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Im in the latter camp.
(Much likeThe OA,this movie is embarrassing to describe out loud.)
To this day, even the first few notes of the sweeping score bring me to tears.
ButMeet Joe Blackis not for everyone.
It also requires a real suspension of disbelief to watch Brad Pitt pretend to be a virgin.
holds back tears of joy as he mounts Claire Forlani near a gigantic indoor pool.
In context, its … also sort of like that.
Are you familiar with the fact that this scene is going viral online again?Hooker: No.
Devine:Ive seen it, yeah.
I was part of the team that created it.
A lot of people were important to it.
Howd you get involved in the film?
It might have come from Brad Pitt.
Im not really sure; its been awhile.
Devine: It was a little dramatic.
Do you remember the first time the car scene was described to you?
I definitely knew we could do it.
We just needed the time.
We started rehearsing and rigging and started doing all of this stuff on the back lot.
And I just went, No way.
The shit hit the fan they were really, really upset.
So Scott Wilder and I had to come up with a plan.
You cant really tell the difference.
And they went, No way, itll never work, blah-blah!
So we just said, Listen, it will work, trust us.
Howd you create the dummy?Devine: Body castinginvolves using plaster bandages and different rubbers and materials.
just guarantee me when this is done youll destroy every single head and body so that … How did you make the plaster mold?
Was he naked?Devine:No.
We did it in a hotel.
We laid down plastic.
You dont wanna hurt their skin, so I devised a method: use a unitard.
And then I found that the best release agent, so the bandage doesnt stick, is baby shampoo.
So you then brush that all over the unitard while theyre standing there.
We had a stand so he could hold his arms out to help support himself.
Brad turned around and said, Nice ass, eh?
and I said, Thanks a lot.
All my lady friends since then have said, Oh, we could have helped you.
How do we re-create his body?
One day, were walking around in NYC only in New York!
and Im thinking,Its a shame we couldnt get pictures; what are we gonna do?
My eye just somehow catches this bold print: Brad Pitt Nude Pics.
Im like, What?!
I thought I was hallucinating.
A couple of front and back shots, but nothing … it was a little hidden.
I bought the magazine and brought it back, and it was our backup.
Though the mold got here fine.
So we created an endless cable rig.
The van that hits Brad Pitt has a cable attached to the front of it.
It goes down to 25, 30 yards, through a pulley.
Then there goes another pulley, attaches to the back of the van.
So its all pretty intricate stuff.
Devine:Hes a human ping-pong ball.
And they had to put a new windshield on the taxi every time.
Whats up with those photos online of Brad running into a giant piece of blue foam?
Hooker:I had a brilliant idea.
Nobody wanted to use CGI.
But its a big piece of foam.
It cant hurt him.
We ran as fast as the grips could go and hit him as hard as we could.
We used maybe 15 frames of a CGI for that piece of foam hitting Brad Pitt.
You didnt use any other CGI?Devine:Well, they did use computer graphics.
But the effect was almost entirely practical.
ILM got the credit because they charged more money to fix the suitcases.
Did Brad enjoy getting hit by the fake van foam?
How did he react?Hooker:He was loving it.
He was doing his acting thing.
And that was it!
They bring em out and put em on the street; they dont really know whats going on.
Theres Brad Pitts dummy standing there; theyre not really sure whats happening.
[When he first got hit], people were screaming.
They were like, You killed Brad Pitt!
I think they didnt because they were looking for those reactions.
What if one of those old people had a heart attack or something?
What was it like to work with Brad?
We didnt want anybody to see it; we wanted to see it before anybody else did.
And it looked exactly like Brad Pitt.
It was too real.
It looked like a dead Brad Pitt.
And have them come over to the dressing room.
So they knock, and Brad says, Come in!
Theyre like, Brad, whats up?
Theyre having a conversation with the back of this dummy head.
Devine: He was great to work with.
Real professional, aside from the joke about his butt.
But I laughed and was embarrassed, and they said, Oh, look, hes embarrassed.
I was like, Oh, great.
But he was great to work with.
How attractive is he in person?Hooker:Hes great!
Im not a dude guy.
But as far as appreciating another guy, I think hes really cool.
He doesnt take himself too seriously.
Or at least, at that point he didnt.
He was just a regular dude.
I really appreciated that.
He was willing to do whatever we asked him to do.
After maybe 20 takes, one eyeball popped out.
And I zoomed in and slowed it and it was that eyeball.
And that was the actual take they used.
If you look at the film, you could see his eyeball rolling offscreen.
