Exclusive

The actor and the director defend the nervous “Bullet Train”, a devilishly effective film. And what they wanted to tell us about exclusively.

It radiates. A star, a real one, appears before us. Charming, smiling, relaxed, Brad Pitt embodies the definition of the word cool. The Cary Grant of modern times knows France well: “I like this country, I come often, I spend more time in the South than in Paris”, he specifies, referring to his immense wine estate of Miraval, at the center of a legal dispute with his ex-wife, the mother of his children, Angelina Jolie. But the concerns will not be addressed during this interview conducted in a suite at the Bristol Hotel, with the director of “Bullet Train”, David Leitch. A pure action product, without downtime, with a convoluted scenario, worthy of summer blockbusters. Pitt speaks with a hissing Midwestern accent, his voice drags, he hesitates, sometimes struggles with his words so as not to reveal himself too much, is evasive, with a gleam of mischief in his eyes. The actor of so many good Hollywood movies would be 58 years old. Impossible! We observe it without believing it, before realizing that time has not won the game against it.

Read also: Brad Pitt in Paris for “Bullet Train”, world premiere with “the best of the best”

What’s next after this ad

Paris Match. Brad, why did you accept this pure, ultra-entertaining action film?
Brad Pitt. To have fun. We had a blast making it, it’s the perfect film for the summer, funny, nervous.
David Leitch. “Bullet Train” was filmed during the pandemic, before the vaccine was found. Having fun, escaping were our driving force.

What’s next after this ad

Brad, Ladybug [Coccinelle en VF]your hitman character, is somewhat reminiscent of Cliff Booth from “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”, by Quentin Tarantino…
BP Surely because it is me who interprets it! I can do nothing.
What are you looking for in a role? An Oscar?
BP No, never, never. It’s simple, I look at two major criteria: the story and the director. “Bullet Train” happened during the health crisis, when we were all going a little crazy. Myself, I got into ceramics, I made objects, I tried to stay creative… I read the thirty pages of the script, I laughed, and thought that was exactly what I wanted see on screen. And my friend David was the boss of the project.

I want to play in a movie alongside Will Ferrell as much as have my face beaten by Robert De Niro

Because, David, you were Brad’s stunt double on several films…
DL On “Fight Club”, “Troy”, “Mr. & Mrs. Smith”, we spent a lot of time together on the road, we know each other well…
BP Since 1998, David is, literally, in all the films he has just mentioned! He trained me in combat for the “Fight Club” scenes.

What’s next after this ad

What’s next after this ad

Can your new movie become a franchise?
BP It’s possible, even if I’ve never been too successful in this area…

We can also compare it to a work by Guy Ritchie, with whom you shot “Snatch”…
BP Guy is super witty and at the same time he knows how to concoct energetic films, that’s where you can feel a connection with David. Dave masters the “humor and violence” combo. This paradox makes me laugh when I think about it.

“Bullet Train” is a feature film very different from “The Tree of Life”, by Terrence Malick, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes. Is it the same acting job for you?
BP Yes, it is the same thing. I want to play in a film alongside Will Ferrell as much as have my face beaten by Robert De Niro, even if I only made a short film with Scorsese. I like everything. I never choose a project until I have finished the current one.

According to Brad Pitt, his friend Davi Leitch masters the combo “humor and violence” perfectly

© Hélène Pambrun / Paris Match

Brad, you recently said on “GQ” that “Bullet Train” would probably be one of your last movies. Why?
BP
I didn’t really say that. I was trying to convey that I am a man who is over fifty, I am getting old… How do I represent this season of my life on screen? I want to live more intensely maybe instead of escaping like that in action movies.

Do you ever think about your background, from your rookie TV appearances to “Thelma and Louise”, “The 12 Monkeys Army”, “World War Z”…?
BP I don’t look back, I was lucky, I worked with wonderful people. I think back to the child I was, I loved movies, going to the cinema. The art of telling a story in pictures touches me, the idea of ​​losing myself two hours in a dark room has always attracted me… even if I had turned to a career as a journalist! I wasn’t good enough.

