Venice is famously one of the most romantic cities on earth so it is surely fitting that Hollywood heart-throb Brad Pitt chose the film festival last night to go ‘red carpet official’ with his girlfriend Ines de Ramon.
The divorced actor, 60, was all smiles as he walked up the red carpet of the film festival alongside de Ramon, a jewellery designer who he has been dating for around two years.
De Ramon, who is also divorced, moved in with him in Los Angeles in February this year.
It was a double-date night as Pitt’s long-time buddy 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 ‘clean up’ specialists who are unexpectedly hired for the same job – disposing of a body in a hotel room.
Venice is famously one of the most romantic cities on earth so it is surely fitting that Hollywood heart-throb Brad Pitt chose the film festival last night to go ‘red carpet official’ with his girlfriend Ines de Ramon
The divorced actor, 60, walked up the red carpet of the film festival alongside de Ramon, a jewellery designer who he has been dating for around two years
De Ramon, who is also divorced, moved in with him in Los Angeles in February this year
Pitt and Clooney were reportedly paid $35 million each to act in the caper film, and had insisted on a release in cinemas.
But Apple had a change of heart and the film, which insiders say cost up to $200 million all in, is now only being released in cinemas in the US for one week.
In all other territories it will go straight to streaming, making it easily the most expensive TV film ever made.
Apple’s change of heart follows a run of expensive films made by the streamer – including Napoleon, Killers of the Flower Moon and Argylle – all flopping at the cinema.
Clooney denied that their fees were as high as $35 million, saying the true figure was ‘many many millions below’ that amount. But he added that it was a ‘bummer’ that it wasn’t going to cinemas.
He said: ‘We would have liked that, we wanted that, and Brad and I gave some of our salary back to do that. We have had some bumps along the way, and that happens.
‘It’s a bummer, of course it’s a bummer, but a lot of people are going to see the film and we are getting a release in a few hundred theatres. It would have been nice to get a wider release.’
He said that the economics of streaming are still being ‘figured out’ but added: ‘We are figuring it out. We need Apple and Amazon and they need Sony or Warners who have been doing it for 100 years.’
It was a double-date night as Pitt’s long-time buddy George Clooney was on the red carpet with his wife Amal, an international human rights lawyer
De Ramon looked stunning in a form-fitting white gown as she joined Pitt on the red carpet
Pitt and his girlfriend, who is 34, were first seen together at a Bono concert in late 2022 (pictured in Venice on Sunday evening)
Pitt said: ‘I love the existence of the streamers because we get to see more story more talent and it gets seen by more eyes as well but it’s a delicate balance.’
Asked what the fact that a film with two huge stars was going straight to streaming said Clooney deadpanned: ‘Clearly we are in decline.’
The two men have been friends for decades and last worked together 15 years ago in the movie Burn After Reading. Asked why they were working together again Clooney joked: ‘Well the restraining order ran out. No, it was just cash, money will do it.’
He added: ‘In Burn After Reading I got the extreme pleasure of shooting him in the face and we thought maybe we would try it 15 years later. Brad and I have been doing this a long time separately and together. Over a period of time its worked pretty well. It felt like that banter, the way we blast at each other all the time, just felt easy.’
The two men are now planning to act in a sequel and Pitt said: ‘We figured there had to be a good reason to get into a film together, something that we could build upon. I also have to say that as I have got older working with people who I enjoy spending time with has become really important to me.’
Pitt and Clooney are promoting their film Wolfs, in which they play criminal ‘clean up’ specialists who are unexpectedly hired for the same job – disposing of a body in a hotel room
Pitt and Clooney (pictured with wife Amal) were reportedly paid $35 million each to act in the caper film, and had insisted on a release in cinemas
Clooney denied that their fees were as high as $35 million, saying the true figure was ‘many many millions below’ that amount. But he added that it was a ‘bummer’ that it wasn’t going to cinemas
Apple, which funded the project has splashed out over £1 million on hiring the entirety of the Cipriani hotel for Pitt, Clooney and friends over the weekend.
These friends include Clooney’s agent Bryan Lourd, who accompanied Amal to a dinner on Saturday night, and the Apple boss Tim Cook, who previously spent time with the Clooneys at their holiday home on Lake Como. They also include the films director Jon Watt who was absent after contracting Covid while in Venice and has now flown home.
Hollywood analyst Richard Rushfield said: ‘It is always amazing to see how far off the rails things can go when it’s not clear what exactly you’re doing in this business in the first place.
‘What the titans of other businesses never see coming is just how much money you can lose in Hollywood.’
Pitt and his girlfriend, who is 34, were first seen together at a Bono concert in late 2022. She had separated from her husband that spring and Pitt had been largely single since breaking up with Angelina Jolie in September 2016.
The couple have spent much of the summer together in Europe, including a period of time at the Chateau Miraval in France where Pitt part-owns a vineyard. He is involved in litigation with Jolie after she sold her stake in it 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 amazing since they moved in together. It’s more of a serious relationship than just dating. Brad loves so many things about her. She’s great for him.’
She went to the premiere of his film Babylon in November 2022 but they did not walk the red carpet together, with de Ramon instead being spotted with him at the after-party. Sources say that de Ramon is ‘easy going’. Pitt was linked with model Nicole Poturalski in 2019 and 2020 and with model Emily Rajatowski in 2022, although sources cautioned that it was a ‘casual’ romance which didn’t really amount to dating.
