“The more I pushed Brad to reveal himself, the more he resisted,” he wrote.
In an excerpt from his memoir
Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood
, revealed by
Vanity Fair US
on Tuesday February 6, Edward Zwick relates how difficult it was for Brad Pitt to crack the armor in his mid-teens. 1990. According to the director of
Legends of the Fall
(1995), the actor was uncomfortable with scenes requiring showing "deep emotion".
“Brad became nervous every time he was about to shoot a scene requiring him to show deep emotion,” writes the filmmaker.
This is where his ideas about Tristan (
Ludlow, his character in the film, Editor's note
) differed from mine.
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A reaction which can be explained, according to Edward Zwick, by the environment in which the actor evolved.
“Brad Pitt grew up with men who didn't show their emotions;
but for me, the central idea of the novel was precisely that a man's life is the sum of his sorrows,” underlines the director.
The actor's attitude would have given the film's editor, Steven Rosenblum, a hard time.
“He complained on a daily basis that he had difficulty editing scenes where Brad's stoicism seemed more hollow than introspective,” says the director.
I agreed with him.”
Edward Zwick would therefore have done everything to push Brad Pitt to his limits.
And this, at the cost of multiple tensions between the two men.
Also read: In a fleece bob and cream Crocs, Brad Pitt, this 60-year-old
Screams, insults and throwing chairs
“There are clearly limits between strong acting direction and a desire for domination, especially when a male filmmaker directs a male star,” analyzes Edward Zwick.
Sometimes it risks becoming what a psychologist and friend once called "a phallic identity problem", in other words, a fight of the beasts.
Before adding: “A tenacious director who works with a determined actor is a bit like two dancers who are both trying to lead the dance.
But such tension can also result in something very good.”
And the author concludes: “Was it all worth it?
Well, it was a great film.”
Conflicts which nevertheless led the filmmaker and the actor to “yell at each other, insult each other, and throw chairs at each other”.
A
fall
Fight Club ?