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Most people don’t look forward to aging, but Brad Pitt said he is curious to see “where we’ll end up. It’s a fascinating notion aging. So far, it’s been pretty good,” said the 45-year-old star. Pitt, who is affectionately referred to by the Japanese media as “Burapi,” explores the theme of aging in his latest film, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," which has been nominated for 13 Academy Awards, including a best actor nod for Pitt.
“This project has been on and off for 18 years,” said Pitt during a visit to Japan this week along with partner Angelina Jolie and their six children -- the first time they have allowed themselves all to be photographed in public. “I think we have made a movie similar to the Hollywood epics of old and it is gratifying to see it honored at all levels at the Oscars.”
Directed by David Fincher ("Fight Club," "Se7en") and adapted from an F Scott Fitzgerald story, "Benjamin Button" tells the story of a man who is born in 1918 at the age of 80 and then grows younger, aging backwards. Pitt said the role required a lot of patience and hours sitting in the prosthetics chair. “I really didn‘t have any idea how I would look as an old man, so we sculpting it and worked on it a lot. It was like creating a building block by block. The scenes at different times of Benjamin’s life have a very cumulative effect. They are the mundane universal rites of passage we all go through -- first love, loss -- except with Benjamin, what’s going on internally is different from his external side.”
Pitt said the film has had a big effect on his life. “While I was doing it, I was always thinking of the subject matter, whether I am sleeping, driving, taking a shower. It made me think of time, of the people I value.” He added that the movie has a strong message about relationships. His character falls in love with a childhood soul mate (played by Cate Blanchett), but Benjamin knows that as he gets younger, she will get older.
“You realize the transitory nature of love. Every relationship is going to end whether it is due to a breakup or death,” he said. “A relationship is to be enjoyed, not clung to in a desperate manner because the clock is ticking.”
As for his own relationships with Jolie and his kids, Pitt said: "We now have six children. Life doesn't get any more dramatic than that." "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" opens in Japan on Feb 7.
© Japan Today
15 Comments
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Betzee
I believe these issues were better explored in the lower budget Synecdoche, New York but Phillip Seymour Hoffman, though a first-rate actor, can't match Brad Pitt in the looks department and is therefore unlikely to get the red carpet treatment on a overseas promotional junket.
Shiree McCarver
Come on! Are you truly saying you didn't get the meaning of what he was saying in spite of your need to correct grammer and call someone names?
I gleamed he was saying you can be fifty on your birth certificate and the face in the mirror; however, inside you still feel like you are twenty-five and you don't allow society to dictate how you should act or be because of your age. You prove the point. I'm sure you're older than six but you're still calling people names like one.
pointofview
Good movie.
Betzee
My favorite scene was an anchoring moment where they (Pitt and Cate Blanchett) do the twist in the bedroom of their little home as the Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show.
bruhah
I've seen the movie and he was really amazing, I hope he get the Oscar as he really deserve it. love this guy.
PuffinMuffin
-spoiler alert- so in the end does he turn into a fetus
Betzee
Now you can't blame me for letting the cat out of the bag since you asked for it, PM. In fact Benjamin Button reverts to an embryo, which precedes fetus. So if that's what floats your boat, well I suggest you see the film.
nath
As much as I love Fincher and some of Pitt's films, this one is highly over-rated. It had good moments but considering it was penned by the same guy who penned Forrest Gump, this movie, other than the aging part is WAY too similar to Gump and Gump is by far a better movie than this.
I can't believe that no one else is seeing the similarities. There's a few comparison vids online if you do a search. I counted up to three exact lines from Gump that were spoken in Button.
Anyway, I hope Fincher gets the Oscar nod. Other than that, I hope this film falls into mediocrity.
If you want to see an amazing film about the life of a man and his 'adventures', see Forrest Gump.
Betzee
I agree. Brad Pitt established his career with Thelma and Louise, and went on to do some incredibly good work. But he's morphed into a movie star, which is where the big bucks are, and his recent films have been typical big budget Hollywood fare.
I would prefer to see Mickey Rourke win for The Wrestler. He's been out of the game for a while, but he's still on top of his game and the Academy likes to reward people like that. The feeling is that Brad Pitt will have other opportunities.
PuffinMuffin
thank you Betzee. I wonder what Cate, in the movie, will do then but I'd better stop asking and go see the movie, yep.
Betzee
You're most welcome PuffinMuffin.
Sarge
"the story of a man who is born in 1918 at the age of 80 and then grows younger"
Sure. I don't like movies with completely unbelievable storylines.
sydenham
oh yeah, Brad? bite me! try living your life looking like me. then let's hear you wax poetic...
pretty good he says.
riggin friggin...
Badsey
I think most people are missing the point of F. Scott Fitzgerald's original work (a short story). It's a humorous take on the human cycle of life with serious implications = a true struggle for B.Button
But life is struggle, especially right now.
At first reading you will say this is stupid, but then start to get the implications. If you ever visit a mental ward you will notice some people don't age well (e.g. you look 15, but are 34) -besides the health issues that are associated with said aging there are also social ones (they don't fit in with their (normal) peers).
nath
over paid and over rated. Did the 8 of them fly first class here? Will they eat at a Ramen shop with the regular folks?