The Agency's Posts

Forbes: Spanx inventor is youngest self-made female billionaire: Spanx inventor Sara Blakely is now a billionaire at 41 years old, making her the youngest woman....
Read More>

Teens not abandoning television for Internet: Fear not television executives: Teenagers are not abandoning the tube for the Internet and....
Read More>

A Stand-Up Joke Is Born: The night after Christmas, the comedian Myq Kaplan did something most people would find....
Read More>

Lindsay Lohan on 'Saturday Night Live': Fans rip hosting job: Looks like the Lindsay Lohan comeback train is stuck at the station, after her roundly panned....
Read More>

'Dr. Seuss' The Lorax:' Five lessons from its box-office success: Even for a season that has seen surprisingly strong box office, "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax&quo
Read More>

'Game Change': Five craziest scenes in HBO Sarah Palin film: Unless you've been holed up in the Alaskan wilderness for the past year, you've heard about &q
Read More>

Jean Dujardin's Villain Auditions: Jean Dujardin's Villain Auditions from Jean Dujardin
Read More>

Friday Fun: Cat Wins Shell Game - watch more funny videos
Read More>

HBO: Michael Mann's War Journalists Documentary: Having taken a deep dive into the world of hardened gamblers for the HBO drama“Luck,”t
Read More>

Movie review: 'Gone': Amanda Seyfried stars in a listless would-be thriller that never generates any suspense or....
Read More>

Oscar's aging audience: Time to shake up the academy?: The 84th Academy Awards really looked their age on Sunday night. The painfully cobwebby....
Read More>

'Artist' win is a tribute to Harvey Weinstein's tenacity, vision: "The Artist"has won the Oscar for best picture and I'm speechless. It's not lack....
Read More>
Brad Pitt kills people and then haggles over his fee
Posted on: 06/03/12
Share/Save/Bookmark
 

Art and commerce? “They’re not meant to get along,” said Brad Pitt, the Cannes Film Festival perennial, whose film career has led to a bit of the former (art) and a bit more of the latter (commerce).

This year’s Cannes competition slate includes the film screened this morning at 8:30, writer-director Andrew Dominik’s small-scale hit-man yarn “Killing Them Softly,” in which Pitt reunites with his “Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” helmer.

Pitt, who also produced, plays a mob clean-up killer trying to do his job amid unreliable colleagues and recessionary spending cuts (the film’s set in 2008, as the banks are collapsing).  Like the ’30s bootleggingdrama “Lawless,” unveiled earlier this week on the Cannes main competition roster, “Killing Them Softly” is a Weinstein Company release schedule for release later this summer in U.S.
 

Compared to the weirdly lifeless "Lawless"at least with “Killing Them Softly” there’s something to debate -- the film's slippery black-comic tone, for one, or its blunt metaphoric use of the 2008 presidential election campaign footage. Conversation after conversation between Pitt and Richard Jenkins, orJames Gandolfini, takes place with a TV in the background showing Obama on the ’08 trail, touting America’s eternal promise. The transactions and grisly tactics we see in the story makes those words taste ashen.

“America’s not a country. It’s a business,” Pitt’s character says at one point, during a haggle session over his fee.

In the press scrum following the 8:30, Dominik said he liked looking at the picture (based on the 1974 George V. Higgins novel "Cogan's Trade") as a black comedy. Every other question in the press conference brought up the violence. Ray Liotta, who plays a supporting role as a crooked poker emporium manager, looked like he was ready to bolt, or kick the nearest stylish but uncomfortable piece of furniture into next week.

Credit the Australian native Dominik with honesty (as well with making a major film of often astounding beauty – “Assassination of Jesse James,” that is). “It’s not real subtle,” the director said regarding “Killing Them Softly.” Last year Pitt and his Plan B producing partner, Dede Gardner, arrived in the south of France with Terrence Malick's"The Tree of Life," which won the Palme d'Or and later secured a best picture Oscar nomination.  So far this year, whatever the nationality of the directors, the Hollywood fare is working a little lower down.

 
COMMENTS
Be the first to post a comment!


Post A Comment:




  • It's 2020! Start booking roles in commercials, fashion, films, theater and more with The Agency Online!

  • NEW WORKSHOP with Barbara Barna & Sean De Simone!

    Hi Everyone and Happy Summer! Sean at Sean De Simone casting and Barbara Barna are teaming up for a super informative and fun Hosting for Home Shopping workshop. A great opportunity for established or experienced TV Hosts and Experts interested in learning how to get noticed and how to get in....
  • MASTERCLASS W. Robin Carus & David John Madore

    A Special Offer for the Agency Community, from one of our favorite NYC Casting Directors! EMAIL FacetheMusicWithUs@gmail.com Or Eventbrite To Sign Up! Class Size is Limited.
  • Don't Fall Into The Comparison Trap

    Hi Everyone! As the second installment in an ongoing series of features by the Agency's amazing community, here's some sage advice from our own Regina Rockensies; a humble (& awesome)veteran we've had the pleasure of working with for a long time. Have an excellent week! : ) - The Agency....
  • One Model's Agreement

    Hi Everyone! As the first piece in an ongoing series of original articles by the Agency community, here's a short reflection on some of the values of professional acting & modeling that we can all keep in mind for our next casting. Good luck on your castings &shoots this week! : ) -....




 
home       castings&news       privacy policy       terms and conditions      contact us      browser tips
Official PayPal Seal