<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/brad-pitt">Brad Pitt</a>’s rep shared his reaction to multiple <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/fraud">scammers</a> pretending to be the movie star on social media, which resulted in several victims being tricked out of more than $350,000.
&#8220;It’s awful that scammers take advantage of fans’ strong connection with celebrities, and this is an important reminder to not respond to unsolicited online outreach, especially from actors who have no social media presence,” the actor’s spokesperson said, per <a href="https://people.com/brad-pitt-rep-speaks-out-scammers-pose-as-actor-8718169">People</a>.
A recently published press release from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/spain">Spain</a>&#8216;s Ministry of the Interior detailed some of the alleged crimes, including scam artists pretending to be Pitt and initiating online relationships with the victims. These individuals then had the women transfer money into various accounts by claiming they were investing in his upcoming projects, the outlet noted.
The scammers &#8220;managed to make these women believe they had become so close to the well-known American actor that they believed they had a romantic relationship with him,&#8221; the docs said. One woman was duped into transferring around $167,000, while another got bilked out of approximately $195,500.
So far, five total suspects have been arrested in connection with the scam and were charged with crimes including fraud, money laundering, and forgery, per Spanish authorities.
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The victims were targeted through Brad Pitt fan pages. The 60-year-old “Ad Astra” star has no official authorized social media accounts on Instagram, X, Facebook, or TikTok.
Pitt has voiced his disinterest in using social media in the past. He told GQ during a 2014 <a href="https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/brad-pitt-british-gq-november-issue-cover-story-interview">interview</a> that he sees social media as being more trouble than it&#8217;s worth.
“Listen, I see a benefit in it. You could, you know, combat the misconceptions or the misquotes immediately. And if I&#8217;d have had that in my younger days, I&#8217;d have used it,&#8221; the actor said at the time. 
&#8220;Because I felt quite used, and completely misunderstood, and misread, and not given the benefit of the doubt,&#8221; Pitt continued. &#8220;You know, I felt that a lot in my first years. I would have brought some logic to the table, and brought it immediately. But now, at this point, I don&#8217;t want to bother with it.&#8221;
In 2019, the actor <a href="https://www.eonline.com/news/1058939/here-s-why-brad-pitt-isn-t-joining-instagram-anytime-soon">said</a> he didn’t “see the point” in creating an Instagram account.

Brad Pitt

Brad Pitt’s Rep Responds To Impersonators Scamming Fans Out Of $350K

Brad Pitt's Rep Responds To Impersonators Scamming Fans Out Of $350K

Celebrities

Entertainment

Fraud

Spain

World

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/brad-pitt">Brad Pitt</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/several-of-brad-pitts-kids-shun-his-last-name-heres-whats-going-on">Angelina Jolie’s</a> biological daughter Shiloh filed to drop her surname, and that request has been approved, officially dropping Pitt from her name.
On her 18th birthday in May, Shiloh filed to legally change her name from Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, to simply Shiloh Jolie, and the change has been granted, People magazine <a href="https://people.com/angelina-jolie-and-brad-pitt-s-daughter-shiloh-granted-name-change-8697667">reported</a>.
The initial hearing to drop Shiloh’s surname was scheduled for July, but that was postponed due to a problem with the background check, the outlet noted.
&#8220;Unfortunately, the court was unable to complete the background check ahead of today&#8217;s hearing, so the hearing was rescheduled for August 19,&#8221; Shiloh’s lawyer Peter Levine said at the time in a statement obtained by PEOPLE.
“Everyone undergoing a name-change request needs to have a background check conducted by the court clerk, and because of clerical error, Shiloh&#8217;s hearing has been continued to a new date,” Levine added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s daughter, Shiloh, has been granted her request to legally drop ‘Pitt’ from her surname.
She will now go by Shiloh Jolie. <a href="https://t.co/NCAEBOv7N4">pic.twitter.com/NCAEBOv7N4</a>
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) <a href="https://twitter.com/PopCrave/status/1825735180218253583?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 20, 2024</a></blockquote>
An anonymous source recently told <a href="https://people.com/brad-pitt-upset-daughter-shiloh-dropped-his-last-name-source-exclusive-8657479">People</a> that the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/brad-pitt-admits-on-my-last-leg-of-acting-career" target="_blank" rel="noopener">60-year-old actor</a> is “upset” that his daughter filed the name change paperwork on her 18th birthday.
“He’s aware and upset that Shiloh dropped his last name. He’s never felt more joy than when she was born. He always wanted a daughter,” the source said.
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“The reminders that he’s lost his children, is of course not easy for Brad. He loves his children and misses them. It’s very sad,” the insider added.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/having-children-saved-me-angelina-jolie-opens-up-about-darker-times-amid-brad-pitt-divorce" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jolie&#8217;s</a> daughter filed the name change request in May, only days after it was reported that her sister Vivienne (15) had stopped using “Pitt” as part of her surname as well, as previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/brad-pitt-and-angelina-jolies-daughter-files-to-drop-pitt-from-surname">reported</a>.
Vivienne, who is listed as a producer assistant for the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/entertainment">Broadway musical</a> “The Outsiders,” uses the last name “Jolie” in the <a href="https://www.eonline.com/news/1402454/brad-pitt-and-angelina-jolies-15-year-old-daughter-credited-as-vivienne-jolie-in-broadway-playbill">Playbill</a>.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/having-children-saved-me-angelina-jolie-opens-up-about-darker-times-amid-brad-pitt-divorce" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pitt and Jolie</a> started dating in 2005 following Pitt&#8217;s marriage to actress Jennifer Aniston in 2003. In 2014, the Hollywood superstar couple made things official and tied the knot. However, in 2016, the couple began a contentious divorce with a custody battle that lasted for years afterward. The pair were declared legally single in 2019.
They share six kids: Maddox, 22, Zahara, Shiloh, Pax, 20, and twins Vivienne and Knox, 15. Jolie had adopted Maddox from Cambodia and Zahara from Ethiopia prior to her relationship with Pitt. He legally adopted them after they got together.
The couple had their first biological child, Shiloh, in 2006. Next they adopted Pax from Vietnam. Finally, Jolie gave birth to twins in 2008.
Amanda Harding contributed to this piece.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/several-of-brad-pitts-kids-shun-his-last-name-heres-whats-going-on" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Several Of Brad Pitt’s Kids Shun His Last Name. Here’s What’s Going On.</a>

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Brad Pitt And Angelina Jolie’s Daughter’s Name Change Approved

Brad Pitt And Angelina Jolie's Daughter's Name Change Approved

Angelina Jolie

Hollywood

U.S.

