Brad Pitt is notoriously hard to net for a film. He'll sign on to a lot of projects and even produce, but getting the man to star in a picture when all is said and done can prove to be difficult. Aussie director Andrew Dominik had a leg-up. He directed Pitt in the underrated "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," a movie that Pitt has said he lost money making, but is one of his personal favorite films. So how did Dominik get Pitt to sign on for his latest film, the American crime drama "Killing Them Softly"? "It was all very simple. I texted Brad, asking if he was interested, and he wrote back 'Yes,' " Dominik told EW recently. "We basically worked the whole thing out via text message over half an hour."
With The Weinstein Company recently moving the release date from October to November, some are speculating the movie will have some awards season heat. But considering that Harvey hasn't brought it out to any festivals since Cannes, we're not so certain (it didn't play Telluride or TIFF and won't be at NYFF, though perhaps it can sneak into AFI). And while the movie is excellent, it's a pretty bitter, angry and cynical film — not the usual fare that Oscar voters go for.
At any rate, still plenty of time for the race to shift and shuffle, so until then, here are some new images and the official synopsis for the picture. "Killing Them Softly" opens on November 30th.
Three dumb guys who think they’re smart rob a Mob protected card game, causing the local criminal economy to collapse. Brad Pitt plays the enforcer hired to track them down and restore order. KILLING THEM SOFTLY also features Richard Jenkins (THE VISITOR), James Gandolfini (“The Sopranos”), Ray Liotta (NARC), Scoot McNairy (MONSTERS), Ben Mendelsohn (ANIMAL KINGDOM), and Vincent Curatola (“The Sopranos”). Max Casella, Trevor Long, Slaine and Sam Shepard also make appearances. KILLING THEM SOFTLY is written for the screen and directed by Andrew Dominik (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford), and is based on the George V. Higgins novel, “Cogan’s Trade.
