to live and my decisions are better, because they're strictly mine."
He applies that same instinctual approach to his career. It's how and why he signed on to star in Killing Them Softly, a Mob drama directed by Andrew Dominik that opens Friday. He'd worked with Pitt on 2007's The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Dominik had sent Pitt a text, asking if he was interested in playing a cool-headed and practical hit man. Pitt said yes. The next day, they hashed out the deal at Pitt's L.A. home, sans agents or managers.
"I don't know if I've ever made one happen faster. Andrew is a friend of mine and someone I trust with anything and everything," says Pitt.
What fuels his decisions? "It's more about the company I keep. But I liked this idea. Selfishly, for me, it's getting to do something more urban from my upbringing in the old Ozarks," he says. "I thought it was a very provocative telling. People came in. We did it for no money. We shot the whole film in five or six weeks. It's pretty fun."
Dominik first approached Pitt because they had a history together, and a rich working relationship. Plus, he says, Pitt has that ephemeral quality you can't really quantify. You know it when you see it.
"He always seems to retain his mystery on screen. There's something unattainable about Brad. There's something mysterious about him," says Dominik. "Brad is a naturally very generous guy. This time, he gets to play a selfish (expletive) and gets to take a holiday from himself. You have to cast Brad as someone exceptional. Here, he's the enforcer. He's a cool part."
In person, too, says Dominik, Pitt is just as disarming. "He's really hard to buy a gift for. He gives a lot. It's hard to receive," says the director. "I find Brad to be very straightforward, very stubborn. He's a contrarian. He's not frightened. That might be unusual for a movie star in his situation. He's very fearless. When things have been difficult in my life, he's been there. I admire the way he handles himself."
Would Pitt go into acting today, if he knew what the industry was like and the impact fame would have on his life?
"Now, at this age? No, but not because of acting. I have other, quieter interests," says the Oscar-nominated actor, who works with the Make It Right foundation, which builds green homes for lower-income families, and dabbles in architecture, jewelry and furniture design.
Pitt doesn't come across as angry or bitter or fed-up with his supersized existence, which is based in Los Angeles, New Orleans and a chateau in France. His life just is what it is. The fans are who they are. And things, he says, have calmed down – somewhat.
"It's changed a little bit. Now, being older, it's actually sweeter. It's nicer in some ways. Somewhere in the middle it got really ugly, the grabbing, not seeing that there's a person there," he says. "That was coming from the bounty hunt for pictures. It's an older generation now. We're all getting older."
His birthday is next month and in one year, he turns 50. To say Pitt is aging gracefully is to call Chanel just another clothing line. "I'm actually kinda doing it. Talk to me in 10 years when the knees aren't working at all," he says.
As for his upcoming nuptials, Pitt remains circumspect, telling reporters only that it may happen soon. His home life, says the actor, revolves around his brood. He and Jolie take turns working; she just shot the fable Maleficent in England.
"We keep the family together and one of us can always be home with the kids. By the way, it's a really nice break. Mom worked all summer. I got to spend a lot of time with them. We got to come up and spend time at mommy's work. It's just the way to do it," he says.
When told about this reporter's problems with toddler tantrums, Pitt nods. He gets it. And he also understands the mess that kids usher in, and the inability to keep any area of any dwelling toy-free.
"After two, you just throw in the towel. It's just nice. Once you get to three or four or five or six, it makes it a little bit richer," he says of his children. "There's a few more sounds in the house. I love it. I love the chaos. I love the big family. I love the chaos in the house. It's so full of light. As long as you've got a place to be a quiet, but you don't because they take over those areas too. It's not your home anymore."
And what about the obsession with crayons or markers? Yes, Pitt's been there.
"Oh man. One of them ended up with a Sharpie. I walked into our room and am washing my hands in the bathroom. I look over. What's that on the sink? I trace a line across the wall, across the shades, the bathtub, into the bedroom, along the wall, up over the bed. Someone had covered the entire place and ended in big scribbling at the end," he says, not naming the culprit. "It was a she. It was two shes. One inspired the other to keep going."
He's adorable when discussing his kids, just another doting and bemused dad telling stories about them and Jolie, as long as they're not for publication. As the interview wraps up, Pitt checks the time, glancing at the stunning gold timepiece on his left arm.
"My missus got me this watch. It's an old one," he says.
Clearly, Jolie knows her man. If there's one thing to note about Pitt, it's the difficulty in finding a good present for him. Dominik says he's impossible to buy for. Pitt agrees.
"I don't want people to buy me gifts. I feel guilty. I'm not good at accepting gifts. I feel uncomfortable. Buy me a drink!"