An anonymous source recently told <a href="https://people.com/brad-pitt-upset-daughter-shiloh-dropped-his-last-name-source-exclusive-8657479" target="_blank" rel="noopener">People</a> that Brad Pitt is “upset” that his daughter, Shiloh, filed paperwork on her 18th birthday to drop the “Pitt” from her last name.
“He’s aware and upset that Shiloh dropped his last name. He’s never felt more joy than when she was born. He always wanted a daughter,&#8221; the source said.
&#8220;The reminders that he’s lost his children, is of course not easy for Brad. He loves his children and misses them. It’s very sad,&#8221; the insider added.
The last name debacle <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/brad-pitt-and-angelina-jolies-daughter-files-to-drop-pitt-from-surname" target="_blank" rel="noopener">made headlines</a> last week as Shiloh used her first official day of adulthood to make a major change to her surname. For anyone who hasn’t been paying attention, this move from the eldest biological child of Pitt and ex-wife Angelina Jolie was unprecedented. But a small amount of research shows that the move lines up with the drama between Pitt and his kids that’s been brewing for years.
<div id="attachment_744747" style="width: 1023px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-744747" class="size-large wp-image-744747" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/Angelina-Jolie-Shiloh-Jolie-1013x576.jpg" alt="Angelina Jolie &amp; Shiloh Jolie. Andrea Staccioli/ Insidefoto/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images" width="1013" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/Angelina-Jolie-Shiloh-Jolie-1013x576.jpg 1013w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/Angelina-Jolie-Shiloh-Jolie-300x171.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/Angelina-Jolie-Shiloh-Jolie-768x437.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/Angelina-Jolie-Shiloh-Jolie-1536x874.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/Angelina-Jolie-Shiloh-Jolie-2048x1165.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1013px) 100vw, 1013px" />Andrea Staccioli/ Insidefoto/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images</div>
Jolie, 48, and Pitt, 60, met on the set of “Mr. &amp; Mrs. Smith” in 2003 and it’s widely reported that their chemistry was undeniable. This was complicated by the fact that Pitt was married to Jennifer Aniston at the time. He and Jolie officially became a couple following his divorce in 2005.
Pitt and Jolie became Hollywood’s “it couple” over the next decade. They formally wed in 2014. Together, they share six kids: Maddox, 22, Zahara, 19, Shiloh, Pax, 20, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 15.
Jolie had adopted Maddox from Cambodia and Zahara from Ethiopia prior to her relationship with Pitt. He legally adopted them after they got together.
The couple had their first biological child, Shiloh, in 2006. Next they adopted Pax from Vietnam. Finally, Jolie gave birth to twins, Knox and Vivienne, in 2008.
<div id="attachment_747339" style="width: 820px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-747339" class="size-large wp-image-747339" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/06/GettyImages-137923294-810x576.jpg" alt="LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 29: Actress Angelina Jolie (L) and actor Brad Pitt attend The 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards broadcast on TNT/TBS at The Shrine Auditorium on January 29, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/WireImage) 22005_008_CP_1140.JPG" width="810" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/06/GettyImages-137923294-810x576.jpg 810w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/06/GettyImages-137923294-300x213.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/06/GettyImages-137923294-768x546.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/06/GettyImages-137923294.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 810px) 100vw, 810px" />Christopher Polk/WireImage</div>
And Shiloh isn’t the only one changing her name. Vivienne, who is listed as a producer assistant for the Broadway musical “The Outsiders,” uses the last name “Jolie” in the Playbill. A <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CzsJpzar3s1/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video</a> of Zahara introducing herself while joining the Mu Pi chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority at her university shows the teen introducing herself as “Zahara Marley Jolie.”
What gives? Why are so many of Pitt’s children choosing to separate themselves from the Academy Award winning actor?
Most entertainment insiders believe it can be traced back to an incident that happened when the family flew from Paris to Los Angeles in 2016. The alleged incident became public in 2022 when Jolie filed a complaint claiming that her ex grabbed her by the head and shook her, then choked one of the children who tried to step in and stop him.
The abuse allegations were made shortly after the flight, per <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/10/05/1126925040/brad-pitt-choked-and-his-children-angelina-jolie-says-in-a-court-filing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NPR</a>, but most details were kept hidden until 2022. The New York Times was first to report the verbiage found in the court document.
&#8220;Pitt&#8217;s aggressive behavior started even before the family got to the airport, with Pitt having a confrontation with one of the children. After the flight took off, Jolie approached Pitt and asked him what was wrong,&#8221; the filing says. &#8220;Pitt accused her of being too deferential to the children and verbally attacked her.&#8221;
At another point, the document stated, “He pulled [Jolie] into the bathroom and began yelling at her. Pitt grabbed Jolie by the head and shook her, and then grabbed her shoulders and shook her again before pushing her into the bathroom wall.&#8221;
One of the couple’s children who was only identified as being between the ages of 8 and 15-years-old at the time verbally defended Jolie. This allegedly caused the actor to act out in anger.
&#8220;Pitt lunged at his own child and Jolie grabbed him from behind to stop him. To get Jolie off his back, Pitt threw himself backwards into the airplane&#8217;s seats injuring Jolie&#8217;s back and elbow,&#8221; the filing continued. &#8220;The children rushed in and all bravely tried to protect each other. Before it was over, Pitt choked one of the children and struck another in the face.&#8221;
The document also accused Pitt of pouring beer on Jolie and both beer and red wine on the children. Jolie said Pitt was &#8220;becoming a monster&#8221; as he &#8220;ranted&#8221; and &#8220;mimicked the behavior of a monster and screamed at them,” per People. She said she and the children were &#8220;shell-shocked&#8221; and &#8220;frozen, scared and didn&#8217;t know what to do.&#8221;
The actress claimed that Pitt’s behavior made her feel &#8220;like a hostage.&#8221; NPR noted that criminal charges “would not be pursued due to several factors.”
The “Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood” actor denied the abuse claims via his rep. An initial statement in 2022 classified the allegations as “completely untrue.”
The rep later amended the statement, admitting Pitt displayed inappropriate behavior but said Jolie was blowing it out of proportion. “(Jolie’s) story continues to evolve each time she tells it. Brad has accepted responsibility for what he did but will not for things he didn’t do,” the new statement <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/04/entertainment/angelina-jolie-abuse-brad-pitt-lawsuit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
“He has been on the receiving end of every type of personal attack and misrepresentation,” Pitt’s attorney Anne Kiley said at the time. “Thankfully, the various public authorities she has tried to use against him over the past six years have made their own independent decisions. Brad will continue to respond in court as he has consistently done.”
<div id="attachment_747349" style="width: 781px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-747349" class="size-large wp-image-747349" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/06/GettyImages-1349540100-771x576.jpg" alt="LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 27: (L-R) Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, Zahara Jolie-Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Vivienne Jolie-Pitt, Maddox Jolie-Pitt and Knox Jolie-Pitt attend the &quot;The Eternals&quot; UK Premiere at BFI IMAX Waterloo on October 27, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage)" width="771" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/06/GettyImages-1349540100-771x576.jpg 771w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/06/GettyImages-1349540100-300x224.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/06/GettyImages-1349540100-768x574.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/06/GettyImages-1349540100.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 771px) 100vw, 771px" />Karwai Tang/WireImage</div>
It’s not just Pitt’s daughters seemingly shunning their dad. The couple’s oldest son Pax also reportedly shared his opinion, allegedly called his adoptive father a “world class a**hole” and “f***ing awful human being” in a Father’s Day post on his private Instagram account in 2020, per <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12744641/Angelina-Jolie-Brad-Pitt-adopted-son-Pax-dad-despicable.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Mail</a>.
“You time and time and again prove yourself to be a terrible and despicable person,” the social media account holder wrote over a picture of Pitt accepting the Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 2020 for his role in “Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood.”
“You have no consideration or empathy toward your four youngest children who tremble in fear when in your presence,” the post said. “You have made the lives of those closest to me a constant hell. You may tell yourself and the world whatever you want, but the truth will come to light someday.”
The drama continues as Pitt and Jolie battle for custody over their two remaining minor children and amid a messy controversy over the ownership of their French vineyard, Chateau Miraval. The former couple was declared legally single back in 2019, but their divorce is still ongoing until those two issues are settled.

