bradpitt Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Shelf Life: Fight Club
Filed under: Fandom », Home Entertainment », Shelf Life »
By all accounts, 1999 was one of the best years in film history, featuring an amazing glut of debuts and career-defining follow-ups from a rich and varied roster of directors who are steadily working some ten years later. For example American Beauty, which was also released in '99, was one of the first films revisited in our "Shelf Life" series, and it seemed most likely to lose its luster, especially given its Oscar win and almost universal critical acclaim, but thankfully the film sustained most of its initial appeal and impact.
Fight Club, meanwhile, faced markedly more polarizing reactions from audiences and critics, although like Alan Ball and Sam Mendes' film it captured a moment in the zeitgeist that made it important almost regardless of how good it was. Ten years later, Fox Home Entertainment just released the film on Blu-ray in a gorgeous new set, and after a decade of conspicuous consumption and ironic detachment, it's time to see whether the weight of its message or meaning still holds relevance.
Brad Pitt Prepares to Enter the 'Dark Void'
Filed under: Action », Horror », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Games and Game Movies »
A guy like Brad Pitt can do anything he likes. He's handsome, he's talented, he's rich, he's funny and outspoken ... and apparently he gets to play sci-fi-action-type video games long before the rest of us. (Bastard!) Variety reports that Mr. Pitt and his Plan B production company have snagged the rights to an upcoming Capcom game called Dark Void. Their report indicates that the game is about "a pilot who crash lands in the Bermuda Triangle following a routine mission and wakes up to find himself in an alternate world."You can learn more about Dark Void at its Wikipedia page. For example, I just learned that the awesome Bear McCreary is doing the music for the game. (I say keep that guy around for the movie version.) You can also see a bunch of nifty Dark Void artwork over at Capcom's blog. Could this be the beginning of a swanky new action franchise for Brad Pitt? I say the guy has earned one by now.
More information on this project as it becomes available. At this point I just want to check this game out. It looks pretty cool. (Game trailer after the jump!)
Their Best Role: Brad Pitt and 'Fight Club'
Filed under: Fandom »
Welcome to a new series here on Cinematical where we select an actor or actress and the role we think is their all time best.
Brad Pitt has taken on a myriad of roles over the years. He's fly fished, hunted down sadistic killers, played a romantic devil, dallied in thievery, suffered through pain in his Achilles, and even showed up as the notorious Jesse James. And while he may have earned Oscar nominations for his turn as a mental patient in 12 Monkeys and a backward-aging man in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, his best role lives in cult fandom as the corporation-loathing anarchist Tyler Durden in Fight Club.
I know. It's strange of me to pick this role out of the list -- especially in light of his time in 12 Monkeys. Fight Club was the film Edward Norton got recognized for -- not so much Brad Pitt. But it's Durden that always stuck out to me -- a marked turning point in Pitt's career.
From the very beginning, Pitt's work was rife with reinvention. He started as the clean-cut and cute young actor, from uncredited time as a preppy partygoer in Less Than Zero to shilling Pringles in bubbly '80s commercials. Then his hair grew out a little and he played the seductive J.D. in Thelma & Louise, ushering in a period of grunge and long-haired loverdom. He dated Juliette Lewis, played a trashy ex-con in Kalifornia, and made a name for himself as a rugged heartthrob, balancing vampiric times with Tom Cruise in dramatic period pieces. However, just when the path seemed set, the year 1995 rang in with the back-to-back power of Se7en and Twelve Monkeys. Things were starting to change.
Villains We Love: John Doe in 'Se7en'
Filed under: Drama », Mystery & Suspense », Fandom », Brad Pitt », Trailers and Clips »
I'll always remember David Fincher's Se7en for a few different reasons (I even had to write an essay once about the opening credits) but the number one reason this film sticks in my brain is John Doe. Now usually when it comes to on-screen villains, you tend to remember the big personalities. In the words of Buffy, "strait up, black hat, tied to the train tracks, soon my electro-ray will destroy Metropolis," types. But as scary as the big bad wolf can be, sometimes the evil you never see coming is the one that becomes the stuff of nightmares.
In Fincher's thriller about a serial killer with a penchant for Dante and the wrath of god, we don't even get to see the bad guy until about half way through the movie. But when Doe (played to perfection by Kevin Spacey) calmly walks into the police station to hand himself over, you know that this is not your run of the mill psycho. Recently I took a look at some movie villains that manage to win you over with a little charm and charisma, and Doe definitely isn't one of those guys. He's the kind of guy you would cross the street to avoid, but only if you got to know him -- and that's what makes him scary, he is completely average. Instead of letting the audience get used to the idea of him, we only see his handiwork (as gruesome as it may be), and just like Mills (Brad Pitt) and Somerset (Morgan Freeman), we are just witnesses to the aftermath.
