Dark comedy from the Coen Brothers seeks lost CIA computer disc

By Robin Rowe

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 9/12/08 – “Basically, I see the role as a career-buster,” says ‘Burn After Reading’ star Brad Pitt. “I was really happy when they called. When I read the script I was a little upset again. I didn’t think the guy would be a dumbbell, a gum-chewing, Gatorade-swilling, iPod-addicted bubble-brain. I said to Joel and Ethan, ‘He’s such an idiot.’ But, he does have a good heart.”

“Brad is going to steal ‘Burn After Reading’,” says George Clooney who stars in the film as a treasury agent intent upon getting a lost CIA file back from Pitt. Co-director Joel Coen says, “Brad grew to love playing a numbskull as much as George does, and he’s very funny in the role.”

In ‘Burn After Reading’, the Coen Brothers mix and match screwball comedy, satire, sex farce to weave a tale of an ousted CIA analyst whose lost computer disc is found by two D.C. gym employees. Events spin out of control as everyone tries to get into the spy business. “We wanted to do a spy movie,” says Joel Coen. “I don’t think it turned out that way.”

“The leading man role is usually the man who’s got the answers, can defuse the bomb within seconds and is all experienced,” says Pitt. “Although that’s pretty good for the ego sometimes, it’s much more fun to play the guys who make the wrong choices, who have limited experience, and make the wrong presumptions. I think that’s the fun we have with this one.”

“We’ve all got the inner knucklehead,” says Coen. “It’s good fodder for stories.”

“Having worked with both George and Richard twice before, and at least four times with Fran, they are among the actors that inspire us to write characters for them. Most of the parts were written for the actors who play them. Sometimes we don’t know. That’s what happened in this movie with Tilda,” says Coen. “We’re confident in the actor’s ability to inhabit the material. We don’t think it’s a funny movie so we have to cast comedians.”

John Malkovich is known for another “burn” portrayal, his performance in the Off Broadway stage play ‘Burn This’ was brilliant and helped launch his career.

“Like Brad, John Malkovich is someone we hadn’t worked with before but have wanted to for some time,” says Coen. “So we wrote John’s part specifically for him, which was a lot of fun to do. The story is about middle-aged people, all of whom are undergoing professional, personal, and sexual crises touching on matters of national security. That’s what makes it a Washington tale. The world of Washington, D.C., the world of spies and intrigue…that we haven’t done before.”

“Everything was contingent on the availability of this cast,” says Coen.

Although funny, ‘Burn After Reading’ is a dark movie in the Coen tradition. There’s not much hope.

Distributor: Focus Features
Release Date: Friday, September 12th, 2008 (U.S.)
Rating: R (for pervasive language, some sexual content, and violence)
Length: 96 minutes
Starring: George Clooney, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich,Tilda Swinton, Richard Jenkins, and Brad Pitt
Written, Produced and Directed by: Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
Executive Producers: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Robert Graf