A long interview with George Clooney where he mentions a bit the upcoming movie with Brad Pitt: https://deadline.com/2022/01/george-clooney-tender-bar-julia-roberts-brad-pitt-1234921465/maz/
> As for the future, he will be working with another streamer again, this time Apple, on that aforementioned movie with frequent co-star Brad Pitt. It will be written and directed by Spider-Man: No Way Home filmmaker Jon Watts.
> βYeah. Brad and I. It was an exciting time because it got to be one of those weird bidding wars which happen every once in a while, and it ended up being pretty extreme, and Apple came in with a really big number for Brad and I, and we said weβd like to take less as long as we can guarantee that we can have a theatrical release, and they said great. So, I do think that thereβs a way that we can all co-exist.
I mean neither were on level of a Tom Cruise or Harrison Ford but did either of those two have hits like a Mel Gibson or Kevin Costner did in the 90s/early 00s? Or were they just bigger movie stars than their actual films performed at the box office?
Reporter: Deadline recently broke news of an Apple deal for an untitled drama youβll do with Brad Pitt and Spider-Man writer/director Jon Watts. Iβd heard that you could have gotten more money had you not insisted on a proper theatrical release. How did all this come about?
>Clooney: Brad and I heard the pitch from Jon. We thought it was spectacular. Brad and I tried to do a couple of things together since Burn After Reading. We havenβt really found anything, and it had to be something worth doing, because weβre friends too. Suddenly, we had this right pitch. I hadnβt seen all the Spiderman, Spider Universe so I wasnβt all that familiar. And everybody says itβs very good, but his pitch was great you know. The package went out, and it just started this weird feeding frenzy of what it could be. Bryan [Lourd, his CAA agent], Brad and I had a long conversation, and we took considerably less money so we could have the theatrical release.
Reporter: I heard it was a low 8-figure concession. Why?
>Clooney: Because I donβt want to be part of the demise of it. I do believe [theatrical and streaming] can coexist. I think they have to. And so we felt like we should do that, and also we want it to feel like a big film. So, itβs going to get a three-week window, and then it will be on Apple. So, for us, that was worth taking a financial hit on. It still is a good payday for us.
On another streamer/studio trying to purchase the film:
>Clooney: One of the studios said to the writer, Jon Watts. Listen, weβll make the deal, but if your script is ready and those guys are working, then we reserve the right to recast it. Well, thatβs not what the package is. So, thatβs a stupid offer. So, there was a lot of figuring out where, but the main thing was, Apple was going to approve a really decent budget, meaning we could shoot what Grant and I know we need, from the position weβre in on every single film. There have been plenty of times weβve said, is there any way we can get a little bit more for the music, or is there any way to get more forβ¦itβs a constant battle, and this is one where they said weβll guarantee you an amount of money that we know you can make the film for, and weβll guarantee, if all three of you agree to do it, itβs greenlit, youβre going to make it. Well, thatβs all very helpful and it just made it more appealing all the way around. So, their initial offer was higher than what we took because what we wanted was to be
... keep reading on reddit β‘Reporter: Deadline recently broke news of an Apple deal for an untitled drama youβll do with Brad Pitt and Spider-Man writer/director Jon Watts. Iβd heard that you could have gotten more money had you not insisted on a proper theatrical release. How did all this come about?
>Clooney: Brad and I heard the pitch from Jon. We thought it was spectacular. Brad and I tried to do a couple of things together since Burn After Reading. We havenβt really found anything, and it had to be something worth doing, because weβre friends too. Suddenly, we had this right pitch. I hadnβt seen all the Spiderman, Spider Universe so I wasnβt all that familiar. And everybody says itβs very good, but his pitch was great you know. The package went out, and it just started this weird feeding frenzy of what it could be. Bryan [Lourd, his CAA agent], Brad and I had a long conversation, and we took considerably less money so we could have the theatrical release.
Reporter: I heard it was a low 8-figure concession. Why?
>Clooney: Because I donβt want to be part of the demise of it. I do believe [theatrical and streaming] can coexist. I think they have to. And so we felt like we should do that, and also we want it to feel like a big film. So, itβs going to get a three-week window, and then it will be on Apple. So, for us, that was worth taking a financial hit on. It still is a good payday for us.
On another streamer/studio trying to purchase the film:
>Clooney: One of the studios said to the writer, Jon Watts. Listen, weβll make the deal, but if your script is ready and those guys are working, then we reserve the right to recast it. Well, thatβs not what the package is. So, thatβs a stupid offer. So, there was a lot of figuring out where, but the main thing was, Apple was going to approve a really decent budget, meaning we could shoot what Grant and I know we need, from the position weβre in on every single film. There have been plenty of times weβve said, is there any way we can get a little bit more for the music, or is there any way to get more forβ¦itβs a constant battle, and this is one where they said weβll guarantee you an amount of money that we know you can make the film for, and weβll guarantee, if all three of you agree to do it, itβs greenlit, youβre going to make it. Well, thatβs all very helpful and it just made it more appealing all the way around. So, their initial offer was higher than what we took because what we wanted was to be
... keep reading on reddit β‘