Harrison Ford reveals 'complicated' clash of views while working with Brad Pitt on 'The Devil's Own'
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA: As Harrison Ford is preparing for the highly anticipated 5th installment of the Indiana Jones franchise, the 80-year-old Hollywood veteran recalled some of his older movies, especially the development of his 1997 thriller, 'The Devil's Own', in which he acted alongside two-time Oscar-winner, Brad Pitt.
While giving an interview for Esquire, Ford detailed why the film was "complicated" to make and also disclosed why he got involved in a heated altercation with the 'Fight Club' star, "Brad developed the script. Then they offered me the part," Ford said. "I saved my comments about the character and the construction of the thing — I admired Brad. First of all, I admire Brad. I think he's a wonderful actor. He's a really decent guy."
'It wasn't just a good-and-evil battle'
"But we couldn't agree on a director until we came to Alan Pakula, who I had worked with before but Brad had not," he added. "Brad had this complicated character, and I wanted a complication on my side so that it wasn't just a good-and-evil battle. And that's when I came up with the bad-shooting thing." Ford claimed that he and Pitt had differences of opinion when it came to screenplay after they struggled to agree on a director. "I worked with a writer — but then all the sudden we're shooting and we didn't have a script that Brad and I agreed on," he told Esquire. "Each of us had different ideas about it. I understand why he wanted to stay with his point of view, and I wanted to stay with my point of view — or I was imposing my point of view, and it's fair to say that that's what Brad felt. It was complicated."
The seventh-highest-grossing actor in North America, however, had nice things to say about the movie despite the allegedly difficult production. "I like the movie very much. Very much," he shared.
Was 'The Devil's Own' successful?
The movie had a $90 million budget, which was considered enormous at the time, considering inflation and the fact that it is still considered a huge sum of money in the present context. The movie garnered some hype initially due to the fact that Pitt and Ford both starred in the movie, but it did not live up to the expectations later. The film was not very well received by the critics either as it holds a 35% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and 6.2 on IMDb.
Did Brad Pitt like the movie?
Although Brad Pitt has had his fair share of controversies when it comes to his personal life, he is usually considered an extremely professional individual in terms of his acting career. Brad Pitt never voiced any displeasure in working on this movie except for the fact that it was challenging to make. In an interview, Pitt revealed that the movie did not have a proper script and it was quite onerous for him as well as he was in the early stage of his career at the time. Just like Ford, Pitt also shared that he did not share the best of the bonds with the 'Indiana Jones' actor.
