With kids, career, no time to direct, says Brad Pitt

Brad Pitt has no intention of following fiancee Angelina Jolie into directing.


Reuters May 25, 2012

CANNES:


Brad Pitt, in Cannes to promote his latest film Killing Them Softly, has no intention of following fiancee Angelina Jolie, who directed her first feature In the Land of Blood and Honey last year, into directing, he told Reuters.


The 48-year-old, one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, hit the red carpet at the film’s world premiere on Tuesday, drawing noisy crowds and the world’s media to the glitzy ceremony.

As well as playing mob enforcer Jackie Cogan in the violent but darkly comic gangster movie, Pitt was one of its main producers, a side of the business he has become increasingly involved in over the last six years.

Asked whether he might add directing to his career in movies, he replied: “No, not a chance.”

“It makes sense on some level, but I really enjoy being a creative producer and I enjoy my day job,” he said. “It’s enough for me. I want to also be a dad, first and foremost. After two days it gets itchy, I miss them. I just know how I’d be, I see how much time it takes to mount the thing and put it together. It wouldn’t be a good match.”

Killing Them Softly was directed by New Zealand-born Andrew Dominik, the second collaboration between him and Pitt after they made The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford together in 2007.

Good reviews, poisoned politics

Set against the US presidential election in 2008, and the economic crisis during which it was held, the movie is featured in the main competition at the Cannes film festival and has generally impressed critics.

“Here it’s artistic merit first and less about an opening weekend,” Pitt said, explaining why he thought a launch in Cannes was important for the film. “They have such respect for the auteur, and you know it’s going to get a really respectful viewing.”

As well as telling the story of gang violence after a poker game is hijacked, Dominik’s third feature paints a bleak picture of the US economic and political landscape.

The Oscar-nominated actor said he was glad to put something back into New Orleans, where the film was shot, after it was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and subsequently hit by the financial crisis. “They have a great film infrastructure now and there’s amazing rebates for movies to get made; to help recover from an economic disaster,” Pitt said.

“It feels good to bring a film there because you know it’s supporting the city, it’s a big influx of cash when a movie comes to town. You’re giving people jobs and it’s a really good feeling. I’m very connected to that place.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 26th, 2012.

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