A reclaimed quarry in Franklin, Tennessee, may seem an unlikely venue for a major film premiere—especially for a movie led by Oscar winner Brad Pitt. There were no sweeping klieg lights over Hollywood Boulevard, nor a procession of A-list celebrities.
Instead, Pitt personally requested that the world premiere of Heart of the Beast be held Wednesday night at FirstBank Amphitheater in Franklin, a city of about 91,000 people. Tickets were distributed free to local residents.
The film follows a retired Army Special Forces soldier who must survive in the Alaskan wilderness alongside Odin, his former service dog, after a small-plane crash. The story received an enthusiastic welcome from an audience largely dressed in jeans and baseball caps.
The relaxed Tennessee setting was a sharp contrast to Pitt’s more glamorous Hollywood premieres, including last year’s F1, Ocean’s Eleven and his Oscar-winning performance in 2019’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
For Pitt, however, stepping away from Hollywood—and from what he has described as the “constant drama” surrounding his contentious divorce from Angelina Jolie and painful estrangement from their six children—was precisely the point. He wanted to mark the release of his latest film with “normal people.”
In recent turbulent years, the actor has relied on the support of close friends and people outside the celebrity world as he worked through the challenges in his personal life.
Brad Pitt personally requested that the Heart of the Beast premiere be held Wednesday night at FirstBank Amphitheater in Franklin, a city of about 91,000 people
The film centers on a retired Army Special Forces soldier who must survive the Alaskan wilderness with his former service dog, Odin, after a small-plane crash
Pitt chose to stay away from Hollywood and the “constant drama” surrounding his contentious divorce from Angelina Jolie
Pitt, 62, recently said that he once again enjoys the occasional glass of wine after giving up alcohol following his bitter 2016 split from Jolie. He may well have raised a chilled glass to the opening of his new film.
Some have questioned his decision to drink again after embracing sobriety. However, a source close to Pitt told the Daily Mail: “Pitt never had a drink problem, he had an Angelina problem.”
“He’s worked hard on himself and he’s now, finally, in a really good place.”
“The whole point about having the movie premiere in somewhere like Franklin was to be among real people. Brad lost his way for a period in his life and he struggled, but he did the work and came through. The divorce from Angelina was bad, but the alienation from his children was the worst thing that ever happened to him. Now he’s gone from pain and hurt to acceptance.”
Pitt has intentionally built a circle of people with little appetite for the unrelenting pressures of celebrity culture.
His close friends include sculptor Thomas Houseago and Neri Oxman, a former Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor and designer. Pitt has also been dating jewelry designer Ines de Ramon, 33, since late 2022.
De Ramon made her first red-carpet appearance with Pitt on Wednesday. The couple was recently photographed together at both the women’s and men’s singles finals of the US Open. Those close to them say, however, that de Ramon prefers to keep her life away from the spotlight.
“He’s surrounded himself with good people—family, friends, a girlfriend who doesn’t crave attention in the way his ex, Angelina, did, and a group of artists, artisans and others who share his interests but don’t want to be famous,” the source said.
“Franklin is never going to rival LA or New York as one of the world’s great film capitals, but Pitt wanted to get back to his roots.”
His girlfriend, Ines de Ramon, made her first red-carpet appearance with Pitt on Wednesday
People close to the couple say Ines de Ramon prefers to live away from the spotlight
‘Pitt never had a drink problem, he had an Angelina problem,’ a source told the Daily Mail
Pitt, who was born in Oklahoma and raised in Springfield, Missouri, played on his midwestern roots during his early Hollywood days after he catapulted to fame playing a handsome drifter who seduces Geena Davis’s character in Thelma & Louise.
A long-time associate said: ‘Brad’s fundamentally a midwestern boy at heart. He’s a good guy. He is very close to his family and is still friends with people he met right at the start of his career. But after he married Angie (in 2014) his life spiraled down a rabbit hole. They were happy for a while but when things went bad they went very, very bad.’