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Several Of Brad Pitt’s Kids Shun His Last Name. Here’s What’s Going On.

Several Of Brad Pitt's Kids Shun His Last Name. Here's What's Going On.

actors

Children

divorce

family

Readers Pass

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/brad-pitt">Brad Pitt</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/angelina-jolie">Angelina Jolie</a>’s daughter Shiloh filed a legal request to have the “Pitt” dropped from her surname, per <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2024/05/30/brad-pitt-angelina-jolie-daughter-shiloh-drop-pitt-last-name/">TMZ</a>.
Shiloh filed the petition on her 18th birthday, May 27, the outlet noted. The teen requested the name change just days after it was publicized that her sister, Vivienne, 15, had stopped using “Pitt” as part of her surname as well. 
Vivienne, who is listed as a producer assistant for the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/entertainment">Broadway musical</a> “The Outsiders,” uses the last name “Jolie” in the <a href="https://www.eonline.com/news/1402454/brad-pitt-and-angelina-jolies-15-year-old-daughter-credited-as-vivienne-jolie-in-broadway-playbill">Playbill</a>.
Several outlets reported that the former couple’s other children also aren’t using the last name Pitt. Shiloh’s petition is the first legal document filed to formally request the change. 
Pitt, 60, and Jolie, 48, began a contentious divorce in 2016 after two years of marriage and 12 years together. Jolie had adopted Maddox from Cambodia and Zahara from Ethiopia prior to her relationship with Pitt. He adopted them legally after they got together. 
The couple had their first biological child, Shiloh, in 2006. Next they adopted Pax from Vietnam. Finally, Jolie gave birth to twins, Knox and Vivienne, in 2008.
Court filings obtained by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/04/movies/angelina-jolie-brad-pitt-lawsuit.html">The New York Times</a> indicated that Jolie accused Pitt of domestic violence following a private flight from France to Los Angeles in 2016. The filing alleged that Pitt “choked one of the children and struck another in the face” and “grabbed Jolie by the head and shook her.” 
It also said the Academy-Award-winning actor “poured beer on Jolie” and “poured beer and red wine on the children.”
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Pitt denied any wrongdoing and refuted the allegations.
Pax also allegedly called his adoptive father a “world class a**hole” and “f***ing awful human being” in a Father’s Day post on his private Instagram account in 2020, per <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12744641/Angelina-Jolie-Brad-Pitt-adopted-son-Pax-dad-despicable.html">The Daily Mail</a>. 
“You time and time and again prove yourself to be a terrible and despicable person,” the social media account holder wrote over a picture of Pitt accepting the Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 2020 for his role in “Once Upon a Time&#8230; In Hollywood.”
“You have no consideration or empathy toward your four youngest children who tremble in fear when in your presence,” the post said. “You have made the lives of those closest to me a constant hell. You may tell yourself and the world whatever you want, but the truth will come to light someday.”

