“These guys have seen and partaken of some of the worst shit imaginable on a human level,” says Pitt of the former CIA agents who provided technical advice for this espionage thriller. “And that’s the stuff that makes for a great movie.” Spy Game reunites Pitt with both Redford, who directed him in 1992’s A River Runs Through It, and director Scott, who oversaw his memorable cameo as a Honey Bear bong–toting slacker in 1993’s True Romance. “He’s become a lot more mature,” Scott says. “He’s got uncanny instincts.” Redford stars as a retiring CIA agent who must rescue his former protégé (Pitt), who stands accused of espionage in China and is being held captive there. Told in flashback, the film follows the two men’s relationship from Vietnam to Berlin to Beirut. “It’s about a guy who sacrificed the small picture for the big picture,” says Scott (Enemy of the State) of Redford’s character. He shot the film almost entirely overseas (Morocco stood in for Israel when fighting broke out in the Middle East), which was trying for the newly married Pitt. “I used to just thrive on going away,” he says. “But since my marriage, it was just a little tough being cut off, you know? No e-mail, none of that.” To make matters worse, when Pitt’s bride, Jennifer Aniston, visited the production in Budapest, she was banned from the set—so as not to distract her husband and put the movie behind schedule.
Surrender the Pink: Pitt reveals one of the secrets behind Scott’s testosterone-fueled filmmaking: “He’s got a wicked sense of humor,” he says. “And he directs in pink shorts. You gotta have pretty big balls to wear pink shorts.”
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Spy Game
Starring: Brad Pitt, Robert Redford, Catherine McCormack
Directed by: Tony Scott
(Universal, November 21)
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Copyright © 2008 Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Inc.