By Lee Hyo-won
Brad Pitt is eyeing more international collaborations and sees Korea as a significant industrial base for the process.
“I think we are living in a global community and I’m much more interested in ... more global connections and interactions and cultures and nations,” the Hollywood star told reporters in Seoul, Tuesday, about what he hopes to achieve through his movies.
The promotional tour for “Moneyball,” which opens in local theaters this week, marks the 47-year-old’s first visit here. “I’m very excited to come here. Your market has exploded in a very positive way and it has become a hub of entertainment and sports.”
Pitt’s latest film tells the real-life story of a man who attempts to organize a budget baseball team. While it is about Billy Beane’s revolutionary use of computer-generated systems for recruiting players for the Oakland Athletics, the actor believes the emotional aspects of the film resonate with international audiences.
“No matter how much you can break the game down to a size, it’s all about the magical moments in baseball,” said Pitt, who is a personal fan of not only the Oakland As but his home state Saint Louis Cardinals.
“(The film is) all about the emotions and it’s all about the undercurrents of what the characters are going through … Beneath all the laughs you can feel a haunt there and I tend to believe we all have our haunts, regrets, real or imagined that we live with, and that’s something universal,” he said.
He also chose the film, which is based on the book of the same name, because he wanted something lighter after the family drama “Tree of Life,” which is currently playing in Korean theaters. The actor calls the latter “a very personal story about the American Dream in the 1950s.” “After completing something like ‘Tree of Life’ you want to jump into something funny like ‘Moneyball.’”
“What I appreciate most about (‘Moneyball’) on first reading the book is that it speaks to a very quiet victory, a personal victory that is only yours. There’s much emphasis on success being more about the headline or a trophy and maybe too much of it ... (The film) speaks to that ... what is your personal win ... your personal goals, which is something I’m much more keen to and interested in.”
In the meantime, the actor said he has no “expiration date” as an actor, though he told Australian media that he would retire in three years to focus on producing. “I just see it coming and I do have an interest in the producing side.”
He will be producing and acting in the upcoming “World War Z,” and appreciates the involvement of Korea’s Lotte Cinema.
“‘World War Z’ is a big zombie movie. It is based on a book by Max Brooks and it is a global story, and it’s a perfect film for global contributions. So I guess I’m quite happy about (Lotte’s investment), why not?”
“Moneyball,” a Buena Vista Sony Pictures Releasing release, opens in theaters on Thursday.