Brad Pitt is in talks with Quentin Tarantino to headline his World War II epic Inglorious Bastards. Tarantino is currently shopping the project, with Harvey Weinstein and Lawrence Bender attached as producers, to a quartet of studios- Sony, Warner Brothers, Universal and Paramount.
Pitt is an interesting and exciting choice. Commonly thought of as a pretty face with passable acting chops, it seems that people forget that he disappears into roles in such films as 12 Monkeys, Fight Club and Snatch. I think that he is under-appreciated as an actor and maybe this could be a chance to have people re-evaluate his carreer.
It’s a pity that MGM is not in the mix of studios reviewing the script. MGM made the grand-daddy of all men-on-a-mission/World War II flicks The Dirty Dozen and even some of the host of imitators that came down the pike in the wake of its success. It just feels like the film should find a home at MGM.
But is any studio ready to shell out money for Tarantino to make another three-hour movie? Though a mixed bag with critics (I liked it), Grindhouse was a flop at the box office. Tarantino did take his Grindhouse segment, Death Proof, and expanded it, receiving more positive notices when he took it to the Cannes Film Festival. In the rush to condemn Tarantino for the failure of Grindhouse, most people forget that this was his first film to not make its money back at the box office.
Also, Inglorious Bastards seems already destined to run into problems with the Motion Picture Association of America over its title. I have trouble thinking that the MPAA is going to let the Bastards stay. Remember, this is the group that forced Paramount to change the title of South Park Goes To Hell. Of course, South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone responded with the title South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut. Evidentially, uncircumcised penis jokes are ok in a movie title, but not bad words.
