Brad Pitt goes deep into space, masculinity in 'Ad Astra'

"Ad Astra" looks and sounds like a space epic with a movie star lead in Brad Pitt, but there's a lot more going on beneath the surface.

Pitt said Thursday at the Venice International Film Festival that he and director James Gray are really digging into the idea of masculinity.

"Having grown up in an era where you're taught to be strong and not show weakness ... there is certain value in that but there's also a barrier that's created denying those pains or those things you feel ashamed to reveal," Pitt said. "I think we were asking the question: Is a better definition for us actually being more open divining a better relationship with your loved ones, with your parents, with your kids, and with yourself?"

Actor Brad Pitt arrives at the Lido Beach for the 76th edition of the Venice Film Festival, in Venice, Italy, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2019. The Venice Film Festival runs from Aug. 28 to Sept. 7. (Ettore FerrariANSA via AP)

"Ad Astra" follows Pitt's detached astronaut character Roy McBride on a journey to the outer reaches of space to find his estranged father, a famous astronaut himself who has long been thought dead.

In addition to starring, Pitt also produced the film which he said was one of the most challenging he's ever done. Not only did he and Gray use primarily practical sets (he laughed that he and friend George Clooney "exchanged some discomfort stories" about the strings and rigs used to simulate anti-gravity in space films) but it's an emotionally taxing role as well.

Pitt had to draw on personal pains and wounds to make his performance as honest as possible. Gray, who has been a friend of Pitt's for 25 years, would send him emails every day revealing ideas from his own life that would help set the tone for whatever was needed for that particular day on set.

Actor Brad Pitt poses for photographers upon arrival for the photo call of the film 'Ad Astra' at the 76th edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2019. (Photo by Joel C RyanInvisionAP)

"We don't have a normal male relationship, we've always been quite open about our foibles and had big laughs at our embarrassing moments and (been) open about our feelings about our perceived failures or missteps," Pitt said. "It was a really unique experience."

Gray said he thinks its important that actors don't "worry about being liked or hated or sympathetic or unsympathetic."

"You can only worry about being honest about who you are and be vulnerable and open," he added.

Actors Ruth Negga, from left, Brad Pitt, Liv Tyler and director James Gray pose for photographers upon arrival for the photo call of the film 'Ad Astra' at the 76th edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2019. (AP PhotoDejan Jankovic)

The film had its world premiere at the 76th edition of the Venice festival and is in competition for the Golden Lion, alongside films like "Joker" and "Marriage Story." Past winners like "The Shape of Water" and "Roma" have in recent years gone on to win or gain best picture nominations come Oscar time. But when asked about the Oscar prospects of "Ad Astra," Pitt, who has yet to win an Oscar for acting despite being nominated twice, deflected.

"Every year I see amazing talent getting acknowledged and amazing talent not getting acknowledged. And my feeling is when your number comes up it's great fun and when someone else's number comes up it's very fun to see," Pitt said. "How was that for a dodge?"

His focus right now is simply finally releasing the film to the public. "Ad Astra's" release date has been pushed back a few times, as Fox integrated its release schedule with Disney after the acquisition.

Actors Liv Tyler, from left, Brad Pitt, Ruth Negga and director James Gray pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Ad Astra' at the 76th edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2019. (Photo by Joel C RyanInvisionAP)

"I just want to get this film out," Pitt said. "It's a challenging film. It's subtle and it's operating on many cylinders and it has something to say about who we are, the soul, why we hang on, what's our purpose? I'm curious to see where it lands. "

"Ad Astra" opens nationwide on Sept. 20.

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Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Several days of investigations into the Brown University mass shooting and the slaying of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor ended when authorities discovered evidence they say indicates the killings were committed by the same man, who was then found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The attacker at Brown killed two students and wounded nine others in an engineering building on Saturday. Some 50 miles (80 kilometers) away MIT professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro was killed Monday night in his home in the Boston suburb of Brookline. Police said the body of the shooter they believe is responsible for both crimes was found Thursday.

Here is what to know about the attacks and investigations:

Claudio Neves Valente, 48, a former Brown student and Portuguese national, was found dead in a New Hampshire storage facility after a six-day search that spanned several New England states.

Brown University President Christina Paxson said Neves Valente was enrolled at Brown from the fall of 2000 to the spring of 2001. He was admitted to the graduate school to study physics beginning in September 2000.

“He has no current affiliation with the university,” she said.

Neves Valente had studied at Brown on a student visa. He eventually obtained legal permanent residence status in September 2017. His last known residence was in Miami.

Loureiro, 47, who was married, joined MIT in 2016 and was named last year to lead the school’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, where he worked to advance clean energy technology and other research. The center, one of MIT’s largest labs, had more than 250 people working across seven buildings when he took the helm. He was a professor of physics and nuclear science and engineering.

Valente and Loureiro attended the same academic program at a university in Portugal between 1995 and 2000, Foley said. Loureiro graduated from the physics program at Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal’s premier engineering school, in 2000, according to his MIT faculty page.

The same year, Neves Valente was let go from a position at the Lisbon university, according to an archive of a termination notice from the school’s then-president in February 2000.

Investigators on Friday were trying to sort out why the former Brown student allegedly committed the shootings.

The discovery of the body came after authorities released several security videos of a suspect for the Brown attack in which their face was masked or turned away. Police say a witness then gave investigators a key tip: he saw someone who looked like the person of interest with a Nissan sedan displaying Florida plates.

That enabled Providence police officers to tap into a network of more than 70 street cameras operated around the city by surveillance company Flock Safety. Those cameras track license plates and other vehicle details.

After leaving Rhode Island for Massachusetts, Providence officials said the suspect stuck a Maine license plate over the rental car’s plate to help conceal his identity.

Video footage showed Neves Valente entering an apartment building near Loureiro’s. About an hour later, he was seen entering the New Hampshire storage facility where he was later found dead, Foley said.

New Hampshire’s attorney general announced Friday that Neves Valente died on Tuesday, the same day that Loureiro died at a hospital.

The two students who were killed and the nine others wounded were studying for a final in a first-floor classroom in an older section of the engineering building when the shooter walked in and opened fire.

Those killed were 19-year-old sophomore Ella Cook and 18-year-old freshman MukhammadAziz Umurzokov. Cook, whose funeral is Monday, was active in her Alabama church and served as vice president of the Brown College Republicans. Umurzokov’s family immigrated to the U.S. from Uzbekistan when he was a child, and he aspired to be a doctor.

As for the wounded, six were in stable condition Thursday, officials said. The other three were discharged.

Neves Valiente gained permanent residency status through a green card lottery program, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a post on X.

She said President Donald Trump ordered her to pause the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services program.

The diversity visa program makes up to 50,000 green cards available each year by lottery to people from countries that are little represented in the United States, many of them in Africa. The lottery was created by Congress, and the move is almost certain to invite legal challenges.

This combo image made with photos provided by the FBI and the Providence, Rhode Island, Police Department shows a person of interest in the shooting that occurred at Brown University in Providence, R.I., Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (FBI/Providence Police Department via AP)

A memorial of flowers and signs lay outside the Barus and Holley engineering building at Brown University, on Hope Street in Providence, R.I., on Tuesday, Dec 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt OBrien)

A Brown University student leaves campus, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, after all classes, exams and papers were canceled for the rest of the Fall 2025 semester following the school shooting, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)