While Brad Pitt might be one of the biggest stars in the world, he too has some serious regrets about his career. Despite providing his fans with one exceptional film after another, Brad Pitt believes there was one movie that could have done things a little differently.
Directed by Alan J. Pakula and starring Harrison Ford, The Devil’s Own (1997) turned out to be more than just a film for Brad Pitt. The actor, who was so used to his projects running smoothly, stated that The Devil’s Own was more of a learning process for him. Even though Brad Pitt called the project’s filming irresponsible, he still liked the film for everything it taught him
Brad Pitt Learnt A Lot From “Irresponsible” Filmmaking
Brad Pitt paid a visit to Entertainment Weekly where he discussed a few of his roles in the film industry. When asked about The Devil’s Own and how it was not an “easy shoot,” Pitt stated, “I really like Devil’s Own. It was a good schooling for me.”
Elsewhere, Pitt went on to put the film on blast for its “irresponsible” filmmaking methods. Talking to Newsweek back in 1997, the actor stated that while the initial script of the movie was great, it got “tossed out.” The actor was then left with a movie that had no real script and he couldn’t even find himself a way out.
“We had no script. Well, we had a great script but it got tossed for various reasons. To have to make something up as you go along… what pressure!”
Putting The Devil’s Own on blast, Pitt stated,
“It was ridiculous. It was the most irresponsible bit of filmmaking – if you can even call it that – that I’ve ever seen. I couldn’t believe it. I don’t know why anyone would want to continue making that movie. We had nothing. The movie was the complete victim of this drowning studio head … who said, ‘I don’t care. We’re making it. I don’t care what you have. Shoot something’”.
At one point, he decided to wave the white flag, surrender, and walk out of the project. However, he was then told that he would have to pay a fee of a whopping $63 million in order to do so. Thus, Pitt had no choice but to keep holding on for his dear life.
The Fight Club actor was then asked by the studio to withdraw his comments and give clarifications for what he said. While he refused to do so, he did clarify that he was simply talking about the filmmaking process and not the actual film.
Brad Pitt Was Given an Out
In the interview with EW, Pitt stated that the film’s producer, Larry Gordon himself came up to him and stated that he could leave if he wanted to at that point. But after everything, Pitt decided to see the project to the end.
“The experience taught me how ludicrous it could be throwing money at a problem…Still, I think the movie could have been better. Literally, the script got thrown out. Larry Gordon, the producer, is a good friend of mine. He said it to me point-blank, ‘I understand if you want to go away. We’re throwing out the script. Make your choice big man. You can come with us – we’re going to figure it out as we go along – or you’re free to walk.’ And I decided to stay.”
Well, did he stay because he wanted to or because of the hefty fee he would have to pay? Either way, the film came through after all the highs and lows. Unfortunately, The Devil’s Own was met with negative reviews from critics. On the other hand, it performed fairly well at the box office making $140 million on a budget of around $90 million.
You can stream The Devil’s Own on Netflix.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