From AP via The Telegraph

Brad Pitt on marriage to Angelina Jolie, 'Killing Them Softly', and THAT Chanel ad

His face is hardly wrinkled and he is still one of the biggest movie stars on the planet, but Brad Pitt has admitted that he is becoming increasingly concerned with his own mortality.

Brad Pitt says the spoofs of his Chanel No5 ad are "fair play"

2:52AM GMT 29 Nov 2012

Twenty years after his break-out role as the heart throb of "Thelma & Louise", Pitt says he is now working as though his expiration date is lurking.

"I'm definitely past halfway," the actor, who turns 49 in December, revealed in a new interview. "I think about it very much as a father. You just want to be around to see (your children) do everything. If I have so many days left, how am I filling those days? I've been agonizing over that one a bit like I never have before."

That sense of urgency has helped fuel some of Pitt's most daring work, including his new film, "Killing Them Softly."

The film is his second with Andrew Dominik, the New Zealand-born director of "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford". In the adaption of George V Higgins' 1974 crime novel, "Cogan's Trade," Pitt plays a hit man operating in a shabby underworld of image-conscious gangsters.

Pitt has starred in surprisingly few blockbusters over the last decade. Instead, he has gravitated toward working with revered directors like Terrence Malick ("Tree of Life") and the Coen brothers, and shaping his opportunities by producing them. His production company, Plan B, produced both "Jesse James" and "Killing Them Softly," as well as many of his films in between.

More often than not, he's sought to downplay his glamour, a track begun with David Fincher's "Fight Club" and extended with ruminations on celebrity (Dominik's "Jesse James") and more character actor roles than most leading men would dare (his ditzy personal trainer in the Coens' "Burn After Reading," his Nazi-killing lieutenant in Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds").
"Killing Them Softly," too, is an ensemble, with James Gandolfini, Richard Jenkins, Ray Liotta, Scoot McNairy and Ben Mendelsohn.

Even in last year's performance as Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane in "Moneyball" (for which he landed his third Oscar nomination), Pitt deliberately played it low-key.
"Life is more interesting," he said in an interview with the Associated Press published on Wednesday. "I enjoy the fantasy; I enjoy when everyone wins. I just don't contribute to that idea very well, for better or worse.
"There's something subversive in my Christian upbringing or something, my mid-America upbringing. That irreverent urge that makes you want to yell or fart during the Benediction in church. I just can't help it."
And yet, Pitt has simultaneously carried the movie star mantle with seeming ease. Though his relationship with Angelina Jolie, with whom he has six children, has made him a constant tabloid target, he appeared relaxed and unguarded in conversation. He said his celebrity "hasn't bugged me since the '90s," but he acknowledged that he occasionally trades on it: "I mean, I play some smart ball," he said.
"The difficulty with Brad was always: What can you cast a movie star in?" says Dominik. "You have to deal with it. You have to cast him as someone extraordinary, which I guess he is. He's the cool guy in the movie."
Certainly a very un-"Fight Club" thing to do was the recent Chanel ad campaign Pitt stars in, where he smolders in black-and-white and says things like "It's not a journey" into the camera. The spots were mocked on "Saturday Night Live," to which Pitt says cheerfully: "Fair play, fair play." After a reporter admits not knowing much about fragrances, he laughed, admitting: "Apparently, neither do I."
So why do it?
"Never done it before," was the star's reply. "Respect the company. I'm getting old. Last time I'll probably be able to do something like that."
It is a line of reasoning that seems pervasive in Pitt's choices right now, including his current project: "World War Z", a zombie action film reportedly budgeted at $180 million that could give Pitt what his resume is missing: a franchise.

