Friday, October 11, 2024

Brad and Angelina Began with a Movie Success (Mr & Mrs Smith), Ended with a Flop (By the Sea)

Share

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s relationship began with a hit movie, “Mr. and Mrs. Smith.”

It ended with a flop, “By the Sea.”

If anyone should have been cast in “A Star is Born,” it was them.

Pitt was married to Jennifer Aniston when he shot “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” with Jolie. There were constant rumors of an affair. It was all denied up and down. But where there’s smoke, there’s fire. A source on set of “Smith” told me at the time that Pitt had started directing Jolie’s scenes, and that it was very uncomfortable.

Not long after, Pitt and Aniston filed for divorce. The publicity fueled “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” to a worldwide box office of $478 million.

Last year, Jolie directed Pitt in their only other movie together, “By the Sea.” Unwatchable by any standards, the overpriced screech fest of a couple who can’t get along brought in just $538,460 in the US. Abroad it scammed off around $2.8 million. It was a total loss of over $10 million, maybe more.

Now Pitt is rumored to have had an affair with Marion Cotillard on the set of “Allied.” It’s directed by Robert Zemeckis, and set for release from Paramount. This is the kind of old school publicity scandal that studios long for– will people come see it to figure out what went on? You bet they will. But if “Allied” isn’t a hit, Pitt and Cotillard won’t be celebrating together.

As for “By the Sea,” that should have been the warning. No couple puts themselves through that much sturm und drang unless they’re working out problems, or expressing existing ones. That movie was about anger. And today we have the results.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

Read more

In Other News