Angelina Jolie & Shiloh Jolie

Brad Pitt And Angelina Jolie’s Daughter Files To Drop Pitt From Surname

Woke bylaws have dramatically changed Hollywood’s product.
Raunchy comedies are out, with “Ricky Stanicky” being an exception relegated to Amazon Prime. Old-school rom-coms went the way of the fax machine, with the mediocre “Anyone But You” over-performing with love-starved patrons.
Yet Hollywood’s new moral order has no qualms about making hitmen (and women) the newest trend.
Yes, many recent films ask us to empathize with stone-cold killers. They murder for a living, earn fabulous paychecks, and often live to see the end credits roll. And they anchor a shocking number of films. Let’s tally up some recent examples.
<ul>
<li>Brad Pitt in “Bullet Train” (2022)</li>
<li>The “John Wick” franchise – plus “The Continental,” a new Peacock series and the upcoming “Ballerina” spinoff with Ana de Armas.</li>
<li>Michael Fassbender in “The Killer” (2023)</li>
<li>“The Hitman’s Bodyguard” (2017) and its sequel, “Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard” (2021)</li>
<li>Mary Elizabeth Winstead in “Kate” (2021)</li>
<li>Jessica Chastain in “Ava” (2020)</li>
<li>Sasha Luss in “Anna” (2019)</li>
<li>Michael Keaton, Maggie Q in “The Protégé” (2021)</li>
<li>Glen Powell in “Hit Man” (June 2024)</li>
<li>Taraji P. Henson in “Proud Mary” (2018)</li>
<li>Three “Equalizer” films starring Denzel Washington</li>
</ul>
Some of these films are played for laughs. Pitt’s paid killer brings a comic, Zen-like approach to his craft. Most movies make it clear we’re meant to root for the assassins. They’re almost always smart, shrewd, and good at their work.
<div id="attachment_710089" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-710089" class="size-large wp-image-710089" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/bullettrainpitt-864x576.jpg" alt="Brad Pitt and Aaron Taylor-Johnson in &quot;Bullet Train.&quot; 87North/Columbia Pictures/Sony. 2022." width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/bullettrainpitt-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/bullettrainpitt-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/bullettrainpitt-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/bullettrainpitt-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/bullettrainpitt-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/bullettrainpitt-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/bullettrainpitt.jpg 2002w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />87North/Columbia Pictures/Sony. 2022.</div>
This month, Michael Keaton directs himself in “Knox Goes Away,” the tale of a veteran hit man forced into retirement by dementia. Keaton’s character, John Knox, attempts to “cash out” while he can, hoping to funnel his money to his estranged family members.
It’s Keaton’s second time behind the camera. His directorial debut, 2008’s “The Merry Gentleman,” also found Keaton playing a hit man with a heart of gold.
What’s happening?
Antiheroes are all the rage in Hollywood. Blame Tony Soprano and Walter White. The deeply flawed figures at the heart of “The Sopranos” and “Breaking Bad,” respectively, taught us to engage with damaged souls.
The hitmen genre flows effortlessly from there.
<div id="attachment_710103" style="width: 811px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-710103" class="size-large wp-image-710103" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/GettyImages-462616463-801x576.jpg" alt="Actors Aaron Paul (L) and Bryan Cranston (R), pose in the press room after Cranston won Best Actor in a TV drama and &quot;Breaking Bad&quot; won Best Series - Drama, at the 71st Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, January 12, 2014. AFP PHOTO / ROBYN BECK (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)" width="801" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/GettyImages-462616463-801x576.jpg 801w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/GettyImages-462616463-300x216.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/GettyImages-462616463-768x552.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/GettyImages-462616463.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 801px) 100vw, 801px" />ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images</div>
It helps that the genre taps into our collective bloodlust. Few films choreograph death and destruction with the majesty of the “John Wick” saga. Every film is a ballet of bloodshed.
Other stories guarantee big, bold action sequences, the kind that play well in international markets.
Ka-ching!
These films also tap into our hunger for redemption. Yes, we enjoy seeing fathers reunite with their children on screen, or addicts come clean after years of hard living. What’s more powerful than an assassin realizing his line of work has crushed his soul?
Keaton’s character in “Knox Goes Away” knows he’s dying, but he’ll use his last days to repair some of the damage done to his son and ex-wife. The screenplay also makes clear that the targets of his handiwork essentially had it coming.
No judge. No jury. Just an execution.
<div id="attachment_710087" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-710087" class="size-large wp-image-710087" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/keatonknoxgoesaway-1024x512.jpg" alt="Michael Keaton in &quot;Know Goes Away.&quot; Brookstreet Pictures. IMDB. 2024." width="1024" height="512" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/keatonknoxgoesaway-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/keatonknoxgoesaway-300x150.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/keatonknoxgoesaway-768x384.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/keatonknoxgoesaway-1536x768.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/keatonknoxgoesaway-2048x1024.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Brookstreet Pictures. IMDB. 2024.</div>
Hollywood also recognizes something about the zeitgeist. American audiences are sick of seeing assailants walk after committing heinous attacks. Soft-on-crime policies permeate big cities, and to see deeply flawed people kill said thugs is cathartic.
Too many stores now lock up the essentials for fear of even more theft.
The fascinating part of this cultural shift circles back to the woke movement. Today’s movies can’t luxuriate in the “male gaze” without triggering cries of “The Patriarchy!” The few R-rated comedies that traffic in “problematic” themes get pummeled by mainstream movie critics. Reviewers pounced on Amy Schumer’s “Snatched” for casting minorities <a href="https://ew.com/tv/2018/05/05/bill-maher-amy-schumer-i-feel-pretty-critics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">as the villain.</a>
Many classic movies couldn’t be made today thanks to the new, progressive mindset.
Yet woke scolds won’t go near the hit man genre. No outrage. No calls for their cultural banishment. No hashtag campaigns designed to snuff them out.
The same isn’t true, ironically, for vigilante films.
When Bruce Willis revived the classic “Death Wish” franchise in 2018, critics howled in protest. Even the film’s trailer <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4761804/Bruce-Willis-remake-Death-Wish-labeled-racist-alt-right.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">triggered</a> cries of racism and fascism.
How is Paul Kersey’s one-man war on crime different than John Wick slaughtering literally hundreds over the course of that franchise?
It isn’t. Actually, Wick’s body count is far worse. So is his moral compass.
Jennifer Garner fared far better with the similarly themed 2018 film “Peppermint.” Social critics pulled most of their punches, probably because the vigilante <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/peppermint-trailer-media-hypocrisy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in question</a> was a woman.
<div id="attachment_710075" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-710075" class="size-large wp-image-710075" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/GettyImages-1024920108-864x576.jpg" alt="LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 28: Jennifer Garner attends the premiere of STX Entertainment's 'Peppermint' at Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE Stadium 14 on August 28, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/GettyImages-1024920108-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/GettyImages-1024920108-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/GettyImages-1024920108-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/GettyImages-1024920108.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Neilson Barnard/Getty Images</div>
That reminds us how hypocritical the woke movement remains. Social justice types rage against “ageist” attacks on President Joe Biden but stood down when Will Ferrell flirted with an Alzheimer’s <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/will-ferrells-reagan-script-actual-888804/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">comedy based on President Ronald Reagan</a>.
They tried to cancel country singer Morgan Wallen’s career after he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-morgan-wallen-first-interview-since-n-word-video-deplatforming-i-can-only-come-tell-my-truth" target="_blank" rel="noopener">uttered the “n-word”</a> in a private conversation caught on tape. Yet they rally behind First Son Hunter Biden, a man who <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/06/10/mainstream-media-ignores-lewd-hunter-biden-n-word-texts-to-his-lawyer/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">repeatedly</a> used the same word in text messages.
The woke Left will rage against a comedian for telling the “wrong” joke or a comedy for telling so-called <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/mar/17/get-hard-review-will-ferrell-adds-to-slew-of-gay-panic-comedies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“gay panic”</a> jokes. If the hero snuffs out someone without a trial they look the other way.
Heck, make the assassin female and they might dub it “empowering.”
There’s little chance Hollywood will slow the flow of assassin-themed films. Some still make serious coin, and crime remains out of control across the country.
It’s not logical, but a part of us feels safer with people like John Wick meting out justice. Hollywood’s topsy-turvy moral compass doesn’t seem to mind.
* * *
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of <a href="http://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://twitter.com/HollywoodInToto?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@HollywoodInToto</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

