George Clooney, Brad Pitt Disappointed as New Film Skips Theaters

Hollywood heavyweights George Clooney and Brad Pitt have expressed their disappointment over their latest comedy, “Wolfs,” not receiving a broad cinema release and instead heading almost straight onto Apple TV.

“It is a bummer,” Clooney remarked on Sunday, acknowledging that television streamers like Apple are still crucial to the future of filmmaking. He noted that streaming services offer actors opportunities and help generate larger audiences for their work. “Streaming, we need it, our industry needs this,” he added.

Written and directed by Jon Watts, “Wolfs” is an old-fashioned crime caper. In the film, Clooney and Pitt play lone-wolf professional fixers who are compelled to work together, leading to comically unfortunate consequences.

Apple initially indicated it would place the film in a significant number of cinemas before its TV release. However, the tech giant eventually opted to show it briefly in a limited number of U.S. movie theaters before running it on its global TV service.

“We’ll always be romantic about the theatrical experience. At the same time, I love the existence of the streamers because we get to see more story, we get to see more talent, it gets more eyes,” Pitt said. “It’s a delicate balance right now and it’ll right itself.”

Clooney joked about the implications of their inability to secure a broader theatrical release, saying, “Clearly we’re declining.”

Sixteen years after their last appearance together in the 2008 Coen brothers’ comedy “Burn After Reading,” Pitt and Clooney said they were eager to reunite when they read Watts’ script for “Wolfs.”

“I have to say, just as I get older, just working with the people that I really enjoy spending time with has really become important to me,” said Pitt, who turned 60 last year.

During a news conference full of light-hearted banter, Clooney joked about Pitt’s age, saying, “He’s 74 years old and he’s very lucky at this age to still be working.”

On a more serious note, Clooney refuted a New York Times story from August that claimed both he and Pitt had been paid more than $35 million each to star in the film. “I’m only saying that because I think it’s bad for our industry if that’s what people think is the standard bearer for salaries. I think that’s a terrible thing. It will make it impossible to make a film,” he said.

“Wolfs” is being shown out of competition at the Venice Film Festival, which runs until September 7.

Source: Reuters