David Leitch “Brad has reached such a career level that he no longer has to struggle in Hollywood”

You are a committed player, are you concerned about the future of your country?
BP Not you ? I heard about your Parliament…
DL Our job in the entertainment industry is to provide escapes, to free the viewer from their worries. Because times are very dark. BP Yes, the period is dark…
DL As a producer, you can help bring out young talents, sensitive, strong, little-treated subjects…
BP This is what I aim for with my production company, Plan B. I feel immense gratitude for having been able to contribute to powerful works, which capture a bit of the spirit of the times, such as “12 Years a Slave ” in particular, or “Moonlight”, by Barry Jenkins.

You produce films much deeper than the sole quest for entertainment…
BP But I’m still looking for something as a human being. Search, break the figure, search again! [Il se marre.] I knew my name would help fund projects, that I could push difficult topics that sometimes didn’t come to fruition. When you see a film, you think its existence is obvious, but it’s a miracle, the planets must be aligned. The cost, the bet, everything is so high, so huge.

Unless you’re in the credits of a Marvel movie…
BP Yes yes.

Brad, in your career, which films are you most proud of?
BP Oh… I am thinking in particular of those who were complex to write, to produce, such as “Le stratège”. It took us two years to finalize the script. “Moonlight”, as I said, was extremely gratifying… “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”, by Andrew Dominik, means a lot to me. This film lost so much money, three people had to see it, including my mother! But it remains special to me, I saw it as a rather personal commentary on fame.

Brad Pitt “I’m getting older… Today I want to live more intensely instead of escaping into action movies”

You don’t feel attached to Los Angeles, yet you both live there. Is it an obligation when you are in this industry?
DL I live there part time. You must ensure a certain presence in this city.
BP Presence is the term.
DL That said, Brad has reached such a career level that he no longer has to struggle. We could work elsewhere, the Covid taught us that.
BP I stayed in Los Angeles during the pandemic because this city offers outdoor possibilities, despite everything. We weren’t so hunted, we were thinking!

Brad, you are friends with artists, including the English sculptor Thomas Houseago. What does its attendance bring you? Do you sculpt with him?
BP Yes, we are working. Thomas and I met six years ago and became close instantly. Like two brothers. He has just asked me and the singer Nick Cave, a mutual friend, to participate in a performance around sculpture which will take place in Finland in September. To answer your question more fully, I love, I love lots of art forms, a song can move me; a painting make me cry; a movie, laugh. I feel good in the art world and I’ll tell you why. We actors practice a collective sport. The artist remains alone, autonomous, he reveals his intimacy. It can be exciting, exhausting, all of this intrigues me, questions me. In a workshop, it’s him and no one else. Plaster, oils, a white canvas…

Are you a good artist?
BP Hum… All art is good if it is authentic, if it carries a part of truth. That’s what I try to do.

******

BUT WHO IS DAVID LEITCH?
Former TV series stuntman David Leitch, 46, started coordinating stunts in the cinema, then choreographing battles… And the understudy of young idol Brad Pitt in the 1990s was him. Leitch was preparing the fights of “Fight Club” with the actor, he followed him for “Spy Game”, “The Mexican”, “Troy”… A friendship was born. Leitch made his hand as a filmmaker by directing for years the second team, the one who realizes the non-essential scenes, on films like “Ninja Turtles”, “Wolwerine”. In 2014, he co-directed his first feature film, “John Wick”, before going solo in 2017 with “Atomic Blonde”. An object of good quality, energetic. An excellent blockbuster maker, Leitch adds his personal touch, as proven by his “Deadpool 2”: his art of comic dialogue coupled with ultra-violent scenes. We guess the influence of Tarantino or Guy Ritchie, even if the result, at Leitch, sins by a lack of smoothness, compensated by a great technical virtuosity.

“Bullet Train”, in theaters August 3.

Exclusive – Brad Pitt and David Leitch, the confidences of the star and the director of “Bullet Train”