Brad Pitt says his new movie doesn’t knock Obama
May 22, 2012 9:34PM
Actor Brad Pitt poses during a photo call for Killing Them Softly at the 65th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 22, 2012. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau)
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Updated: July 2, 2012 9:54AM
CANNES, France — Brad Pitt’s next movie features heavy doses of President Barack Obama and a backdrop of the economic crisis.
Pitt stars in and produced “Killing Them Softly,” which screened at the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday. Director Andrew Dominik has filled the hardboiled crime film with speeches of Obama and former President George W. Bush to give the film a broader financial commentary on top of a story of violent, back-stabbing criminals.
Pitt said the movie was conceived “at the apex of the mortgage loan debacle,” which he called “criminal.”
At one point Obama is seen speaking at the Democratic National Convention, which some have read as a critique of his optimism in contrast to the bleak events that followed.
Pitt disagreed, maintaining the words are there “not as a cynical look back at a statement of failure but as a real expression of hope.”
He noted that he was in Chicago the night of Obama’s election, and “it was an amazing night — people out in the street, connected.”
Asked about his upcoming marriage to Angelina Jolie, Pitt insisted, “We actually, really, truly have no date.”
The actor, who showed up solo at the festival, said it could be a while before they head down the aisle.
“I hope we figure out marriage equality in the states before that date,” he said, referring to the national debate on gay marriage.
AP
