Venice is renowned for being one of the most romantic cities on the planet, so it’s only fitting that Hollywood heartthrob Brad Pitt chose the film festival last night to officially hit the red carpet with girlfriend Inés de Ramón.
The divorced actor, 60, was all smiles as he walked the film festival’s red carpet alongside De Ramon, a jewelry designer whom he has been dating for about two years.
Ramón, who is also divorced, moved in with him in Los Angeles in February of this year.
It was a double date night, as Pitt’s longtime friend George Clooney was on the red carpet with his wife Amal, an international human rights lawyer.
The two men are promoting their film Wolfs, in which they play criminal “cleanup” specialists who are unexpectedly hired for the same job: disposing of a dead body in a hotel room.
Venice is known for being one of the most romantic cities on the planet, so it’s only fitting that Hollywood heartthrob Brad Pitt chose the film festival last night to officially hit the red carpet with girlfriend Inés de Ramón.
The divorced actor, 60, walked the red carpet at the film festival alongside De Ramon, a jewelry designer whom he has been dating for about two years.
De Ramon, who is also divorced, moved in with him in Los Angeles in February of this year.
Pitt and Clooney were reportedly paid $35 million each to star in the film, and had insisted on releasing it in theaters.
But Apple changed its mind and the film, which according to sources close to the film cost up to 200 million dollars in total, will now only be released in US cinemas for one week.
In all other territories it will be streamed directly, making it easily the most expensive TV movie ever made.
Apple’s about-face follows a string of expensive films made by the streaming service, including Napoleon, Killers of the Flower Moon and Argylle, which all flopped in theaters.
Clooney denied his fee was as high as $35 million, saying the actual figure was “many, many millions below” that amount. But he added that it was a “shame” the film would not be released in theaters.
He said: “We would have liked to, we wanted it, and Brad and I gave back part of our salaries to make it happen. We’ve had some bumps in the road, and that happens.
“It’s a shame, of course it’s a shame, but a lot of people are going to see the film and we’re going to release it in a few hundred cinemas. It would have been nice to be able to release it more widely.”
He said the economics of streaming are still being “figured out” but added: “We’re figuring out how it works. We need Apple and Amazon and they need Sony or Warner, who have been doing this for a hundred years.”
It was a double date night, as Pitt’s longtime friend George Clooney was on the red carpet with his wife Amal, an international human rights lawyer.
De Ramon looked stunning in a fitted white dress as she joined Pitt on the red carpet.
Pitt and his girlfriend, 34, were first spotted together at a Bono concert in late 2022 (pictured in Venice on Sunday night)
Pitt said: “I love the existence of streamers because we get to see more stories, more talent and more eyes seeing them, but it’s a delicate balance.”
Asked why a movie with two big stars was going straight to the streaming platform, Clooney replied seriously: “We’re clearly in decline.”
The two men have been friends for decades and last worked together 15 years ago on the film Burn After Reading. When asked why they were working together again, Clooney joked: “Well, the restraining order expired. No, it was just cash, money will take care of it.”
He added: “On Burn After Reading I had the enormous pleasure of shooting him in the face and we thought maybe we’d try it 15 years later. Brad and I have been doing this for a long time separately and together. Over time it’s worked out pretty well. It seemed like those jokes, the way we were going at each other all the time, just felt easy.”
The two men are now planning to star in a sequel and Pitt said: “We thought there had to be a good reason to do a movie together, something we could build on. I also have to say that as I’ve gotten older, working with people I enjoy spending time with has become very important to me.”
Pitt and Clooney are promoting their film Wolfs, in which they play criminal “cleanup” specialists who are unexpectedly hired for the same job: disposing of a dead body in a hotel room.
Pitt and Clooney (pictured with wife Amal) were reportedly paid $35 million each to star in the heist film, and had insisted it be released in theaters.
Clooney denied his fee was as high as $35 million, saying the actual figure was “many, many millions below” that amount. But he added that it was a “shame” it was not released in theaters.
Apple, which financed the project, spent more than £1m to hire out the entire Cipriani hotel to Pitt, Clooney and friends for the weekend.
These friends include Clooney’s agent Bryan Lourd, who accompanied Amal to dinner on Saturday night, and Apple boss Tim Cook, who previously spent time with the Clooneys at their holiday home on Lake Como. Also included is the film’s director Jon Watt, who was absent after contracting Covid while in Venice and has now flown home.
Hollywood analyst Richard Rushfield said: “It’s always surprising how far things can go off the rails when it’s not clear exactly what you’re doing in this business in the first place.
“What the titans of other businesses never see coming is how much money can be lost in Hollywood.”
Pitt and his girlfriend, 34, were first spotted together at a Bono concert in late 2022. She had split from her husband that spring and Pitt had been largely single since splitting from Angelina Jolie in September 2016.
The couple have spent much of the summer together in Europe, including a stint at Château Miraval in France, where Pitt co-owns a vineyard. He is embroiled in litigation with Jolie after she sold her stake in the vineyard to Stoli tycoon Yuri Sheffler.
In July, a source told People magazine that Pitt and De Ramon were in a “serious relationship,” adding: “Things have been great since they moved in together. It’s more of a serious relationship than just a dating relationship. Brad loves a lot of things about her. It’s great for him.”
She attended the premiere of his film Babylon in November 2022, but they did not walk the red carpet together, and instead, De Ramon was seen with him at the after-party. Sources say De Ramon is “chill.” Pitt was linked to model Nicole Poturalski in 2019 and 2020 and model Emily Rajatowski in 2022, though sources cautioned that it was a “casual” romance that did not actually amount to dating.