Editorials > Brad Pitt Leaves State of Play

Though he'd been the first actor cast, and one of the driving forces behind the project, Brad Pitt has dropped out of the lead role in Kevin Macdonald's State of Play. The film was to begin production on November 15th, but that was delayed by two weeks' worth of meetings and arguments between Pitt and director Macdonald. Variety reports that the way Universal sees it, Pitt has walked out of a pay or play commitment and may sue if the picture can not find a replacement quickly enough to keep the rest of their ensemble cast. Helen Mirren, for example, had set a stop date for State so that she could film her husband Taylor Hackford's Love Ranch with Joe Pesci.

The supporting cast includes Edward Norton, Rachel McAdams, Jason Bateman and Robin Wright Penn. 

The dispute between Pitt and the studio stems from differences of opinion regarding the final script. Pitt's preferred version of the story was the screenplay by Matthew Michael Carnahan (Lions for Lambs), which adapted the British miniseries of the same name written by Paul Abbott and directed by David Yates. The studio pushed for a number of rewrites by scribes such as Peter Morgan (The Queen), Tony Gilroy (The Bourne Ultimatum, Michael Clayton) and Billy Ray (Breach), all men well-versed in the political genre. Pitt was unhappy with the state of the final script, but nothing could be done due to the WGA strike. Unwilling to wait out the strike, Universal decided to go forward with the script they had and Pitt walked away.

In a statement yesterday, Universal said "Brad Pitt has left the Universal Pictures production of State of Play. We remain committed to this project and to the filmmakers, cast members, crew and others who are also involved in making the movie. We reserve all rights in this matter."

How ominous.

-David Morgan