The marriage infamously fell apart in 2016 when the couple and their six children were flying back on a private jet from Paris after a holiday at their vineyard, Chateau Miraval.
Jolie claimed her husband drunkenly physically and verbally abused her and alleged he punched the ceiling of the plane and allegedly struck one of their children.
Pitt vehemently denied her claims and, after the FBI investigated the case, no charges were ever filed.
The long-time associate said: ‘Did Pitt go through a period where he drank too much? Yes. But did he do what he was accused of? No.
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‘He had some issues with alcohol and he addressed them. He worked through them. It would be interesting to know if Angelina has dealt with any of her issues.’
Pitt reportedly joined Alcoholics Anonymous and abstained completely from alcohol for seven years.
But in a candid interview with Esquire magazine this summer, the star admitted he is drinking again saying: ‘I can have a few but I can’t have a lot. I have to be professional about it. I got over-confident a couple times, went, yep, nope, not good for me. Not in big quantities.’
Maintaining moderation protects his favorite part of the day: ‘You can miss a lovely morning when you drink too much the night before.’
Pitt and Ines lead a mostly quiet life with homes in LA and Carmel, California, as well as the 1,200-acre Chateau Miraval in Correns, France. In LA they have been spotted enjoying early morning hikes in the canyons near their Hollywood Hills home.
The marriage infamously fell apart in the summer of 2016 when the couple and their six children were flying back on a private jet from Paris
Pitt reportedly joined Alcoholics Anonymous and stop drinking for seven years
Pitt and Ines lead a mostly quiet life with homes in LA and Carmel, California
The long-time associate said: ‘Ines is a good partner for him. She’s calm and has little interest in hanging out with famous people and going to parties. They have dinner parties with artists and designers. They both love art and architecture. Of course, they have friends in show business but they’re not going to red carpet events or Hollywood parties unless it’s to promote one of his films or support a friend.
‘They are really, really happy together. He’s making the movies he wants to make. The F1 film was the most successful of his career financially.’
Pitt has another movie, The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth, a sequel to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, directed by David Fincher and written by Quentin Tarantino, which opens on November 25 and will have a Hollywood premiere, because the movie is set in Tinseltown.
His friends say the estrangement from his children, five of the six have moved to drop his last name, with Pax as the holdout, will never go away but he will never give up hope of a reconciliation with them.
‘Brad has fought and fought for them and everything is out there if, one day, they want to look at the court documents and documents of record. Angelina engaged in a prolonged campaign of parental alienation using their children against him but his door will always be open to them.’
For her part, Jolie denies Pitt’s claims and says the children’s distance is their choice.
She insists that Maddox, 25, Pax, 22, Zahara, 21, Shiloh, 20 and 18-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne have independently decided to cut their father out of their lives.
In a recent interview with L’Officiel USA magazine, she insisted her core parenting rule for her children is to ‘not get in their way’ and says she plans to lead a more nomadic lifestyle after putting her LA home up for sale.
Some of the children, including twins Vivienne and Pax, have independently decided to cut their father out of their lives
Jolie denies Pitt’s claims and says the children’s distance is their choice
In a recent interview with L’Officiel USA magazine, she insisted her core parenting rule for her children is to ‘not get in their way’
Speaking to Variety earlier this year, she too hinted at having moved on from the mess and drama of the divorce telling the publication: ‘I think my fighting spirit is finally back. I lost it for a bit. I got kind of taken down a little bit and it’s coming back in large part thanks to my children, who are now older, and encouraging it.’
Coincidentally, Jolie also has a movie released this week, Without Blood, a war drama she wrote and directed, which screened in New York on September 14.
The star looked ethereal in a black suit and ivory bralette while holding the hand of Zahara at the premiere.
Pitt’s spokesperson declined to comment.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Jolie’s representatives for comment.
The source close to Pitt said: ‘It’s ironic that they both had premieres this week but very different ones – hers in New York and his in the middle of nowhere in Tennessee.
‘She’s talked about moving on so you have to hope that is the case. Pitt has found peace and is in a good place. If the kids ever come looking for him he will be there.’