After the jump; Why Doe still scares the crap out of me, and his horrible plan is made complete...
Terrence Malick's 'Tree of Life' Won't Make 2009
Filed under: Drama », Independent », RumorMonger », Distribution », DIY/Filmmaking », Newsstand », Brad Pitt »
Adjust your calenders, and don't hold your breath for Terrence Malick. (If you ever hold your breath for Malick, that is. His latest opus, The Tree of Life, starring Brad Pitt and Sean Penn,was given a tentative release date of December 25, 2009. But it won't be making that date, according to Apparition Films' Bob Berney. Thompson on Hollywood caught up with Berney, who said the date was "wishful" thinking, and that the film will not be released in 2009.Why the delay? If you know Malick at all, you know the answer to that. The film is not yet finished. The Tree of Life has already been a 30-year journey for Malick, and another year (or two, or three) won't make any difference to the notoriously meticulous director. No one has even seen the film, or knows what form its final cut will take. All that's really known about the movie is that it's a family drama that spans the 1950s and deals with the loss of innocence.
Apparition Films remains optimistic that you'll see the film in 2010. It won't make Sundance, but it's likely to make Cannes. (That is the film festival that belongs to Pitt and Angelina Jolie, so fate would dictate that's where it would premiere!) But even that is up in the air, as Berney admits he has no idea when the film will be finished, or when it will be released.
What if William Baldwin Never Left 'Thelma & Louise'?
Filed under: Casting », Fandom »
Brad Pitt had a whole lot of gigs before he nabbed his career-propulsioning role in Thelma & Louise -- from an uncredited preppie kid in Less Than Zero, to the soap opera wonder of Another World and Dallas, to sitcoms like Growing Pains. He's an actor whose notoriety rose with his talents -- he paid his dues and worked his way up from goofy commercial gigs shilling Pringles to big-screen success. But what if he never got to play with Thelma and Louise?See, Pitt was the third choice for the role. According to IMDb, William Baldwin was the first choice, but he gave it up to star in Backdraft. (George Clooney also lobbied hard for the gig.) The choice makes sense. Why play some bit part when you can star in a Ron Howard flick with Kurt Russell, Robert De Niro, and Donald Sutherland? If only the sensible always made sense... Alas, you don't hear people still talking about Baldwin's firefighting, you hear about the sexy robber known as J.D.
Backdraft didn't kickstart Baldwin's career, and while it hasn't tanked like, say, Stephen's, it hasn't been the greatest for a guy who had Brad Pitt grabbing his cast-offs. One of Baldwin's biggest recent gigs -- the partner TV show cop in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. But what if he stuck with the original gig and rocked it as well? Would it have led from Johnny Suede to A River Runs Through It, Interview with the Vampire, and ultimately, Se7en? No doubt Pitt would've still found his way, but would it have been different enough that Baldwin would've grabbed some of those early gigs and more long-lasting fame?
Brad Pitt Might Be Villainous Moriarty in 'Sherlock' Sequel
Filed under: Action », Classics », Casting », Mystery & Suspense », Warner Brothers », RumorMonger », Scripts », DIY/Filmmaking », Newsstand », Brad Pitt », Remakes and Sequels »
Earlier this summer, reshoot rumors were thick around Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes. One of the more believable ones was that Brad Pitt was stepping in to make an appearance as Moriarty, though it was clouded in so much "Pitt must save Ritchie!" hyperbole that it was almost impossible to believe. As always, there seems to have been some truth to the tabloid rumors, because The Hollywood Reporter says Warner Bros is already prepping more Holmes, and Pitt is in talks to play the detective's legendary adversary, Moriarty.While neither Ritchie, Pitt, or producer Joel Silver will comment on whether Pitt already makes a shadowy appearance in the upcoming film. Those who have read the script say that Moriarty does appear, but is all mysterious and silhouetted, and it's impossible to see who he really is.
As Pitt debates whether or not he wants to pit brainpower and martial arts against the elementary Robert Downey Jr., the studio has brought on Kieran and Michele Mulroney, the team behind their Justice League: Mortal project to pen the script. Though nothing is official yet, THR notes "much of the talent," notably Downey, Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, and Ritchie are expected to return. (Mark Strong isn't mentioned. Spoiler or no surprise?) It's worth noting that if Pitt signs on and the line-up remains as is, there's only one native Brit in the entire cast of this very English classic.
