FRANCE: 'Benjamin Button' leads Oscar nominees as Brad Pitt attends Paris premiere

Record ID: 220607

  • Title: FRANCE: 'Benjamin Button' leads Oscar nominees as Brad Pitt attends Paris premiere
  • Date: 23rd January 2009
  • Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (JANUARY 22, 2009) (REUTERS) BILL BOARD OF MOVIE JOURNALISTS AT PREMIERE BENJAMIN BUTTON SIGN
  • Embargoed: 7th February 2009 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: France
  • Country: France
  • Reuters ID: LVA8OJTFANEE1HQ84G9490YBEP3N
  • Story Text: 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,' a drama in which Brad Pitt plays a man who ages backwards, led the field of Oscar contenders with 13 nominations on Thursday (January 22).
    Actor Brad Pitt said he was honoured to find out he had made the list of nominations for Best Actor alongside other big names as Oscar contenders.

    "When I started out my Gods, so to speak, were Gary Oldman, Sean Penn and Mikey Rouke and so it's a real honour for me to be sitting at the same table and be mentioned in the same way with these fine actors. And since then Richard Jenkins has become a great friend and someone I admire .. so it's a fickle business but it's nice when your number comes up," said Pitt who arrived at the Paris premiere of his film with his partner Angelina Jolie.
    In the film, Brad Pitt portrays almost all of the stages in the odd life of Benjamin who is born as an 80-year-old man and lives life in reverse getting younger through time until he becomes an infant at the end of his life.

    "The Benjamin character is really more about receiving, about the people he meets along the way. They have the burden of performance and Benjamin has the burden of taking all that in and how he simulates that. We described it as the people who make the dance along, the people who leave an impression," he said.
    Angelina Jolie, who arrived with her partner Brad Pitt to the Paris premiere, preferred to stay away from the cameras, slipping into the background while Pitt promoted his movie.
    Pitt said working in this film was not only a challenge but it helped him reflect upon his own life.

    "This idea of that the body will go and that friendships won't last and loves will have to say, will have a goodbye was the interesting factor for me," said Pitt.
    The nominations for 'Benjamin Button' included best actor for Pitt, best director for David Fincher, best supporting actress for Taraji P. Henson and best adapted screenplay.
    The film will vie for best picture at the 81st annual Academy Awards on February 22, with 'Slumdog Millionaire' and 'Milk' 'The Reader' and 'Frost/Nixon.'
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