eq3Picture1

Hollywood’s Obsession With Hitmen Movies

Hollywood's Obsession With Hitmen Movies

Breaking Bad

Denzel Washington

Jennifer Garner

Keanu Reeves

Michael Keaton

Movies

Actress <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/angelina-jolie" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Angelina Jolie</a> discussed how she believes feelings of stress during her divorce from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/brad-pitt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brad Pitt</a> led to her developing the medical condition known as Bell’s palsy.
“My blood sugar goes up and down. I suddenly had Bell’s palsy six months before my <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/divorce" target="_blank" rel="noopener">divorce</a>,” the 48-year-old mom of six told <a href="https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/film/angelina-jolie-atelier-maria-callas-cf62ff38" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Wall Street Journal</a> in an interview published Tuesday. Jolie had previously discussed recovering from the condition during a Vanity Fair <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/07/angelina-jolie-cover-story" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> in 2017 but didn&#8217;t reveal what she believed to be the catalyst. 
According to the <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bells-palsy/symptoms-causes/syc-20370028" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mayo Clinic</a>, Bell&#8217;s palsy is “a condition that causes sudden weakness in the muscles on one side of the face. In most cases, the weakness is temporary and significantly improves over weeks. The weakness makes half of the face appear to droop.” The exact cause of Bell’s palsy is unknown. 
Jolie also told the outlet she doesn’t “really have a social life” in Los Angeles after everything she’s been through, including the media scrutiny. “I wouldn’t be an actress today,” the actress said. “When I was starting out, it wasn’t as much of an expectation to be as public, to share so much.”
Jolie and Pitt announced their divorce in 2016. They had been together for 12 years and married for two at that point and shared both biological and adopted children together. Their divorce kicked off a bitter battle over both shared property and custody of their six kids: Maddox, 22, Pax, 20, Zahara, 18, Shiloh, 17, and twins Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline, 15.
The “Eternals” star is notoriously private about her personal life, saying only that she and her kids, “had to heal” following the divorce. “There are things we needed to heal from,” Jolie repeated while speaking with WSJ.
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Jolie also described her kids as her friends. “They are the closest people to me and my life, and they’re my close friends,” the actress said. “We’re seven very different people, which is our strength.”
Jolie told the outlet that despite being born in Los Angeles, she’s anxious to leave. The “Maleficent” star said she&#8217;d rather be spending time in Cambodia, which is where her adopted son Maddox is from and where she directed the 2017 film “First They Killed My Father.” 
“It’s part of what happened after my divorce. I lost the ability to live and travel as freely. I will move when I can,” Jolie said. “I grew up in quite a shallow place. Of all the places in the world, Hollywood is not a healthy place. So you seek authenticity.”

Angelina Jolie Said Divorcing Brad Pitt Gave Her Medical Condition: ‘My Body Reacts Very Strongly To Stress’

Angelina Jolie Said Divorcing Brad Pitt Gave Her Medical Condition: 'My Body Reacts Very Strongly To Stress'

Angelina Jolie opened up about how having children &#8220;saved&#8221; her from being pulled into what she called &#8220;darker&#8221; places amid her very public divorce from actor Brad Pitt and the custody battle that ensued for years afterward.
During the 48-year-old actress&#8217; interview for <a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/angelina-jolie-digital-cover-interview-atelier-jolie" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vogue&#8217;s</a> digital cover story, the &#8220;Eternals&#8221; star and mom of six <a href="https://pagesix.com/2023/09/27/angelina-jolie-my-kids-and-i-had-a-lot-of-healing-to-do-after-brad-pitt-split/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said focusing</a> on being a parent kept her from going &#8220;under&#8221; personally because she &#8220;wanted to live for them.&#8221; Jolie and the 59-year-old actor share six kids together: Maddox, 22, Pax, 19, Zahara, 18, Shiloh, 17, and twins Vivienne and Knox, 15.
&#8220;I was 26 when I became a mother,&#8221; Jolie said. &#8220;My entire life changed. Having children saved me and taught me to be in this world differently.&#8221;
&#8220;I think, recently, I would&#8217;ve gone under in a much darker way had I not wanted to live for them,&#8221; she added. &#8220;They&#8217;re better than me, because you want your children to be.&#8221;
&#8220;Of course I&#8217;m the mother, and hopefully that safe place for them and that stability,&#8221; the superstar actress continued. &#8220;But I&#8217;m also the one that they laugh at and I see them taking over so many different aspects of our family.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Angelina Jolie started taking less film roles “seven years ago, only taking jobs that didn’t require long shoots.&quot; Why? &quot;We had a lot of healing to do.&quot;
“I feel a bit down these days. I don’t feel like I’ve been myself for a decade, in a way.&quot;<a href="https://t.co/uiWKmmr5dv">https://t.co/uiWKmmr5dv</a>
&mdash; Variety (@Variety) <a href="https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1707060528122880218?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 27, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The &#8220;Lara Croft: Tomb Raider&#8221; star also admitted she&#8217;s struggled lately to still understand &#8220;who I am at 48. I guess I&#8217;m in transition as a person.&#8221;
&#8220;I feel a bit down these days. I don&#8217;t feel like I&#8217;ve been myself for a decade, in a way, which I don&#8217;t want to get into,&#8221; she added, noting that &#8220;seven years ago&#8221; she started &#8220;only taking jobs that didn&#8217;t require long shoots.&#8221;
&#8220;We [as a family] had a lot of healing to do,&#8221; the Hollywood star continued. &#8220;We&#8217;re still finding our footing.&#8221;
Pitt and Jolie first met on the set of their film &#8220;Mr. &amp; Mrs. Smith&#8221; while the &#8220;Fight Club&#8221; star was married to Jennifer Aniston. His divorce to the &#8220;Friends&#8221; star went through in 2005. Jolie and Pitt started dating and finally tied the knot in 2014.
In 2016, Jolie filed for divorce from the &#8220;Troy&#8221; star and the two were legally declared single in 2019. Two years later, they were finally granted joint custody of their six kids. However, one month later, the judge&#8217;s decision was thrown out and currently remains unresolved, Page Six noted.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/brad-pitt-admits-on-my-last-leg-of-acting-career" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brad Pitt Admits &#8216;On My Last Leg&#8217; Of Acting Career</a>

