Brad Pitt in Newsweek's Oscar Roundtable

Brad Pitt is featured in this year’s “Oscar Roundtable” in Newsweek magazine, with several big celebrities – Anne Hathaway, Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke, Frank Langella, and Sally Hawkins. They talk about whether it’s a good idea for an actor to Google their own name (Brad says “Dear God. No.” and that while he does have a Blackberry, he doesn’t really know how to operate a computer.), and what fame is like.

Something that struck me as very interesting was the perception of success vs. failure. Anne Hathaway mentions that she started in – and loved – theater and always felt like if the film possibilities came to a halt, she could always go back there and be happy. Meanwhile, Brad’s take on the success of a film is personal. He was asked what he does when one of his films “tanks” – does he feel pressured to make sure he does a money-making blockbuster or does he choose his next project with his heart. His answer was:

Pitt: I have nothing to prove anymore. The only thing that’s worth anything is when you explore something that’s interesting. I did a film a couple years ago, “The Assassination of Jesse James,” and it’s on the books as a failure. I loved that movie, I had such a great experience.

I love that. I love that he doesn’t care what the numbers say, he just cares about the story he told and the way he felt about telling it. Also, it bears mentioning that the others were all shocked to hear that The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford was considered a commercial failure. Maybe that’s the difference between the Oscar contenders (past and present) and the ones who make the movies that we watch and forget, they care about the story behind the film more than what it does in theaters.

Read the whole thing and check video clips too from the roundtable here.

Oscar nominations are to be announced soon so stay tuned for updates – I’m sure that Brad Pitt will be nominated for best actor and that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button will be up for several awards and I’m hoping that Angelina Jolie will be nominated for best actress.

(Thank you Ann!)

Image used with permission: Newscom