"I'm not a franchise guy," he said. "They told me I should be focusing on that, as I'm getting older and cresting the precipice and heading down the other side: 'You should really bank one of those.' I'm just not good at it."
The film is also a far bigger scale production for Pitt and Plan B, and things have not gone smoothly. The ending is being reshot - typically a bad sign for a movie - and Pitt calls the film "a total learning experience for me." When the film finally wraps, he said, "Believe me, I'll be celebrating."
Dede Gardner, Pitt's producing partner, says getting older has only made Pitt more patient.
"He's extremely careful," says Gardner. "I suppose that's one thing that happens if you age with consciousness, to be vigilant."
Their other coming productions are smaller, more director-driven. Plan B is producing the next film by Steve McQueen ("Shame"), "12 Years a Slave," and is slated to again produce a film by Dominik: his planned Marilyn Monroe biopic "Blonde."
Though "Jesse James" made a scant $4 million at the box office, Pitt has stuck with the director.
"Somewhere in the late '90s, it became clear to me that there were many leading men roles that you could plug anyone of us into and virtually get the same thing," said Pitt. "Because there's such an investment of time and thought, I wanted to find stories that were more personal to me and that I believed I could add something that was unique."
"Killing Them Softly," is certainly that, a film that probably would not exist if not for Pitt. Set in 2008, the fiscal crisis looms large, with speeches by US presidents George Bush and Barack Obama inserted as an obvious metaphor. In it, Pitt's character declares: "America isn't a country. It's a business."
Gandolfini, former star of The Sopranos, had twice previously worked with Pitt. "We were both at the beginning of our careers," said Gandolfini. "He's the same guy. He's a good guy, a regular guy."
Despite any concerns about "cresting the precipice," Pitt exuded contentment. His confidence as an actor is high, he said, attributing his ability to "craftsmanship".
In his personal life, he and Jolie are planning to marry, after once saying they would not until gay marriage was legal.
"It's an exciting prospect, even though for us, we've gone further than that," said Pitt. "But to concretize it in that way. It actually means more to me than I thought it would. It means a lot to our kids."
As he approaches 50, Pitt's career longevity even surprises him.
"It's amazing I've stuck with this this long because I'm not usually like that. I hit the road," he said. "Exploring within it has been the thing that's kept me in it."
Source: AP

From Extra

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie Won't Stop Kids from Pursuing Showbiz

November 27, 2012 The A List

Proud parents Brad Pitt and fiancée Angelina Jolie may have a troupe of aspiring actors on their hands as Vivienne, Zahara and Pax prepare to make their big debut in mom's film, “Maleficent.”

Getty Images

“Extra’s” Jerry Penacoli caught up with Brad at the “Killing Them Softly” premiere and got the scoop on Angelina’s “Sleeping Beauty” flick. “This is a story [the kids] know and love well, and their mommy's Maleficent,” he explained. “And so... they don't see it as anything beyond that, just playtime.”

If the Jolie-Pitt children catch the acting bug, however, Brad and Angie won’t stand in their way. “Whatever they want to do… we'll have them figure it out,” says dad.

Brad is one busy guy. In addition to his dad duties and “Killing Them Softly” press tour, he’s also designing furniture for Pollaro and starring in the upcoming zombie apocalypse movie, “World War Z.”

“This is not your usual zombie… it’s good, it’s good fun,” he said of the horror film.

From People

Brad Pitt: Wedding Will Happen 'Soon'

By Tim Nudd

11/27/2012 at 07:50 AM EST

Put the champagne on ice. It appears Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's long-awaited wedding isn't far off – and that's from someone who would know.

