HE spent time in Belfast to hone an authentic accent for his 1997 film The Devil’s Own and now Brad Pitt is back in Northern Ireland.
But the Hollywood hunk has turned his hand to producing and is back on these shores to work on The Lost City of Z.
And as our behind the scenes pictures from the locations, including Ballintoy, which also features in Game of Thrones, production is in full swing.
The film, which stars Charlie Hunnam, Sienna Miller, Robert Pattinson and Tom Holland, is being shot at various locations around Northern Ireland for five weeks before production moves on to Colombia.
David Grann’s acclaimed New York Times best-selling book serves as the basis for the movie which has received funding through Northern Ireland Screen.
And despite the film’s other stars being spotted around Northern Ireland - notably Twilight’s Robert Pattinson, who was spied at a wedding and also at one of Van Morrison’s gigs on Cyprus Avenue – there have been no sightings of Pitt.
And film fans have even yet to clap eyes on Brad Pitt in Belfast - a city he is very familiar with.
Pitt spent time with east Belfast dialect coach Brendan Gunn – who once revealed how the actor’s memories of his time in Northern Ireland were tainted by a violent incident.
He said: “Brad was staying in the Europa Hotel in 1995 and went for a walk down [Great] Victoria Street. Someone recognised him, approached him and gave him a punch in the back. Other than that, he liked Northern Ireland.”
Pitt had been in Belfast to work on his accent for the film The Devil’s Own and returned to Mr Gunn again to work on his accents for Snatch and Meet Joe Black.
Mr Gunn said: “The accent was based on footage of bare-knuckle fighting in Crossmaglen. During Snatch he spent a lot of time watching Father Ted. If you listen carefully there are references to Father Jack in Brad’s performance.”
Lost City of Z follows Percy Fawcett (Hunnam), the last of the great Victorian explorers, who developed an obsession for the Amazon.
Convinced that he had discovered a lost civilization in the jungles of Brazil, Fawcett disappeared in the 1920s while searching for the mythical city deep within the unchartered interior.
Richard Williams, chief executive of Northern Ireland Screen, said: “We are delighted to welcome Plan B Entertainment to Northern Ireland to film The Lost City of Z. With films including the Oscar-winning 12 Years a Slave and critically acclaimed titles Selma, World War Z, The Departed and many more in its back catalogue, Plan B’s reputation precedes it.
“This is another strong vote of confidence in our local film industry and further cements Northern Ireland’s reputation as a world-class production location. We wish the entire team all the best for their shoot.”
