Brad Pitt says space epic 'Ad Astra' his 'most challenging film'

By Marie-Louise Gumuchian

 

The 76th Venice Film Festival - Screening of the film "Marriage Story" in competition - Arrivals - Venice, Italy, August 29, 2019 - Actor Brad Pitt arrives in Venice. REUTERS/Yara Nardi

 

VENICE, Italy (Reuters) - Brad Pitt has fought in wars, pulled off robbery heists and confronted rivals in the boxing ring during his career, but the Hollywood star says his most challenging film yet is playing an astronaut on a life-saving mission in the space epic "Ad Astra".

 

The 55-year-old actor takes audiences to the far reaches of the solar system in his role as Roy McBride after a new threat causing disastrous power surges threatens Earth.

 

McBride sets off to find his pioneering astronaut father, played by Tommy Lee Jones, who went missing more than a decade earlier while on a mission to Neptune.

 

Set in the near future when mankind has set up living stations and research centres on the moon and Mars, McBride makes his way into the vast abyss journeying through spectacular landscapes and empty space.

 

The trip soon becomes a journey of self-discovery.

 

"This has been the most challenging film I have ever worked on," Pitt, also a producer on the movie, told a news conference at the Venice Film Festival, where "Ad Astra" premieres on Thursday.

 

"The story ... is so delicate and any clip of a frame too early or music cue or voiceover could easily tip the thing over or be too much or be too obvious. It was a constant effort just to try to maintain this balance and try to keep this story unfolding in a very subtle and delicate way."

 

McBride narrates his history and relationship with his father throughout the odyssey, where he faces challenges as well as enemies in an inhospitable and lonely environment.

 

"We decided to try and tell the smallest possible story in the biggest possible tapestry... The tiny becomes the universal," director James Gray said.

 

"Ad Astra" is one of 21 movies competing for the top Golden Lion prize at the 76th edition of the Venice Film Festival, which runs until Sept. 7.

 

DISCOMFORT

Venice is no stranger to screening space movies, having previously premiered the Oscar-winning "Gravity", starring Pitt's regular co-star and friend George Clooney, as well as "First Man", about the 1969 moon landing.

 

Asked if he had exchanged any space movie tips with Clooney, Pitt referenced the process of hanging from wires during such shoots, saying: "George and I exchanged some discomfort stories."

 

The film, which also stars Liv Tyler, Ruth Negga and Donald Sutherland and which has had several release date changes, is considered by movie critics as one of the must-sees during the festival, an important launchpad for the awards season.

 

Asked whether the role could perhaps win him his first best actor Oscar, Pitt said: "Man I just want to get this film out ... it's a challenging film, it's subtle.

 

"It's operating on many cylinders, it has something to say about who we are, a soul if you believe in that, what’s our purpose, why do we hang on, keep doing. So I am really curious to see how it lands."

 

(Reporting By Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Gareth Jones)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-08-30

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Nice photo with the buttplug ????

I was looking forward to it, but do I really want to listen to Brad Pitt talk to himself for most of a movie?

Decisions decisions.