Due to Michael Fassbender‘s commitments to Twelve Years a Slave, The Counselor wasn’t due to get underway until September. Now, thanks to the fact that some schedules have been jumbled around, the film has moved into production already, as evidenced by the fact we have the first snap of Brad Pitt on set in London.
Pitt will play Westray, a very enigmatic figure who is part of the drug trade and advises Michael Fassbender’s character on his new profession. This will be the star’s second team up with director Ridley Scott, after the filmmaker launched Pitt’s career years ago with the brilliant Thelma & Louise. In that film, he played a hustling male prostitute. Something tells me that this role will be quite different.
It’s only a small part and for Pitt to be attracted to a role like this is not something we hear of very often now. He has done the same on Twelve Years a Slave though, (which will also see him star with Fassbender), taking a smaller part yet landing a producer credit too. Like his pal George Clooney, Pitt is dedicating himself now to producing and starring in really interesting movies, despite their box office potential.
With his recent output containing the likes of Moneyball, The Tree of Life and Killing Them Softly, we can expect Pitt’s quality control to be consistent for these next two projects, especially since they have some serious names behind them. To say he is taking roles which he would have perhaps vied for at the start of his career, speaks volumes about the quality of the work on The Counselor and Twelve Years a Slave.
Other news on The Counselor front is that John Leguizamo has joined the Cormac McCarthy-scripted film, filling in a supporting role of a low level drug dealer. No word yet on how important or integral this character will be but I imagine Leguizamo will chew the scenery up every time he’s on screen.
Leguizamo is just the next member in a stellar cast that includes Fassbender, Pitt, Javier Bardem, Cameron Diaz, Penelope Cruz, Dean Norris and Rosie Perez. The film is currently shooting and will be released sometime next year.
Source: Just Jared