“It was complicated”: Harrison Ford Had a Difficult Time Filming 1997 Thriller With Brad Pitt After Actors Clashed Over a Difference in Opinion
Both Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt have stellar reputations as actors and are recognized as American cultural icons and are two of the most significant figures in the business. Over the years, the two of them have established a devoted fan base and are admired by people all around the world.
The Devil’s Own, a 1997 film directed by Alan J. Pakula and written by Vincent Patrick, David Aaron Cohen, and Kevin Jarre, starred the two charismatic actors. While the audience and critics had conflicting opinions of the film, it made over $140 million worldwide. The performers have a history of having a challenging connection while filming.
Harrison Ford wanted complications just like Brad Pitt’s character in The Devil’s Own
Harrison Ford, who appeared in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny in June, had appeared in 1997’s The Devil’s Own alongside Brad Pitt. The movie has since been under the public radar as it was known that both leading actors had a complicated relationship while filming the movie, which made it difficult.
Harrison Ford spoke to Esquire in June where he finally addressed the controversy regarding the 1997 movie and said,
“Brad developed the script. Then they offered me the part. 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. 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 further explained that Pitt had this complicated character and he also wanted a complication in his character so it was not just a good-and-evil battle and noted that it was then when he came up with the bad-shooting thing.
Harrison Ford says they no longer had the original script
Further in the interview, Ford noted that they did not have a script that he and Brad Pitt had agreed on.
Ford continued,
“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. I like the movie very much. Very much.”
On the other hand, Brad Pitt spoke to Newsweek back in 1997 and noted,
“We had no script. Well, we had a great script, but it got tossed for various reasons. To have to make something up as you go along–Jesus, what pressure! It was ridiculous. It was the most irresponsible bit of filmmaking–if you can even call it that–that I’ve ever seen. I couldn’t believe it. I don’t know why anyone would want to continue making that movie. “
Pitt explained that they had nothing, adding that the movie was the complete victim of this drowning, studio head Mark Canton, who had told them that he did not care much about what they had but they were going to film.
Brad Pitt calls working on The Devil’s Own a good schooling for him
During a 2011 interview with EW, Pitt was asked about working on the movie, to which he said that it was good schooling for him, adding that the producer Larry Gordon, who is a good friend of his, told him that they were going to throw away the script and were going to figure out as they go on and Pitt decided to stay.
In his Newsweek interview, the actor clarified that it was because his particular character had the responsibility of speaking for people who have suffered from the insidious war for a lifetime, and there’s a fear of it becoming movie-ized, trite, trivial. The actor added that that was just not right, and that’s where his fear set in, but they got it right.
