Fury, a WWII Nazi Tank Epic scheduled to be released this Friday, isn’t exactly the most tender-loving of films. The movie, which features Brad Pratt, Shia LeBeouf, and a whole lot of A-list bro-grunters, documents the untold story of a ragtag group of American soldiers who band together to kill a monolithic demon troop of Nazi criminals (Bwhat?). And in an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, Shia LeBeouf revealed that, per the director’s “direction,” actors prepared for the part by getting into daily fistfights, sparing no one, including Brad Pitt.
“Brad Pitt- he’s a hero! A hero! . . .We were all vying for his attention,” LeBeouf explained, “and we all wanted him to like us, so none of us wanted to be the guy to hit him really hard.”
Awww, so sweet! Fear not, though, LeBeouf landed plenty a punch on Pitt’s porcelain jawline. And!:
“It worked. It bonded us. There’s only so much you can get out in a conversation. With a bunch of boys in that kind of setting, fighting is really intimate.”
It’s interesting, I’ve always imagined that there might be other ways to build intimacy. Maybe developing trust, expressing empathy, writing a birthday card. Still, this is a movie about MEN and WAR and SOMETHING ELSE I GUESS. I can’t fault Director David Ayer for wanting to build brotherhood in the most tried and true way: premeditated violence. It’s all love, LeBeouf assures us, love, art, and Nazis.