The upcoming Damien Chazelle picture Babylon, which stars Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt, will hit theaters on January 19, 2023. Although it wasn’t in the screenplay, the two actors share a kissing sequence in the movie. She wanted to improvise at that particular time, according to what Robbie told E!
It wasn’t in the script – she said. But I thought: When will I get to kiss Brad Pitt again? I’ll try. I said, “Damien, I think Nellie should kiss Jack.” And Damien: “Well, she could – wait, wait. You want to kiss Brad Pitt.” And I: “Oh, sue me. This opportunity may never come again.” And he said, ‘It works for the character,’ and I was like, ‘I think it does.’ And so the kiss remained.
Samara Weaving, Katherine Waterston, Olivia Wilde, Spike Jonze, Lukas Haas, Tobey Maguire, and Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea are also included in the cast, in addition to the protagonists above. The historical fiction movie’s one true character, studio boss Irving Thalberg, is portrayed by Max Minghella.
The casting process took a long, long time. Babylon was the most extensive cast, the most significant number of roles I have ever directed – said Chazelle during the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. It is a primarily fictional film where the characters are fictional but inspired by compositions of real-life people. Writing them, I was inspired by many real-life sources, but pretty quickly, I got into the casting stage and was looking for people who surprised me. This was the guiding principle, to demolish all the preconceptions of that era and those people and find actors who conveyed that spirit.
