Harrison Ford has a new role - apologist for Brad Pitt.
During television interviews to promote "The Devil's Own," Ford has found himself having to answer for the negative comments that Pitt made about the film a few months ago - long before its release.Pitt's remarks appeared in Newsweek magazine in a fairly lengthy interview, but here are the pertinent statements:
"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 . . . 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. We had nothing.
"The movie was the complete victim of this drowning studio head (Mark Canton) who said, `I don't care. We're making it. I don't care what you have. Shoot something.' "
There were also published reports of rivalry on the set between Pitt and Ford, which both actors deny.
But Pitt's angry words in Newsweek have come back to haunt Ford, as the subject has come up in every interview he's given. Although he says Pitt spoke out of turn, Ford doesn't deny the specifics of Pitt's remarks. Ford says the script was incomplete as the film rolled, and he felt the same frustrations - but he opted to wait until he could see the finished product before saying anything about it.
Now that he's seen the film, Ford says he's happy with the way it turned out. Of course, he also received a $20 million paycheck and will receive a percentage of the profits.
Pitt, meanwhile, has also been doing interviews to promote the film, claiming the Newsweek article printed his comments "out of context."
But the evidence suggests that Pitt simply became too candid with a reporter before it was pointed out to him that he had signed a contract requiring him to do publicity for the film. Positive publicity.
Pitt hasn't exactly recanted, but he does now say that he loved working with Ford - and that the movie didn't turn out so bad.
Of course, maybe he has a percentage as well.
- LIMITED BONDS: Pierce Brosnan said in an interview last week that he wants to make just four James Bond movies. Then it's quits.
"I don't want people to watch me getting old and see my waist get bigger and my hair thinner," he told the English tabloid The Sun.
And why not? That didn't stop Sean Connery, who made "Never Say Never Again" at the age of 52. So he wore a rug. Who cared?
A decade-and-a-half later, Connery is still doing action pictures, like last year's "The Rock." And he's one of the screen's most charismatic actors, at age 66.
Brosnan's first Bond movie was "GoldenEye," a huge hit that revitalized the 007 franchise. Now, at 43, he is filming his second outing as the British spy with a license to kill, "Tomorrow Never Dies," scheduled for release in November.
If the series stays on track, with a new Bond picture being made every other year, Brosnan will be 47 when he tackles the role for the last time. That means he apparently feels 49 is too old for a fifth of Bond, if you will.
For the sake of comparison, Harrison Ford turns 55 in three months but is still planning another Indiana Jones movie with Steven Spielberg, as soon as they can coordinate their schedules.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, who will be 50 this year, shows no signs of slowing down as an action star, and Sylvester Stallone will be 51 in a few months but still manages to hold his own with the bad guys (and the stunt men).
So what does this mean? Has Brosnan simply decided he's going to let himself go? Is he already looking forward to the Charles Durning character roles?
Well, not exactly. In fact, he did leave a door open for further Bonds.
"Even if they offered me 30 million pounds (which translates to about $49 million), I don't think I would," he protested, thoughtfully adding, "Then again, 30 million pounds is a lot of money, isn't it?"
Sounds like a negotiation ploy to me.
- QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Val Kilmer, who played Batman and his alter ego Bruce Wayne in "Batman Forever," and who currently stars as high-rolling thief Simon Templar in "The Saint":
"Templar uses wit, not violence. You'll notice I tried to bring a great deal of wit to Batman, but there's only so much you can do, because the movie is not about Bruce Wayne, it's about the villains.
"I find Bruce Wayne a rather silly character. He's a seriously screwed-up guy. He wears this silly cape and mask around his house and before you know it, he has a young guy running around the place in cape and mask too. Now doesn't that tell you something?"