Source Denies Brad Pitt’s On-Set Volatility, Says Director Wanted Attention

A knowledgeable insider within the entertainment industry is refuting director Edward Zwick’s portrayal of his experiences working alongside Brad Pitt on the set of the 1994 Western hit film, ‘Legends of the Fall’. 

According to a source closely familiar with the production of the movie, which featured Pitt in a leading role, Pitt was not the tumultuous presence that Zwick suggests in his forthcoming memoir.

“There were disagreements,” notes an individual involved with the film, “But Brad was not volatile.”

In his memoir, Zwick, characterises the renowned actor as ‘volatile when riled’, as per an exclusive excerpt featured in Vanity Fair.

Zwick’s recollection of the making of ‘Legends of the Fall,’ which also starred Anthony Hopkins, Aidan Quinn, and Julia Ormond, includes an incident where the filmmaker allegedly began giving direction to Pitt publicly in front of the crew, a move Zwick describes as “a stupid, shaming provocation—and Brad came back at me, also out loud, telling me to back off.”

Pitt, purportedly disagreed with Zwick regarding the interpretation of his character, Tristan Ludlow, a native of rural Missouri. Zwick claims such confrontations were not isolated occurrences. “Eventually the crew grew accustomed to our dustups and would walk away and let us have it out. ‘We hate it when the parents fight,’ said one.”

The director elaborates that after each heated exchange, reconciliation would follow. “We’d make up, and mean it,” he writes. “It was never personal. Brad is a forthright, straightforward person, fun to be with and capable of great joy. He was never anything less than fully committed to doing his best.”

-Sushmita Sarkar