A David Ayer movie never seems like a walk in the park. But for his latest film, the director of End Of Watch, Fury and Sabotage pushed things even f
A David Ayer movie never seems like a walk in the park. But for his latest film, the director of End Of Watch, Fury and Sabotage pushed things even further – he’s back with Heart Of The Beast, a survival drama in which Brad Pitt’s Army veteran James Belmont is stranded in the Alaskan wilderness with his military dog Odin by his side. With 58 miles of threatening terrain to cross, they find themselves battling against the elements in search of safety.
And by the sounds of things, it was just as gruelling for Pitt himself. “He beat himself up for this thing,” Ayer tells Empire. It was a shoot of mountainous terrain, river rapids, and extreme temperatures. “He was in the water all the time. He was cold all the time,” Ayer explains. “Going into this, neither of us realised just how exposed we would be as filmmakers. There’s nowhere to hide. You just can’t cut away to someone else.”
It was exposing, too, emotionally – with Ayer tapping into his own feelings when exploring the bond between James and Odin. “I lost my father when I was very young and the story tapped into a very personal sense of mourning,” he says. “This journey of love between these two creatures, these two beings, felt like my own grieving journey. There was something universal and very human about it, which is ironic because it’s a person and an animal. That almost gives you permission to be even more emotional.” Stay tuned for chances of surviving to the end credits without shedding a tear.
Read Empire’s full Heart Of The Beast story in the Digger issue, on sale Thursday August 17. Pre-order a copy online here. Heart Of The Beast comes to UK cinemas from September 23.
