Brad Pitt blazed into Toronto yesterday just as the Venice Film Festival named him best actor for his manic, brooding turn as outlaw Jesse James.? “I was really surprised. I didn’t expect (the award) at all. It has been a long road … I could play it down, but it’s great fun,” Pitt said during a news conference prior to the North American premiere of the film at the Toronto International Film Festival.
“We all have our jobs and want to get really good at it. So it’s a real honour. I hope everyone gets to experience it.”? It’s no small triumph for Pitt, who also produced The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. The film, shot in Alberta and Manitoba in late 2005, has been besieged in recent months with reports of behind-the-scenes woes and production delays.
“There were the usual squabbles, but everyone here gave blood for this movie,” director Andrew Dominik said, joining Pitt alongside co-star Casey Affleck and co-producers Dede Gardner and Jules Daly.? Pitt and Dominik said although the movie was originally scheduled to be released last September, that simply wasn’t enough time to pare down the raw footage into its final lyrical form.?? Source