"I am getting more pressure from my kids, and it is something I want to do within their lifetime, but I also feel like the time has come," Pitt said Monday night at the premiere of his new film, Killing Them Softly, in New York.

"The time is nigh," he added. "It's soon. I got a good feeling about it."

Pitt, 48, who has been in London filming World War Z this month, has been with Jolie, 37, for seven years. They have six children together – Maddox, 11, Pax, 8, Zahara, 7, Shiloh, 6, and 4-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne – and got engaged this past spring.

And yet, even with so much history together already, Pitt says the idea of tying the knot with his longtime partner is still hugely meaningful.

"We've had a family, we've raised the kids," he says. "I am surprised how much [marriage] meant to me once you had that."

• Reporting by K.C. BAKER

From SheKnows

Merry Christmas... And I Do

Since Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie played Mr. And Mrs. Smith, fans have been wondering when they’ll become Mr. and Mrs. Pitt. Pressure from their large brood seems to be winning out over Brad’s previous claim that he and Angie would wait until marriage was legal for all. Now he’s saying it will be “soon.” But how soon?

Christmas/Christmas Eve

Smart celebrities know if they want to be left alone on their wedding day, it’s best to do it when something bigger is going on. So what could possibly be bigger than the most highly anticipated nuptials of our generation? Christmas. Think about it. All the paparazzi and reporters will be nestled, all snug in their beds, while Brad and Angie decide to wed. These two celebrities are famous for shunning the popularity that surrounds them, so we could see them huddling around the Christmas tree with their offspring, exchanging vows — in front of a Santa impersonator, perhaps?

Any Friday between now and New Year's

For the same reason stated above, Brad and Angie may be planning a Friday-in-December wedding. Remember when headlines about Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’ divorce circulated on a Friday? Afternoon, no less? That was brilliant. It still made headlines, but all us entertainment writers in the industry had already checked out for the weekend, and were kind of pissed when we had to go back to work and write about Tom Cruise’s third failed marriage. Getting married on a Friday is a close second to Christmas — it would get covered more than a Christmas wedding, but reporters wouldn’t be happy about it.

Pretty much any day in December

There are several interesting anniversaries in December that Brad and Angie may want to honor by joining in holy matrimony. Dec. 1 is World AIDS Day. Brangelina loves nothing more than stirring up a little awareness. Dec. 3 is International Day of People with Disabilities. With all the couple’s humanitarian efforts, perhaps they’ll get married on Dec. 10, which is Human Rights Day. Brad and Angelina have strong ties to Africa — Angie’s humanitarian work, their first pictures as a couple were in Africa and their daughter, Shiloh was born in Africa. Perhaps they will marry on Dec. 12, which marks Independence Day in Kenya. Our bet is that they will marry Friday, Dec. 14, which as everyone knows is haven’t-you-guys-been-together-for-seven-years-and-don’t-you-already-have-six-kids-and-you’re-probably-already-married-and-no-one-would-give-a-rip-if-you-weren’t-Angelina-Jolie-and-Brad-Pitt-day. (OK, so we may have made that last one up.)

New Year's Eve

Again, this holiday will serve as the perfect diversion with most people either in New York City or watching the gathering in Times Square on TV. People are so hung over on New Year's, it could be a week before people even catch on to a Brad/Angelina marriage. Angie’s New Year's kiss to Brad might also be her first kiss as his bride. Talk about a memorable way to ring in the New Year!