‘Having Children Saved Me’: Angelina Jolie Opens Up About ‘Darker’ Times Amid Brad Pitt Divorce

‘Having Children Saved Me’: Angelina Jolie Opens Up About 'Darker' Times Amid Brad Pitt Divorce

kids

Marriage

Lawyers for a company founded by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/brad-pitt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brad Pitt</a>’s ex-wife <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/angelina-jolie" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Angelina Jolie</a> filed court papers Monday mocking Pitt for the nature of his involvement in a French wine business and demanding $350 million.
Attorneys for a holding company Jolie set up to carry her shares in Chateau Miraval filed the cross-complaint as the former couple continue their legal battle over the winery. The pair originally purchased the French vineyard in 2011 while they were still married, and it&#8217;s been a topic of bitter contention since their divorce, per <a href="https://pagesix.com/2023/07/10/chateau-miraval-attorneys-mocks-brad-pitts-ludicrous-winemaker-affectations/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Page Six</a>.
“Pitt is an actor, not a winemaker,” the attorneys for Jolie&#8217;s company Nouvel wrote in the new <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/lawsuit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filing</a>. “He deals in illusions, not dirt and grapes.”
“During the years that he allegedly ‘built’ the business, he filmed and appeared in dozens of movies, not to mention making countless promotional appearances, jetting-setting [sic] around the world for movie premieres, and attending Hollywood parties,” it goes on.
The attorneys claim that Pitt spent &#8220;millions on vanity projects, including more than $1 million on swimming pool renovations, building and rebuilding a staircase four times, and spending millions to restore a recording studio.” 
“While he no doubt visited the vineyards to admire the work of the French laborers who actually made the business successful, Pitt is no vigneron,” the document says.
Nouvel’s attorneys claim Pitt’s business owes the company $350 million, the outlet noted. The group said, &#8220;Pitt masterminded a so-far-successful plan to seize de facto control of Château Miraval, despite lacking a controlling ownership interest. He has frozen Nouvel out of Château Miraval and treats it as his personal fiefdom.&#8221;
&#8220;Incensed that Jolie sold Nouvel to Stoli rather than him, Pitt has acted like a petulant child, refusing to treat Nouvel as an equal partner in the business,&#8221; the <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2023/07/11/brad-pitt-angelina-jolie-looting-legal-dispute-winery/70400995007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filing says</a>, while accusing Pitt of “looting” and “stripping” the business.
Meanwhile, the “Fight Club” star views his association with Miraval differently.
“I’m a farmer now,” Pitt told Wine Spectator in 2014. “I love learning about the land and which field is most suitable for which grape, the drama of September and October: Are we picking today? Where are the sugar levels? How is the acidity? Is it going to rain? It’s been a schooling for me. I enjoy cleaning the forest and walking the land.”

French Winery Lawyers Mock Brad Pitt’s Involvement: ‘Deals In Illusions, Not Dirt And Grapes’

French Winery Lawyers Mock Brad Pitt's Involvement: 'Deals In Illusions, Not Dirt And Grapes'

George Clooney revealed this week that two Hollywood A-list actors slammed the door in his face when he approached them about starring in the blockbuster 2001 movie &#8220;Ocean&#8217;s Eleven.&#8221;
&#8220;Some very famous people told us to f*** right off,&#8221; Clooney <a href="https://parade.com/news/george-clooney-blasts-johnny-depp-mark-wahlberg-rejecting-oceans-eleven-movie-role">said</a> during an interview at the 2023 TCM Classic Film Festival via Entertainment Weekly. &#8220;Mark Wahlberg, Johnny Depp. There were others. They regret it now. I regret doing f***ing ‘Batman.’&#8221;
&#8220;It&#8217;s also important to understand where we were at the time,&#8221; Clooney added. &#8220;The studios were making very big, broad, not very good films at that time. Steven had this idea of trying to infuse all of this independent film stuff that all of these young filmmakers were learning back into the studio system. It was going to get back to the things that they were doing from, like, 1964 to 1975.&#8221;
&#8220;Ocean&#8217;s Eleven&#8221; featured a star-studded cast, including Clooney, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Elliott Gould, Bernie Mac, Qin Shaobo, Don Cheadle, and Carl Reiner.
Wahlberg and Depp were reportedly approached about playing the role of Linus Caldwell — which was later filled by Damon.
&#8220;Ocean’s Eleven&#8221; director Steven Soderbergh confirmed during the interview that they were turned down by some major talent.
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&#8220;Steven [Soderbergh] had just done ‘Erin Brockovich’ and ‘Traffic,’ and he was nominated for directing both films,&#8221; Clooney said. &#8220;So, people really wanted to work with Steven.&#8221;
The film&#8217;s success led to three additional films, &#8220;Ocean&#8217;s Twelve,&#8221; &#8220;Ocean&#8217;s Thirteen,&#8221; and &#8220;Ocean&#8217;s Eight.&#8221;
&#8220;Ocean&#8217;s Twelve&#8221; and &#8220;Ocean&#8217;s Thirteen&#8221; feature the same cast as &#8220;Ocean&#8217;s Eleven,&#8221; while &#8220;Ocean&#8217;s Eight&#8221; features a female cast led by actress Sandra Bullock, who plays the role of Danny Ocean&#8217;s (Clooney) sister.

