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Clooney and Pitt hook up in new comedy caper

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Apple TV movie shown at Venice Film Festival

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Actors had pushed for big cinema release

By Crispian Balmer

VENICE, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Hollywood heavyweights George

Clooney and Brad Pitt admit they are disappointed their latest

comedy "Wolfs" is not getting a broad cinema release and instead

heading almost straight onto Apple TV.

"It is a bummer," Clooney said on Sunday, adding that

television streamers, such as Apple ( AAPL ), were nevertheless

vital to the future of filmmaking, presenting actors with

opportunities and generating bigger audiences for their work.

"Streaming, we need it, our industry needs this," he said.

Written and directed by Jon Watts, "Wolfs" is an

old-fashioned crime caper with Clooney and Pitt playing

lone-wolf professional fixers who are forced to work together

with comically unfortunate consequences.

Apple ( AAPL ) originally signalled it would place the film in a

large number of cinemas before the TV release, but instead opted

to show it briefly in a restricted number of U.S. movie theatres

and then run it on its global TV service.

"We'll always be romantic about the theatrical experience.

At the same time, I love the existence of the streamers because

we get to see more story, we get to see more talent, it gets

more eyes," said Pitt. "It's a delicate balance right now and

it'll right itself."

Asked what it meant if two of the biggest names in the

business could not get a broad cinema release, as they had

requested, Clooney quipped: "Clearly we're declining."

Sixteen years after last appearing together in 2008's Coen

brothers' comedy "Burn After Reading", Pitt and Clooney said

they jumped at the chance to reunite when they read Watts'

script for "Wolfs".

"I got to say, just as I get older, just working with the

people that I just really enjoy spending time with has really

become important to me," said Pitt, who turned 60 last year.

In a news conference full of light-hearted banter, Clooney,

said Pitt, was fortunate still to be offered parts. "He's 74

years-old and he's very lucky at this age to still be working."

On a more serious note, he denied a New York Times story in

August that said both he and Pitt had been paid more than $35

million each to appear in the film.

"I'm only saying that because I think it's bad for our

industry if that's what people think is the standard bearer for

salaries. I think that's a terrible thing. It will make it

impossible to make a film," he said.

"Wolfs" is showing out of competition at the Venice Film

Festival, which runs until Sept. 7.