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From ABC News & Nightline

Brad Pitt, James Gandolfini on 'Killing Them Softly' and Saucy Chanel Ad

By LAUREN EFFRON (@LEffron831) , NICK CAPOTE and ERIN BRADY

Nov. 28, 2012

Brad Pitt stole the hearts of millions of women more than 20 years ago when he played a cowboy hitchhiker in "Thelma and Louse," and cemented himself as a bonafide tough guy in films like "Fight Club" and "Inglorious Bastards."
His range is wide, from "Benjamin Button" to his Oscar-nominated role last year in "Moneyball," and now the 48-year-old is taking on the mob.
In an interview with "Nightline" anchor Cynthia McFadden, Pitt and co-star James Gandolfini talked about starring in the new film, "Killing Them Softly," which is out in theaters on Friday. Both actors play hit men, two old friends hired to chase down a group of wannabe criminals who decide to knock over a mob-protected card game.
Watch the full story on "Nightline" tonight at 11:35 p.m. ET
It's a return to a tough-guy role for Pitt after recently giving us a glimpse of his softer side as the super-serious Chanel No. 5 perfume pitchman.
"I kind of liked it," Pitt said of the ad, which has gone through a series of YouTube parodies and was recently made fun of on "Saturday Night Live."
"I stay blissfully naïve to the chatter out there in the world," he said. "But fair play."
For Pitt, "Killing Them Softly" was a quick sell. He said it took him all of 30 minutes to decide to do the film and he was eager to work with director Andrew Dominik again.
Dominik directed him in the 2007 film, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford." The movie was a box office disaster and Pitt said Dominik had trouble finding another project afterwards.
"He was in, like, director's jail, because 'Jesse James' wasn't considered a success," Pitt said. "To me, it's the one I am most proud of."
So when Dominik called and told Pitt he was excited about a new story, Pitt readily agreed. But Gandolfini was a tougher sell. Having been the man who made Tony Soprano a household name, the 51-year-old Emmy winner said he didn't want to take on "another mob guy" role.
"I have done it for 10 years," Gandolfini said. "I had no more tricks. I couldn't pull anything out of the hat for this kind of thing."
But when Dominik persisted, Gandolfini said he gave in for one last stand as the "mob guy."
"He tortured me, tortured me, tortured me," Gandolfini said. "Then I started thinking, 'I've done a bunch of these guys and this is kind of the final nail in the coffin. This is where you are at the end.' So maybe if I played it that way in my mind, this is the last one, then it got interesting."
Not only that, but Gandolfini had worked with Pitt before on another crime thriller: Quentin Tarantino's 1993 film, "True Romance."
"That was my first big movie, I think," Gandolfini said.
"He was the tough guy coming in the door and I was the stoned guy on the couch," Pitt said.  
The plot for "Killing Them Softly" is based on a 1970s crime novel, but the story unfolds in the context of the 2008 financial crisis.
"I've always been of the opinion that many crime movies are about capitalism," Dominik said. "It's the genre where everyone is chasing a buck, and it's generally about the idea of getting rich quick. I just saw the parallels between that and what was going on with the bailout at the time and it just seemed too good to ignore."

What Angelina Jolie Thinks of 'Killing Them Softly'
The film suggests that the people running the mob and the people running the economy have a lot in common. George W. Bush and Barack Obama are all in the cross hairs, and not even Thomas Jefferson escapes unscathed.
"The movie is almost like a political cartoon," Dominik said. "It does exaggerate certain things for effect, but it's certainly one way to look at America."
Politics aside, those hoping for good, old-fashioned mob movie violence will not be disappointed, and that's where actor Ray Liotta of "Goodfellas" fame comes in. Only this time, Liotta's character, Markie Trattman, is on the receiving end.
"It was a whole different thing to take the beating, and really hard," Liotta said. "And I wanted to do it all myself I didn't want a stunt guy to do it because I thought it was important to show real fear."
Dominik said he wasn't sure about casting Liotta in the role at first because didn't know how the actor would feel about being the punching bag.
"Any scene involving violence at all hinges on the performance of the victim," Dominik added. "And I was just really impressed."
There is no question that "Killing Them Softly" is a hyper-masculine film. There is only one woman in the entire cast and she appears briefly as a prostitute.
"I think any movie that deals with violence in some way is also dealing with masculinity," Dominik said. "If I could've done a completely without women, I would have."
As for women watching the film, one can't help but wonder what Angelina Jolie, the mother of her and Pitt's six children, thought of it.
"She actually likes the film," Pitt said. "She's a tough audience and she like this one a lot. I didn't really ask her why, I just took that and--"
"And ran," Gandolfini chimed in, laughing.


