2023 TCM Classic Film Festival Day 2 – Friday

George Clooney Reveals 2 Big Hollywood Stars Told Him To ‘F*** Right Off’ When Offered Roles In ‘Ocean’s Eleven’

George Clooney Reveals 2 Big Hollywood Stars Told Him To 'F*** Right Off' When Offered Roles In 'Ocean's Eleven'

George Clooney

Johnny Depp

Mark Wahlberg

Matt Damon

“Elvira, Mistress of the Dark” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/celebrities">actress</a> Cassandra Peterson said she told <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/brad-pitt">Brad Pitt</a> her <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/real-estate">house</a> was haunted before he purchased it, but that did nothing to deter the sale.
Peterson said that while she and her then-husband Mark Pierson disclosed that their Los Angeles mansion in the Los Feliz neighborhood might be haunted prior to selling it almost 30 years ago.
&#8220;We were just kind of warning him that a lot of weird things have been going on there in the house since we moved in. And he was very excited about that. He thought that was really cool,” the actress said in an <a href="https://people.com/home/elvira-says-brad-pitt-was-very-excited-about-buying-her-haunted-house-that-he-just-sold-for-39-million/">interview</a> with People.
&#8220;I&#8217;ve seen people walking around upstairs, for example, real people just walking. One time [a ghost was] sitting downstairs in front of the fireplace, once walking into my bedroom and back out,&#8221; she went on, adding, &#8220;We saw a person floating around at the bottom of the pool, things like that.&#8221;
&#8220;I know that sounds nutty. I&#8217;m Elvira. I know you expect that from me, right?&#8221; Peterson continued. &#8220;I don&#8217;t have hallucinations, I wasn&#8217;t high, and I can&#8217;t explain those things.&#8221; The celebrity mentioned that the house was in rough shape when she bought it and was almost torn down.
Pitt purchased the home for a reported $1.7 million in 1994. The A-list actor recently sold the property after listing it for $40 million following many renovations and expansions over the past three decades. Pitt and his ex-wife Angelina Jolie raised their six children in the house before they divorced in 2016. 
Briarcliff Manor, as it&#8217;s named, was originally <a href="https://www.thethings.com/brad-pitt-living-in-haunted-house-ghost-sightings/">built</a> for an oil baron in 1910. The main house is more than 5,000 square feet and has six bedrooms and seven bathrooms.
Peterson said the paranormal events were so bad when she lived there that she enlisted professional help. The “Elivra” star explained how she &#8220;had a priest come in to do an exorcism. I had all kinds of things because it was really getting to a point of like, &#8216;I don&#8217;t know if I can continue to live here.’”
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&#8220;So we were telling Brad all about that and he loved it. I mean, there are not many buyers who that would be a selling point for, but he was like, &#8216;Oh, that&#8217;s so awesome.&#8217; I love that he appreciated the house so much,&#8221; she recalled.
Though Pitt never publicly discussed ghost sightings or paranormal disturbances, he did mention feeling a heaviness when heading home.
“I drive out and I just feel like I’m taking off a cloak or something,” he explained during an interview with GQ in June 2022 before saying coming home has the opposite effect.
&#8220;As soon as you turn in past Santa Barbara, I feel it coming. The shoulders start getting a little higher, and I feel it. I’m not quite sure what that is and how to contend with it just yet,&#8221; Pitt said.

‘Elvira’ Claims Brad Pitt Was ‘Very Excited’ To Purchase Her ‘Haunted’ Mansion: ‘He Loved It’

'Elvira' Claims Brad Pitt Was 'Very Excited' To Purchase Her 'Haunted' Mansion: 'He Loved It'

