Heart of the Beast — Into the Wild Depths with Brad Pitt marks the actor’s latest collaboration with director David Ayer, who previously wrote Fury. According to a behind-the-scenes scoop from journalist Matt Belloni (Puck News), the theatrical version released on September 24 reportedly faced some difficulties, as the director and lead star clashed over the balance of the final cut. These tensions — it’s worth noting — were smoothed out by meeting halfway, while there were others who backed one vision or another.
Brad Pitt and David Ayer Reached a Compromise for Heart of the Beast
Yes, a star of Brad Pitt’s stature, especially when, as in Heart of the Beast — Into the Wild Depths, he is also a producer through his Plan B, can have a say in the film’s final cut. The screenplay, written by Cameron Alexander, tells the story of a wounded former special forces soldier who, in Alaska, tries to survive with his dog. Pitt would have curated a version of the cut of his own, described by some as more esoteric, supported with a certain enthusiasm by the producing duo formed by Damien Chazelle and his wife Olivia Hamilton. On the other hand, Ayer’s original vision, less experimental, had a higher score in test screenings, throwing the team into a stalemate. At this point, the Paramount Pictures executives in person, Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein, reportedly stepped in, extending the post-production timeline to ensure that Pitt and Ayer could break down their wall-to-wall standoff and meet halfway for a balanced result. According to the same rumors, the final product would roughly follow Ayer’s edit, enriched with Brad’s ideas. In the end, it would seem that Heart of the Beast emerged better from this process than in similar situations where Pitt had their say, such as World War Z (some also cite Ad Astra, but in that case director James Gray, while lamenting not having a voice in the final cut of the feature, never dragged Pitt into the matter as a cause of the situation).
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