No matter how acclaimed or laden with stars, getting audiences to shell out cash and sit down for a two-hour plus movie depicting slavery in agonizingly brutal detail isn’t an easy task. Enter: Brad Pitt.
The handsome, charmer worked his magic on the “Today” show this morning with host Ann Curry, for “12 Years A Slave.” Not only is he an actor amongst the ensemble, but he’s also a producer on the picture, and he says he approached the whole endeavor as a film fan first. “I’m a moviegoer,” he said. “That was a place that was a big escape for me, to open my eyes up to the world when I was a little, little kid. I loved going to see films. So I think of it from that side of it, and I know the impact of this film.”
As such, he boasts that Steve McQueen‘s film cuts “to the base of our humanity,” and it’s hard to argue with that point, with our review noting that film mixes arthouse sensibility with the structure of a bigger studio film, with the director’s voice very much remaining intact.
Meanwhile, the soundtrack album is being prepped (via Shadow & Act and Hamada), and it’s got some unlikely contributors in the form of executive producer John Legend, and the participation of Alicia Keys, guitarist Gary Clark Jr., pianist/composer Nicholas Britell, and violinist Tim Fain. The release will contain the score by Hans Zimmer, but whether or not it will also have songs “inspired by” the movie (which seems like a dodgy proposition) remains to be seen. But we’ll know soon as it hits stores on November 11th.
“12 Years A Slave” opens in limited release this Friday. Additional six images below via Collider.