From HLN

Pitt on gay marriage and his Chanel No. 5 ad

By HLNtv.com Staff

updated 10:10 AM EST, Wed November 28, 2012

NEED TO KNOW

• Brad Pitt stars as a mobster in new film 'Killing Them Softly'
• Pitt on legalizing gay marriage: 'I've waited with bated breath just like everyone else... I think it's time has come'

Video at HLN


Brad Pitt sits down with Showbiz Tonight’s A.J. Hammer and talks about his new movie “Killing Me Softly” and opens up about gay marriage.
“I’ve waited with bated breath just like everyone else. It’s a very interesting time,” Pitt said. “With the election now, there’s a resurgence in hope again.”
Pitt also reveals if he thinks all those spoofs on his Chanel No. 5 ad were fair game and just what advice he would give to his 20-year-old self now.
Watch Showbiz Tonight at 11pm ET/PT on HLN!

Published on Nov 27, 2012 by AssociatedPress

Brad Pitt discusses producing his latest drama, 'Killing Them Softly,' at the film's New York premiere and comments on the spoofs of his infamous Chanel No. 5 commercial. (Nov. 27)

From E!

Brad Pitt vs. Santa Claus: Angelina Jolie's Other Half Reveals Childhood Sense of "Betrayal"

by Gina Serpe
'Tis the season to be jolly? Maybe not so much if you're Brad Pitt.
E! News caught up with Angelina Jolie's better and, as it turns out, slightly more Scroogey, half, at the Killing Me Softly premiere last night, and the topic quickly turned to the holiday season and the A-lister's frankly surprising thoughts on Santa Claus.
Um, kids out there? There's nothing to see here. Move along. The rest of you? No prizes for guessing who's getting a lump of coal in his stocking this year.
"I'm not a real big on the whole Santa thing, by the way," Pitt told E! News, after the topic of his kids' recent caught-on-camera trip to the post office to mail off letters to Santa's North Pole HQ, was broached.
"I thought it was a huge act of betrayal when I was a kid. I didn't like that. When I found out the truth, I was like, 'Why, why, why would you lie to me, why?'"
And clearly the devastation of that moment has stuck with him, bleeding into his own brand of Christmastime parenting.
"So what I tell them is some people believe it's Santa, and some people believe it's parents, and you get to believe whatever you want."
Well, considering we saw the Brangelina brood mailing off their lists to Kris Kringle earlier this month, we think it's safe to say the kids've made up their minds for themselves.
Clearly, mother knows best.

Video at E!

© FayesVision/WENN.com

He added of a potential wedding: "The time is nigh. It's soon. I got a good feeling about it."

© PA Images / Vince Bucci/AP

"We've had a family, we've raised the kids," he said of his relationship with Jolie. "I am surprised how much [marriage] meant to me once you had that."




From Extra

November 26, 2012 The A List

“Extra’s” Jerry Penacoli sat down with Brad Pitt to dish about his role as a mob hit man in the thriller “Killing Them Softly” and about his and Angelina Jolie’s future wedding plans.

Penacoli congratulated Pitt on his engagement to Jolie and asked, “You always said you wouldn’t get married until everyone had the same rights, so is this going to be a long engagement?” Brad replied, “I don’t know, we’re making great strides. I will admit we have had some pressure from our kids. We didn’t realize how much it means to them, and in getting engaged, we didn’t realize how much it means to ourselves.”

As far as a wedding date, Brad said nothing has been set but joked with Jerry that when they do set a date, they will call him.









Pitt said he was excited about playing a hit man in “Killing Them Softly,” explaining he hammered out the deal in 30 minutes after writer/director Andrew Dominik texted messaged him. The actor said, “He texted me that he had a story idea. We sat down on the patio and laid it out in 30 minutes, He said, ‘You have to say yes… today.’” Brad not only said yes, but he also signed on as a producer of the film.

