Brad Pitt Says Retirement Still a Long Way Off

Actor Brad Pitt poses on the red carpet before the screening of "Bullet Train" in Berlin, Germany, July 19, 2022. (Reuters)
Actor Brad Pitt poses on the red carpet before the screening of "Bullet Train" in Berlin, Germany, July 19, 2022. (Reuters)
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Brad Pitt Says Retirement Still a Long Way Off

Actor Brad Pitt poses on the red carpet before the screening of "Bullet Train" in Berlin, Germany, July 19, 2022. (Reuters)
Actor Brad Pitt poses on the red carpet before the screening of "Bullet Train" in Berlin, Germany, July 19, 2022. (Reuters)

Brad Pitt scotched talk of imminent retirement as he traveled to Paris for the premiere of his Jackie Chan-inspired action caper "Bullet Train".

The 58-year-old had worried fans that his acting days may be numbered after a GQ interview last month in which he said he was in the "last semester" of his career.

But Pitt told AFP: "I'm not getting out by any means.

"It seems that might have been taken as a statement of retirement. That's not what I was saying," he said.

"I'm over that hump of middle age and so I'm looking at that last leg... how do I want to spend that time? At my age, you've made enough mistakes... now there's a comfort in applying that kind of wisdom."

"Bullet Train", which is being released around the world over the next two weeks, sees Pitt trying something new in an action comedy from the director of "John Wick", David Leitch.

Pitt plays a reluctant hit-man fighting off rivals on a Japanese train.

"It's much more fun than the regular punch-up. It's infused with humor and character," he said.

"I can't say enough about Jackie Chan and what he's done, and to be in that arena, even close to that, is something I hadn't done before."

Pitt will next be seen in "Babylon" about Hollywood's golden age, directed by Damien Chazelle ("La La Land").

That will partner him again with Margot Robbie -- the pair starred in Quentin Tarantino's "Once upon a Time in Hollywood", which won Pitt an Oscar in 2020.

But Pitt said he takes particular enjoyment from production duties with his company Plan B.

The company has three best picture Oscar winners to its name -- "The Departed", "Twelve Years a Slave" and "Moonlight" -- and will soon release the hotly tipped "Blonde" about Marilyn Monroe.

"I really like what we've been able to do on the producing end. You get to be part of stories, foster new talent," he said.

Unlike other major movie stars such as Tom Cruise, Pitt is not as wedded to the nostalgia of movie theaters.

"I like the dichotomy, the streamer as well as the theater experience, because films were getting so expensive to do and to market that it was either big tent-pole movies or very small intimate movies and there was no room for anythings in-between. Streamers have opened it up for more voices," he said.

Nonetheless, Pitt said he had recently loved going to watch "Elvis" in a cinema.

"I'm a big fan of Austin Butler, I think he's going to do great work," said Pitt of the film's star.

"It was so much fun to be there again. There's a place for both."



Rihanna Reveals Third Pregnancy on Met Gala Night

Rihanna made a fashionably late entrance at the Met Gala -- showcasing a new baby bump. Angela WEISS / AFP
Rihanna made a fashionably late entrance at the Met Gala -- showcasing a new baby bump. Angela WEISS / AFP
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Rihanna Reveals Third Pregnancy on Met Gala Night

Rihanna made a fashionably late entrance at the Met Gala -- showcasing a new baby bump. Angela WEISS / AFP
Rihanna made a fashionably late entrance at the Met Gala -- showcasing a new baby bump. Angela WEISS / AFP

Rihanna loves to make an entrance at the Met Gala, and she certainly did it again Monday -- this time, announcing to the world that she is pregnant with her third child with rapper A$AP Rocky.

News of the 37-year-old singer and beauty mogul's new baby bump came before her arrival at the A-list fundraising gala, AFP said.

In a portrait put on Instagram by photographer Miles Diggs, she embraced the Black dandy theme of the gala in a fitted gray Miu Miu blouse and skirt -- the baby bump clearly visible -- matching knee-high boots, a fur stole and a black cloche hat.

Then her long-time partner A$AP Rocky, a co-chair of the event, confirmed the news to reporters who offered congratulations on the red carpet at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," the rapper said. "I'm glad everybody's happy for us because we're definitely happy."

Finally, after all of the other guests had arrived, Rihanna hit the red carpet in a deconstructed black ensemble with a cropped jacket, polka dot accessories and a wide-brimmed hat. She cradled the baby bump and smiled for the cameras.

Rihanna made a similarly high-profile pregnancy reveal in 2023 -- while performing at the Super Bowl halftime show. She attended the Met Gala later that year before giving birth.

She and A$AP Rocky are parents to sons RZA, born in May 2022, and Riot, born in August 2023.

Showing off a baby bump at the Met Gala is a thing: retired tennis superstar Serena Williams did it in 2023, and model Karlie Kloss cradled her bump in both 2023 and again this year.