Brad Pitt popped in on “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” on Wednesday to discuss his performance in “Moneyball” and the resulting Oscar nomination.
In addition to making Stewart swoon (at one point, the host admits that he always had hoped that Pitt would be “kind of a dick,” only to discover the handsome millionaire is also doggedly committed to his charitable work in New Orleans), Pitt discusses the rocky road to production that “Moneyball” went through, the Oscar-nominated turn by co-star Jonah Hill and his own work in the film. Pitt also starred in another best picture nominee — Terrence Malick’s divisive “The Tree of Life,” but Stewart hilariously dismisses it in order to concentrate on the baseball drama instead.
Stewart suggests that Oscar nominees should skip with the “For your consideration” pleasantries and start slinging mud at rivals, the way politicians do.
Pitt hilariously suggests that the Academy choose the best actor by taking a cue from “hands on a car”-type contests; the Best Actor Oscar would be placed on a table and all five nominees have to keep one hand on it at all times. The last man standing wins.
It’s a relatively lengthy interview that seems to have one throughline — to remind viewers (and voters) of “Moneyball.”
Sandra Bullock took a similar tactic in 2009, hitting a number of late night shows on her way to winning for “The Blind Side.” Could the same strategy work for Pitt, who seems to be playing the underdog to “The Artist’s” Jean Dujardin and his pal George Clooney, nominated for “The Descendants.”
Watch the clip here:
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Exclusive – Brad Pitt Extended Interview Pt. 1 | ||||
|
||||