Brad Pitt: “In Hollywood, the value system is totally out of whack”
In 2011, the star took stock in Première while waiting for the theatrical release of Moneyball. Flashback.
Baseball, Hollywood, the game… On the occasion of the release of the strategist, the biggest American star reveals himself (a little) to First… We are sharing this interview with Brad Pitt on the occasion of the rebroadcast of the Strategisttonight on the channel The Team.
Interview originally published on November 16, 2011:
While he says he is close to retirement, Brad Pitt arguably found one of the best roles of his career in The strategist. A baseball film, but not only: the revenge of the underdog. The story of a guy we thought was finished and who ended up imposing his mark and his genius. Written by the two greatest American screenwriters today (Aaron Sorkin And Steven Zaillian), The Strategist is a film that hits hard and multiplies home runs. But the film’s supreme weapon is Brad Pitt. On the front page of the latest issue of First, the actor looks back on this experience. Here is an extract from the long article devoted to it. The rest is on newsstands…
By Benjamin Rozovas
The Strategist: the eventful history of the film by Bennett Miller and Aaron Sorkin
First: The Strategist talks about baseball without ever really showing sports. It’s more of a film about the business that surrounds it and this quasi-religious dimension that is given to it in the United States…
Brad Pitt: Baseball is indeed sacred in our country. Americans have a very special relationship with this sport, which can really drive them crazy. But I understand that you, the French, are not very clear with your football either… The Strategist is a story I like about outsiders, where little ones take on a system that crushes them by trying to break down walls with their bare hands. Billy Beane, the manager of the Oakland Athletics that I play, was considered a heretic when he stood up to everyone and said: “I can’t compete in these conditions. Let’s stop spending astronomical sums willy-nilly, let’s put the money where there is value! »
That’s a roundabout way of talking about the Hollywood business, right?
The questions Billy raises about baseball also apply to Hollywood, whose value system is completely out of whack. The players that my character will unearth all have reputations as losers and were themselves beginning to tell themselves that they were finished… But Billy, by adding up the talents of each, will prove the opposite and initiate a real revolution.
Speaking of value systems…
(He intervenes.) We give a lot of importance to trophies: who won this, who won that… I remember watching the Olympic games once, in the early 90s, I think. There was a Russian gymnast who was supposed to beat everyone else and dominate the competition. But, seconds into her floor exercise, she fell. The commentators started to panic: ” Oh my God ! It’s a disaster, it’s over…” She got up and, knowing full well that she had lost everything, she still went to the end. It was incredible, perfect, miraculous… One of the most moving things I’ve ever seen. Even better than winning a gold medal. But the commentators continued: “What a shame, what a moment of sadness”instead of celebrating this silent victory that we had just witnessed.
Today, your presence in a film immediately guarantees a certain level of quality. Are you aware that, like Billy, you have imposed your own rules?
That’s a huge compliment you pay me. I would be very proud if that were the case…
According to you, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford will it one day be considered a great classic?
I have always seen it as an exceptional wine. It will take effect over time… I discovered most of my favorite films well after their release. Alone, without anyone’s help. I’m not too worried about the future of Murder…
Trailer for Strategist :
Brad Pitt is magnetic to the point of overdose in The Strategist (review)