“Killing Them Softly” lands in theaters this Friday.



From Us Online quoting from the above video

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie haven't sent out their save-the-dates yet for a very simple reason -- they haven't set a date!
"We really don't [have one]," the Killing Them Softly actor promised during an interview with Extra Nov. 26. "I don't know what's going to happen in two weeks. I certainly don't know what the new year is going to bring!"
PHOTOS: Aww! Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie pack on the PDA
He then joked, "We may just tape it and then you can air it!"
PHOTOS: How Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie fell in love
Pitt -- father to Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox and Vivienne -- hinted it will happen sooner than later. "I will admit, we have had some pressure from our kids. We didn't realize how much it means to them. We didn't realize how much it means to us."

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on February 26, 2012 in Hollywood, California.
Credit: Steve Granitz/WireImage.com

The problem, Pitt said, is finding the perfect venue for their big day. "We are both migratory workers," he said of his bride-to-be, 37. "It will be a matter of convenience location-wise."
PHOTOS: Brad Pitt's bearded looks
The shaggy-haired star also revealed he plans to scale back his acting career in the coming years. "I think that's coming pretty quickly. I'm going to be 49 in a month," he told Extra. "I really enjoy producing and I enjoy this opportunity, but I'll be less and less in front of the camera."


Read more: http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/brad-pitt-i-really-dont-have-a-wedding-date-set-with-angelina-jolie-20122711#ixzz2DRVJCKjQ
Follow us: @usweekly on Twitter | usweekly on Facebook

"We really don't [have one]," the Killing Them Softly actor promised during an interview with Extra Nov. 26. "I don't know what's going to happen in two weeks. I certainly don't know what the new year is going to bring!"


Read more: http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/brad-pitt-i-really-dont-have-a-wedding-date-set-with-angelina-jolie-20122711#ixzz2DRVUpk00
Follow us: @usweekly on Twitter | usweekly on Facebook

"We really don't [have one]," the Killing Them Softly actor promised during an interview with Extra Nov. 26. "I don't know what's going to happen in two weeks. I certainly don't know what the new year is going to bring!"

"I will admit, we have had some pressure from our kids. We didn't realize how much it means to them. We didn't realize how much it means to us."

The problem, Pitt said, is finding the perfect venue for their big day. "We are both migratory workers," he said of his bride-to-be, 37. "It will be a matter of convenience location-wise."

The shaggy-haired star also revealed he plans to scale back his acting career in the coming years. "I think that's coming pretty quickly. I'm going to be 49 in a month," he told Extra. "I really enjoy producing and I enjoy this opportunity, but I'll be less and less in front of the camera."

"I will admit, we have had some pressure from our kids. We didn't realize how much it means to them. We didn't realize how much it means to us."

Read more: http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/brad-pitt-i-really-dont-have-a-wedding-date-set-with-angelina-jolie-20122711#ixzz2DRVdf1ZR
Follow us: @usweekly on Twitter | usweekly on Facebook

From Access Hollywood







From E!

In deciding it was finally time to put a ring on Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt realized more than ever how everyone deserves the right to get married.
"Everyone should have it," he told E! News' Terrence Jenkins at the New York junket for Killing Them Softly, in which Pitt plays, in his words, a guy who gets to "carry a big gun and shoot people."
But when is Pitt, a longtime advocate for the legalization of gay marriage, finally going to exercise his very exclusive right to marry Jolie?
Well, he just laughed when Jenkins joked about receiving Jolie's save-the-date notice in the mail.
But it appears that the Jolie-Pitt nuptials will be happening sooner rather than later.
"We're getting a lot of pressure from the kids," the father of six admitted. "We didn't realize how much it meant to them and then, in getting engaged, how much it also means to us."
And we don't have to tell him how much it's going to mean to us.
video at E!
For more from Pitt and the New York premiere of Killing Them Softly, tune into E! News on Tuesday at 7 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.