Brad Pitt has a message for the indie filmmakers in the room: things are as good now as they were in the ’90s. He made that claim Wednesday at a press conference in San Sebastian, Spain, where he appeared alongside director David Ayer ahead of the premiere of their new film Heart of the Beast.
The actor made his first San Sebastian appearance since 2009, when he attended the festival with Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds. Journalists and attendees swarmed the Kursaal Theater, and Pitt kept the mood light, touching on man’s bond with dogs, the consolidation of Hollywood and the current state of independent cinema.
Pitt on the Indie Film Landscape
Pitt was asked directly about his producing outfit and what has changed for independent films. His answer was cheerful and confident.
“I think the current setup has actually been really conducive to independent [films], in a really cool way because more eyes are getting on these projects,” he said. “It feels even as strong as in the ’90s.”
He then turned to Ayer to hear his own opinion.
Ayer’s Take on New Filmmakers
Ayer agreed that the landscape is shifting. He pointed to new pipelines of discovery, including young horror directors Curry Barker and Kane Parsons, who came up through YouTube and the internet.
“We have people coming in off YouTube or the internet,” Ayer said. “But now we’re seeing what I believe may be the ascent of it, as we find filmmakers in that space. They have much different tastes, and they grew up on a different sense of media than we did. So I’m actually very excited about the future and future opportunities and future stories that are going to be told.”
The Consolidation Problem
Pitt did not sidestep the bad news. He admitted that the middle-budget ground is nearly impossible to fund.
“What I love about what streaming has brought to us is so many more opportunities for actors, writers, directors,” he said. “But what happened is movies got so expensive. The very big tentpole movies were able to recoup, and the more independent, lower-budget, or anything in the middle ground — anything from maybe 30, 40, 60 [million dollars] — has a really difficult time getting made, even movies like ours, because it’s very difficult for the studio to recoup that middle budget.”
He laughed and pointed to his own niche. “I’m hoping these movies still have a lot [of support], because that’s usually where I end up most,” he said. “The middle ground.”
The Bond Between James and Odin
Pitt was also asked about the emotional bond between his character, James, and the dog, Odin, in Heart of the Beast. The film follows a retired Special Forces officer and his former combat dog as they survive in the Alaskan wilderness after a plane crash.
Pitt explained that the bond was central to the story. “James and Odin are both extremely capable creatures. They’ve been trained. They’ve been hardened. They’ve been proven. But it was more their bond between each other,” he said. “We would fight more for another than we would even for ourselves, and that kind of care and love and loyalty kept them both points in our film, and I think that’s also true love. When I think of the darker days, certainly my close relationships, I relied heavily on friends, dear close friends, handful of close family, and was very open about my growth.”
A Question From European Journalists
The final question came from a room full of European journalists, who wanted to know how it is possible to cope in a “sad world full of hate, wars, politics, and racism.”
Pitt’s answer was practical. “I think we could spend more time on where we are the same… What binds us, what connects us, and I think we can listen better through these divisional lines,” he said. “But you know, maybe we just start taking care of the people that are around us and making sure they’re okay.”
Ayer’s Credits and the Cast
Ayer is known for Training Day, Suicide Squad, End of Watch, The Tax Collector and Sabotage. His latest feature is written by Cameron Alexander, and it reunites him with Pitt, who starred in Ayer’s Fury.
The cast of Heart of the Beast includes J.K. Simmons and Anna Lambe. Pitt produces the film alongside Olivia Hamilton, Marty Bowen and Ayer, with Damien Chazelle among its executive producers.
The 2026 San Sebastian International Film Festival
The 2026 San Sebastian International Film Festival runs Sept. 18-16.
Key Facts Box
- Festival: 2026 San Sebastian International Film Festival, Sept. 18-16
- Film: Heart of the Beast, directed by David Ayer
- Starring: Brad Pitt, J.K. Simmons, Anna Lambe
- Produced by: Brad Pitt, Olivia Hamilton, Marty Bowen, Ayer
- Executive producers: Damien Chazelle
- Budget range for middle-ground films: ~$30–60 million
Pitt’s Career Timeline
- 2009 — Pitt attended San Sebastian with Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds
- 2026 — Pitt returns to San Sebastian for the premiere of Heart of the Beast
- Recent credits — starred in Ayer’s Fury
The middle ground is shrinking, but Pitt is not giving up on it. Neither is Ayer. The dog bond in Heart of the Beast is real, and so is the joy in their shared work. That is the story they want to tell.
Source material: “Brad Pitt Says Indie Cinema “Feels as Strong as in the ’90s”,” The Hollywood Reporter.
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