With the film about to go wide, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie graced the red-carpet at the Toronto International Film Festival before Pitt turned up at the official press conference for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford to talk about the history behind the film, his prepararton for playing Jesse James, life in the public eye, and producing The Departed.

Brad Pitt on whether the themes of celebrity culture and mythology in Jesse James attracted him to the character:

"Thats not what completely attracted me. I dont think that's the main point of the story... I do think it's an aspect of it, certainly. Getting into the story, I was surprised to see how much a tabloid quotient that media was alive and well at that time; still, operated with sensationalism and fabrication of the facts. It was curious to me to see not much has changed."

Pitt on whether he views Jesse James as a psychopath:

"The film picks up during the last year of his life and he certainly was coming from a place of paranoia, most of it justified. I'd argue that the paranoia consumed him and certainly was responsible of a lot of his erratic action. It's also true that while there is the Robin Hood myth to him, which was based in truth, and he did help perpetuate, which is also true to say he was a ruthless killer before the film starts."

Brad Pitt On shooting in Canada:

"Funny enough, it was shot close to the location where I shot 10 years before a film called Legends of the Fall. We had a lot of the same crew, stuntmen and wranglers, that I worked with before. We originally came here for Legends because theres one huge place where there are no telephone poles. Now, you can just erase those. Coming back to the location shapes the feeling of the film."

On how he related to people in Missouri:

"A lot of my family is still in Missouri so when I do get home and bring the grandkids back, its mainly spending time with family. Its a gentle, sweet place to be. As far as (anonymity), I know the deal. I understand the tradeoff. There are great perks to what we do. We get to travel the world. The only time it becomes unmanageable is when it becomes a full frontal assault on the kids. (With swirl of cameras shooting) You make a crazy face, and thats the one that ends up on the front page. Unfortunately, theres no line concerning family these days, and that concerns me. This day and age, thats the only thing that bothers me.

Pitt on living in the public eye and whether he sometines wishes he chose a different path:

"Funny enough, the microscope is really not on us. [laughter] It has nothing to do with my actual life. In some ways, you say, 'You made this deal, so that's part of it.' On the other hand, you dont know what you're getting into. The bonus of that time is the love for movies, to be a part of movies, and tell stories and be good at it. That's your focus. This other thing comes along and it can be discombobulating, but you acclimate."

On whether he views the Assassination of Jesse James as a Western:

"It's probably misleading as far as the genre we understand. It's better to say a psychological drama. Andrew has called it a gangster film. It's hard to come up with one category that accurately describes. It's all about a good trailer."

On tapping into the folklore of Jesse James:

"The nice thing for me, that I was surprised by, I didn't realize that it would mean this much to me, was doing something that related to the area where I grew up. When I see the Missouri crawl come up on screen, it quietly gives me a little pleasure. It's nice to see some connection to the place that shaped me."

Pitt On the demise of Jesse James in the film:

"This is well-documented in the book. Historians argue over it. There's curiosity about it. The fact is: he gave the gift of the gun to his would-be assassin and the very gun that would kill him days later, and the fact that he took his gun belts off at the moment of the assassination, which he never did. The two theories are that he had full knowledge of what Robert Ford, or the Ford brothers, were capable of and were after, and was taunting them and was going to take them out at a later time. And it was a bad gamble that he lost. The other argument is that he was unhinged, he was weary of this life on the run and that it was a puppeteered suicide, conscious or unconscious. It remains ambigious and I couldnt pretend to know."

On the fan that lunged at him in Venice:

"I havent been jumped like that in some time. I don't want to change my life to give in to paranoia. We can be vulnerable in these situations and there are a couple of people out there not playing with a full deck, but I'm not changing a thing."

On his process of preparation and what he learned:

"My preparation is all the same whether it's comedy or this or anything else. It comes with research and studying and you start to narrow in on an idea you're going to try it. The first few weeks are trial and error. I had an advantage of the scenario. The cadence and the temper of how people relate there, at least what I understand today, is what I drew from, and the dialect I drew from. I was comfortable with horses. Do a little quick draw and I was ready to go."

Pitt on his role as producer and not being nominated for the Oscar on The Departed:

"The Departed was something we developed for a couple of years. When Marty [Scorsese] came on, he didn't need our help. We were happy to turn it over. We were happy just to be a part of it. The thing that got me into [acting] was my love for stories and a film's ability to educate and entertain. It's about getting out of the way and letting the producer go where he wants to go; being a buffer on the financial side. It's about quality control from its inception."

Brad Pitt on the types of films he loves:

"I love this kind of film, this kind of film that breathes and allows for human moments. Its my favorite kind of storytelling. It led me to Andrew. I like all films and there's room for all kinds of films. I'd probably hit the wall if I just focused on one aspect of storytelling."