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| Actors Brad Pitt, right and Aaron Taylor-Johnson pose during a press conference for the film "Bullet Train." Yonhap |
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Hollywood star Brad Pitt made his fourth visit to Korea, this time to promote his latest movie "Bullet Train" with co-star Aaron Taylor-Johnson, enjoying time with fans on the red carpet and pre-release screening events.
"It's great to be back. I'm not here for the movie, I'm here for the food. 'Bullet Train' is a great summer action adventure film that we shot during the COVID-19 pandemic," Pitt said during a press conference held at Conrad Seoul in Seoul, Friday.
Directed by David Leitch, the film is a fast-paced thriller packed with action and humor. Pitt plays a former assassin named Ladybug who is on a mission to collect a briefcase from a high-speed passenger train in Japan. But he realizes that the train is packed with other elite assassins, including Lemon (Brian Tyree Henry), Tangerine (Taylor-Johnson) and Prince (Joey King), all with intersecting goals.
"'Bullet Train' is about seven sociopaths who are boarded on a train all at once. Ladybug is who we call in America, a chump. He's the guy who can't get out of his own way," Pitt explained.
The star also shared that a major theme of the film is luck, both good and bad. "It's about 'what is luck? What is fate? Are we puppets of fate or do we have free will?' Underneath the great action and comedy is that message," he said.
On collaborating with director Leitch, who used to be his stunt coordinator in films "Fight Club" (1999), "Troy" (2004) and "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" (2005), Pitt said, "It's rare to jump from one expertise to another, but David went on to become a director of his own. The actor-stunt double relationship is usually about stunts trying to help an actor. On the other hand, a director is the ultimate author, so the actor wants to bring his version of the character to service the bigger story. Now he's more like a boss."
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| A scene from the film, "Bullet Train" / Courtesy of Sony Pictures |
Taylor-Johnson, who is visiting Korea for the first time, said he is truly excited to show audiences the movie that he is super proud of.
"I arrived yesterday and dived into some amazing Korean food like samgyetang, kimchi, kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi). We're going to have Korean barbecue tonight. It's a short visit … I wish it was longer because there are so many things I want to explore like visiting the palaces," he said.
The actor, who is best known for his roles in films like the "Kick-Ass" franchise, "Avengers: Age of Ultron" (2015) and "Tenet" (2020), discussed his on-screen chemistry with Henry.
"Tangerine and Lemon are twins, brothers and partners in crime. Building chemistry with Brian was everything. These brothers are scary, unpredictable assassins but they have a beautiful strong bond for one another," he said.
Pitt said the film's main goal is to allow audiences to just have fun and enjoy the thrills.
"I feel like we have all come out of lockdown, which was a very strange, lonely and introspective time. I came out of it thinking time is short, enjoy what's in front of us," he said.
"Bullet Train" will hit local theaters on Aug. 24.
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