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.
