Brad Pitt was far from easygoing on set of one of his most famous ‘90s movies — and the director is revealing why!
On Tuesday, Vanity Fair obtained an excerpt from director Edward Zwick’s upcoming book Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood, and unfortunately it didn’t exactly have stellar things to say about Brad.
Back in 1994, Brad launched into movie stardom with leads in back-to-back hits Interview with the Vampire and Legends of the Fall — but he apparently wanted to quit the latter! Zwick says after a lackluster table read, the Fight Club star wanted to walk away and had to be talked “off the ledge” — something Edward calls “the first augury of the deeper springs of emotion roiling inside Brad.”
Related: Henry Cavil HATES Shooting Sex Scenes — Because of MORTIFYING Experience!
He says that Brad, who seemed “easygoing at first,” soon showed he could “be volatile when riled.” Zwick writes the star’s “anxiety” over the movie never really went away, even into filming, which sounds like it caused tension for everyone on set. He says the Mr. & Mrs. Smith star would “get edgy” whenever he was shooting emotional scenes… Whatever that means. But given this context, we don’t exactly think he’s praising the actor for his sensitivity.
The filmmaker recalled a specific time in which he gave the actor direction, but Brad apparently hit back, telling him to “back off” in front of everyone. He wrote:
“I don’t know who yelled first, who swore, or who threw the first chair. Me, maybe? But when we looked up, the crew had disappeared. And this wasn’t the last time it happened.”
Whoa! That reaaaaally does sound quite volatile! And sort of a two-way street. He added:
“Sometimes, no matter how experienced or sensitive you are as a director, things just aren’t working. You think the actor is being oppositional, while he finds you dictatorial. Some actors have problems with authority, but just as many directors are threatened when intelligent actors ask challenging questions that reveal their lack of preparation. Both are right and both are wrong.”
Yikes! Insightful Hollywood talk from a real vet though. This is the guy who directed Glory and The Last Samurai! Wow!
It all seemed to work out in the end though… The movie was a hit, and Brad was the standout. Edward went on to call Brad a “forthright, straightforward person,” who’s “fun to be with and capable of great joy.” Well, this certainly isn’t the first time we’ve heard of some erratic behavior from Brad…
Brad has not addressed the allegations from Zwick. But a source familiar with the filming of the movie did, firing back at the director in a statement to People:
“They had disagreements, but Brad was not volatile.”
Hmm. The insider went on to accuse Zwick of actually being “volatile” on set:
“It’s sort of sad that he’s so desperate for attention that he would talk trash about people like Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt and others, when he’s the one whose behavior, kicking over chairs and throwing things, got so bad that it upset the cast and crew.”
Hmm. He did seem to admit they were both in the wrong. What are YOUR thoughts?? Let us know down in the comments.
[Images via Sony Pictures Releasing/YouTube & Lia Toby/MEGA/WENN]
Source link