Despite what most other people think, I believe Brad Pitt is one of the most underrated actors working today. I know that he’s POPULAR… but I really don’t think the man gets enough credit for his pure acting chops. I find the dude completely believable in just about every role I’ve seen him in… some of his flicks suck… but that doesn’t mean he was bad in them.
I’ve been really interested in his new project “THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD“. Yes, it’s one of the wrost titles in the history of film, but the movie still sounds great, and I’d love to see Pitt as James. But where is it??? The folks over at JoBlo give us the following:
Pitt’s turn as the famed bandit (who gets plugged by Casey Affleck as Ford) is apparently still in the mixing stable — it seems that director Andrew Dominik (CHOPPER) wanted to do a contemplative Terrence Malick-styled tale that clocked in over three hours, while the studio wanted something a little more shoot-em-up. Pitt (who also produced the film with Ridley Scott) did his own cut(s) of the movie, but it’s apparently still not in riding condition. Maybe they just can’t figure out how to get the title on one poster.
Oh sweet merciful crap. Another director who thinks we want to sit through a 3 hour film? Look, I’ll give Pirates of the Caribbean a shot at almost 3 hours, or Lord of the Rings… but a “Contemplative” 3 hour film isn’t going to cut it. Why are some of these directors (ahem… Peter Jackson.. cough… King Kong) so self absorbed that they can’t fathom cutting anything that they shot OUT of a movie? 3 hours (except in some rare cases) is just plain too long. And I’m sorry, but for 99% of the movies out there… if you can’t tell your story in 2 hours… then you can’t tell a story… or it’s just not a story worth telling (there are some rare exceptions for certain).
I’m curious to see what the final product will look like. I’ll be seeing this thing either way… even if it ends up being 3+ hours. But holy crap… if I’m going to watch a Jesse James moive, I want it to be more like Young Guns than The Queen.
