Skip to content
Entertainment
Link copied to clipboard

Hill: Pitt Inspired "Pineapple Express"

Apatow's "True Romance" With Brad Pitt

When Jonah Hill was in town to talk about his role in "Moneyball" opposite Brad Pitt, I asked him if Pitt -- so funny in his "True Romance" cameo -- had ever been approached to star in one of the Judd Apatow comedies.

Hill: "'True Romance' is where the idea for 'Pineapple Express' came from. Judd looked at those scenes and went, "What's that guy's story?'"

Hill pointed out Apatow likes to take secondary characters from one movie and spin them off as leads in another -- "Get Him to the Greek" derives from "Forgetting Sarah Marshall." Hill noted that Apatow is making a movie built around the Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann characters from "Knocked Up."

"Moneyball" is the story of Oakland A's GM Billy Beane (Pitt), who devised new baseball economics (via Hill's character) to field a playoff-caliber team in a small market team.  Hill sees similarities to the way Apatow has made profitiable comedies -- using under-valued talent to make low-budget movies with high returns.

The irony -- talent like Hill, Rudd, Michael Cera. Jason Segal, Steve Carell, etc. -- is no longer under-valued.

"It's pretty hard to get a movie with Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen and me all in the same movie now. Because it wouldn't be a cheap movie anymore. I'm  not being a jerk. It's just that we all grew up, and now we have careers."