Brett Pitt: Men Will Start Wearing Skirts

Brad Pitt looking for men in skirts
Sun 9 May, 2004 20:19

By Erik Kirschbaum

BERLIN (Reuters) - Actor Brad Pitt says that fashion-conscious men may be wearing Greek-style skirts soon after his big-budget film about the Trojan War opens this week.

At a news conference before the Berlin world premiere of the Hollywood epic "Troy", Pitt said on Sunday he was happy to launch the sword-and-sandals saga in Germany rather than at home in order to pay tribute to its German director Wolfgang Petersen.

"Actors are loyal to their directors and Wolfgang is at the top of the bunch," he said. "It means a lot to him to bring the film home and I'm happy to be here."

Adapted from Homer's epic poem "The Iliad", "Troy" is about the legendary 10-year conflict between Greeks and Trojans over the abduction of Helen, wife of Greek hero Menelaus, and the siege of Troy by united Greek forces.

Asked if he enjoyed starring as the half-naked Greek demi-god Achilles in the film, Pitt said: "I'm naked all the time at home."

"Men will be wearing skirts by next summer. That's my prediction and proclamation," he said with a laugh. "The film answers to both genders. We were going for realism and Greeks wore skirts all the time then."

Both Pitt and Petersen said they were confident contemporary audiences would enjoy and appreciate the battle-filled film set in ancient civilisation, even though television screens are filled with real wars now happening around the world.

"I'm not worried," Pitt said. "There's something in there for everyone...I became an actor for roles like Achilles. The juxtaposition of an almost invulnerable man, an isolated character covering an immense heart inside."

NO GODS

The actor and director also defended the decision to deviate from Homer and not include any gods in the film. Petersen said gods would not have played well with audiences today.

"Who would you get to play the gods?" Pitt quipped.

But there is plenty of battle action. Pitt gave up smoking and trained with a fitness instructor for three hours a day to build up muscles to play the legendary Greek warrior.

"As actors we transform ourselves to make the part believable," he said. "It was a lot of hard work on the physical side. Wolfgang wanted us in the fight scenes, not stunt men."

Petersen explained why he took the unusual step of putting the red carpet world premiere in Berlin, even though "Troy" opens in the United States and 48 territories later this week.

"I really wanted it here and really had the feeling it should be here," said Petersen, whose career began in Germany with "Das Boot" before he moved to Hollywood to make "In the Line of Fire", "Air Force One", and "The Perfect Storm".

"It just made sense," he said in a tacit acknowledgement that Germany has the world's second biggest box office.

"After so many years away it was time for me to come home. I thought it would be great with such a big and wonderful film to have the world premiere here."

Berlin is home to one of Europe's top film festivals and enthusiastic film crowds -- more than 1,000 fans stood for hours outside the premiere cinema in pouring rain for a glimpse of Pitt and other stars.

Neither Pitt nor Petersen mentioned the slew of big budget rivals about to be released for the U.S. summer season that could make it hard for "Troy" to get attention. But they were clearly pleased to be getting a worldwide jump on competition such as "Van Helsing", "Shrek 2" and "The Day After Tomorrow".

"Troy" is believed to be one of the most expensive films ever with production costs reported to be around $200 million.