The movie Brad Pitt called “abysmal”
In the history of Hollywood, few stars have carved such a consistently impressive path as Brad Pitt. Pitt has masterfully combined a magnetic on-screen presence with versatile acting prowess, bringing life to such classics as Fight Club, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Troy and Inglourious Basterds, to name but a few. While acting was always Pitt’s biggest passion, he aimed to work both sides of the camera from a young age.
In 1986, aged just 22, Pitt was invited to speak to Tiger Beat for one of his earliest interviews. After discussing his recent roles in Dallas and Another World, he was asked where he’d like to be in ten years.
“In ten years, I’ll be 32,” Pitt calculated. “I hope I am married with some Brad Jrs. I would like to be in a position like Kevin Costner. He’s on top and respected as an actor. I just want to be a respected actor. I want to make people feel things like how I feel when I go to the movies. I would like to have my own production company.”
By 1996, Pitt had achieved success beyond his wildest dreams with roles in high-profile movies, and his ambition of running a production company would follow in 2001 when he co-founded Plan B Entertainment with Brad Grey, Kristin Hahn and Jennifer Aniston.
Despite his prolific acting career, Pitt’s first Academy Award win was for duties as a producer on 12 Years a Slave, which won the ‘Best Picture’ award in 2014. Pitt’s second Oscar win would follow in 2020 when he collected the ‘Best Supporting Actor’ trophy for his role in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time in Hollywood.
Suffice it to say Pitt can be trusted to pass informed judgement over any given movie. In a 2022 episode of the popular Video Club webcast, Pitt joined David Leitch to sift through the show’s gigantic DVD collection and pick out some of his favourite titles. Among his endorsing selections are Guy Ritchie’s Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Deadpool, Planet of the Apes and Three Days of the Condor.
Towards the end of the episode, Pitt pulls out the late director William Friedkin’s 1973 magnum opus, The Exorcist. The adaptation of William Peter Blatty’s original novel of 1971 is widely regarded as one of the all-time greatest horror movies. “Oh man, you’ve got some great ones here. The Exorcist! Still, to me, one of the most frightening movies of all time.”
However, Pitt pointed out that he was particularly disappointed with Freidkin’s director’s cut, in which he remixed the soundtrack and overdubbed most of the sound effects with more modern ones.
“The recut, though, is abysmal,” Pitt lamented. “Why did he recut it? Argh!”
Watch the full Video Club episode below.