California

Los Angeles

Real estate

With so much promotion, so many A-list actors, and even a few coveted Golden Globe nominations, it makes no sense that the epic period comedy-drama “Babylon” was such an epic flop. 
Except, the failure of screenwriter/director Damien Chazelle to lure audiences with his story of “decadence, depravity, and outrageous excess [that] lead to the rise and fall of several ambitious dreamers in 1920s Hollywood” shouldn’t be surprising at all. American moviegoers are sick of seeing that same story played out in the headlines in real life. Why would they entertain themselves with more of the same?
One word that comes up over and over in both critic and audience reviews is “boring.” Viewers were shocked and grossed out by the much-lamented elephant defecation scene, among others. But they were also bored by watching Hollywood types behaving badly because their rampant drug use and absolute disregard for human decency is boring. It’s pervasive and it’s tired. There may have been a time when moviegoers would want to see a movie like this for the shock value alone. But now that lives of excess are so commonplace, that’s not even the case anymore.
“Babylon” cost $80 million to produce and would need to earn $250 million at the box office just to break even. So far, the overly long three-plus-hour film has brought in a meager $6.6 million in worldwide box office receipts. As mentioned above, it’s up for Best Picture, Best Actress (Margot Robbie), Best Actor (Diego Calva), and Best Supporting Actor (Brad Pitt) at the Golden Globes, but didn’t earn the respect of most critics.
<a href="https://www.salon.com/2022/12/23/babylon-review-damien-chazelle/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The reviewer from Salon said</a> watching “Babylon” was an “exasperating” experience, saying, “It tries to do too much &#8230; Less would have been more.”
Reviewer Richard Roeper from the Chicago Sun-Times didn’t mince words with his assessment.
“What a sprawling, grotesque, self-indulgent, wretched, occasionally mesmerizing but ultimately over-the-top mess we have in Damien Chazelle’s Hollywood epic ‘Babylon,’ which one imagines was supposed to be a lurid and show-stopping and unvarnished celebration of the hedonistic madness that enveloped the movie business in the 1920s but comes across as a three-hour plus attack on our senses — a flashy, sometimes dazzling but curiously uninvolving and often nauseatingly gross spectacle,” he <a href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/movies-and-tv/2022/12/21/23516785/babylon-review-margot-robbie-movie-brad-pitt-darren-aronofsky" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>.
He called the whole thing a “mess,” describing some of the grosser scenes that were included ostensibly for the shock value. And while there are meant to be elements of truth in this historically focused film, most of the truth isn’t really there.
“Most of ‘Babylon’ is a meandering and often stultifying work of pure fiction, in which extended set pieces overshadow anything resembling true character development or real insight about Hollywood in the 1920s,” Roeper notes. “Every once in a while, we get a glimpse of what might have been a great or at least entertaining film, but it’s not enough to overcome the defecating elephant and the urinating actress and the vomiting silent movie star and that ridiculous wrestling match with the rattlesnake,” he concludes.
Babylon currently has a 55% critic rating and 50% audience rating on the review site <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/babylon_2022">Rotten Tomatoes</a>. 
Audience reviewers brought up some of the same issues critics did, saying “Babylon” was somehow both boring and appalling.
“A film made by people who have too much money and nothing better to do with their time,” one person observed.
“The director made his point and then beat you over the head with it,” another reviewer agreed. “The opening scene was almost 30 minutes but had made its point in 8. Everything was over the top and excessive. I believe the director fell in love with his own movie and forgot that editing can clarify the story.”
“Crass, uneven and self indulgent. Good actors degraded. Not funny, not moving, gross at times and WAAAYYYY too long. Scenes go on for 20 minutes for no reason or payoff. I see some Razzie nominations coming&#8230;..,” another person shared.
Chazelle previously shared his reasoning for including the shock value in his film, about the rise of the talkies, and subsequent death of the silent film era.
&#8220;You want to give them a sense of the kind of movie it is, in a way that maybe is deliberately shocking,&#8221; the director told <a href="https://ew.com/movies/damien-chazelle-babylon-orgiastic-behavior-trippy-ending-interview/">EW</a> of including the elephant pooping directly onto the camera. &#8220;You wind up declaring, rather overtly, exactly what the parameters of the film are,” adding it was &#8220;certainly one of the most literally in-your-face gags.&#8221;
The parties in the films are also symbolic of the times, from the old days of Hollywood up to present day. &#8220;The parties themselves have shifted because they reflect what&#8217;s accepted by society at the time,&#8221; Chazelle says, explaining how the earlier soirees were &#8220;able to stand up, wipe itself off, sweep its crimes under the rug, and keep making movies.&#8221;
He says during the pool party and snake fight that &#8220;the wheels are starting to come off the wagon a little bit. Something&#8217;s dying here, something that&#8217;s either not going to last or we&#8217;ve already passed the end.&#8221;
The Hearst party is when it &#8220;becomes emblematic of what now is acceptable in Hollywood and what the party is supposed to be, comporting much more to our own preconceptions of what old Hollywood was like.&#8221;
The final gasp in “Babylon” involves Toby Maguire’s character and a grim resolution that everything is broken beyond repair.
&#8220;It&#8217;s that seedy mirror image — the really depraved, awful, horror-movie mirror image, where everything that you could brush aside as funny or silly early on, now is just really not fun anymore,&#8221; Chazelle explains of the ending.
The filmmaker further clarified why he made the film’s second half &#8220;merciless and brutal.&#8221;
&#8220;Hollywood is a machine that chews people up and spits them out — it&#8217;s the great equalizer,&#8221; he told the publication. &#8220;There&#8217;s a brutality that comes from that. But it&#8217;s inextricable from the rebirth that follows.&#8221;
“Babylon” could have succeeded in telling a compelling story about a piece of Hollywood’s history if only it could reign in the gross and dig deeper into the characters. Instead, everything is surface level and uninspired. It’s a lot like real-life Hollywood and everyone is just sick of it.

“Babylon” Premiere – Red Carpet

‘Babylon’ Failed Because We’re All Sick Of Excess And Depravity In Real Life

Film critic Gary Kramer savaged the old-Hollywood epic comedy-drama &#8220;Babylon&#8221; in his review, calling the Damien Chazelle flick &#8220;a busy, bawdy and bad orgy of Hollywood nothingness&#8221; and suggesting it&#8217;s crowning achievement was &#8220;to make Brad Pitt and <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/suicide-squad-star-admits-she-changed-a-scene-in-new-movie-because-she-wanted-to-kiss-brad-pitt-sue-me/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Margot Robbie</a> boring.&#8221;
The <a href="https://www.salon.com/2022/12/23/babylon-review-damien-chazelle/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">review</a> — which was published Friday on Salon ahead of what was supposed to be the film&#8217;s big opening weekend — began with a simple question from Kramer: &#8220;Why, Damien Chazelle? Why?&#8221; And the Philadelphia-based critic&#8217;s assessment only got more and more brutal as it continued.
Kramer lamented the plot relating to two supporting characters — a lesbian singer named Fay and a black musician named Sidney — saying that they appeared to be little more than tokens: &#8220;Fay and Sidney each get their own storylines, but Chazelle shortchanges them, just as Hollywood does, by giving them very little to do other than be lesbian/Asian, and Black, and keeping them mostly on the sidelines.&#8221;
The critic went on to complain that the lengthy film — with an over three hour running time — might have played better as a miniseries, but even then, he argued that the underlying theme in each individual storyline was the same.
&#8220;There is one good idea in each storyline, but it is the same one: Hollywood is a soulless dream factory. It is neither original nor profound,&#8221; Kramer wrote. &#8220;The characters are one-trick ponies who barely get to develop over time — and the film covers almost a decade in their lives (plus a coda).&#8221;
&#8220;Nothing &#8216;Babylon&#8217; says is very deep, and Chazelle takes his time to say nothing,&#8221; Kramer continued, arguing, &#8220;Perhaps Chazelle&#8217;s greatest accomplishment here is to make Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt boring.&#8221;
Kramer&#8217;s assessment appears so far to align with that of the general public — &#8220;Babylon&#8221; <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/babylon-flops-hard-at-box-office-wont-recoup-80m-production-budget-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tanked</a> at the box office over the Christmas weekend, only bringing in $5.3 million. As The Daily Wire previously reported, the film needs to make $250 million to recoup its operating budget and turn a profit.
&#8220;Babylon&#8221; has already racked up several Golden Globe nominations — Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Actor — but the reviews on film-rating site Rotten Tomatoes are mixed at best. It currently has a 55% fresh critic rating on <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/babylon_2022">Rotten Tomatoes</a> and a 49% audience score.

“Babylon” Advance Screening and Q&A

Brutal Review Savages ‘Babylon’: Greatest Accomplishment Was Making ‘Brad Pitt And Margot Robbie Boring’

Brutal Review Savages 'Babylon': Greatest Accomplishment Was Making 'Brad Pitt And Margot Robbie Boring'

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