'Inglourious Basterds' is Tarantino's Top Earner - Because of Twitter?
Filed under: Box Office », Exhibition », The Weinstein Co. », Brad Pitt », Quentin Tarantino », Movie Marketing »
In what could be read as a big "nyah, told you so" press release, The Weinstein Company would like you all to know that Inglourious Basterds has not only grossed over $108M* in North America but has now out-earned Pulp Fiction, which was previously Tarantino's biggest money-maker to date.
But what's strange is that TWC is giving some of the credit to "an innovative marketing plan. The film was the first to make use of Twitter and other social networking sites in such a direct fashion, even involving Twitter in the film's LA premiere," according to the press release.
Harvey Weinstein is even quoted as saying, "It was great working with Biz Stone at Twitter on Inglourious. It took the campaign to another level."
Okay, what have I missed? How was the Inglourious campaign different from any other of the studios' use of Twitter or Facebook to promote movies through links, contests, and meet-ups? I don't even recall seeing anything on Twitter about it, other than the normal studios using Twitter to cross-pollinate coverage.
Review: Inglourious Basterds
Filed under: Foreign Language », The Weinstein Co. », Brad Pitt », Quentin Tarantino », War »
Starting with a gobsmacked VHS screening of Reservoir Dogs way back in '92, I've seen every Quentin Tarantino movie dozens upon dozens of times, but Inglourious Basterds is the first I will have seen only once before writing about it. Like the absolute best entries cinema history has to offer, his work demands repeat viewing, as much to catch all the in-jokes, references and homages as to see their cumulative, strikingly original impact. All of which is why I can only try to sufficiently deconstruct, classify and characterize Tarantino's latest, a wartime opus whose shortcomings upon first viewing are as immediately recognizable as the fact they will after many more of them prove to be virtues, ultimately creating a singular tribute to WWII movies done in the writer-director's signature, genre-bending style.
While the star of the film is really the story, there are three characters who cement together Inglourious Basterds' unwieldy but surprisingly even-weighted chapters. First, there's Colonel Landa (Christoph Waltz), a Nazi officer who earned the nickname "the Jew hunter" thanks to his indefatigable, shoe-leather-and-shark's-grin persistence. Next, there's Shoshanna (Melanie Laurent), one of Landa's few targets who escaped, who lives under an assumed name and manages a French cinema. And then there's Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), an American soldier who recruits a rabid team of Jews to hunt down Nazis and strike fear with their exploits.
Will Ferrell is an 'Oobermind'
Filed under: Animation », Comedy », Casting », Comic/Superhero/Geek »
Hollywood has cooked up a new twist. This may not be in league with Javier Bardem being replaced by actress Carmen Maura in a gig, but it's still surprising. Variety reports that DreamWorks has lined up its voice talent for 2010's Oobermind -- Robert Downey Jr.'s lead baddie has been replaced by Will Ferrell, and he'll be joined by Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill (not to mention Tina Fey, who signed on earlier).
The satire focuses on a big-noggined supervillain called Oobermind. He has defeated his hero rival Metro Man (Pitt), and finds post-hero-fighting life to be boring. So he creates a new superhero called Titan (Hill), to fight. Only this dude wants to be a bad guy as well, which forces Oobermind to switch sides himself. (Can you spot all the Venture Brothers similarities?) Fey, meanwhile, voices a reporter trying to keep up with the many superhero/villain changes.
Switching from Downey Jr. to Ferrell is sure to have a big impact on the film. You've got RDJ, who can be delightfully evil and would surely offer a textured and intriguing villain, and then Ferrell, who may have proved his range with gigs like Stranger Than Fiction, but still tends to offer that same blissed-out cluelessness that made him famous. DreamWorks is planning to release Oobermind in the fall of 2010, as part of a cinematic push to make up for Monsters vs. Aliens performance, but I wonder: Can Ferrell deliver the goods, and make up for Downey Jr.'s departure?
Jeremy Renner Wants To Be An Avenger
Directors We Love: Jim Jarmusch
Indie Roundup: 'Sweetgrass,' 'Clarkworld,' 'Broken Embraces'
Shelf Life: Fight Club_thumbnail.jpg)
Watch: Famous 'Matrix' Scene Re-Created with LEGOs
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