Brad Pitt moves from onscreen to behind-the-scene

LOS ANGELES: Never content to be just another Hollywood hunk, Brad Pitt these days is not just one of America's most bankable film stars but also a sought-after and influential movie producer.

Pitt and his life partner Angelina Jolie are Hollywood's gilded first couple, a fixture on the Big Screen and on the awards' show red carpet circuit.

The actor, 48, starred in the critically acclaimed "Moneyball" which has earned him a best actor Oscar nomination at this year's awards, as well as in the art film "The Tree of Life."

But these days, it is Pitt's work as a producer that most sets his heart racing. The actor, who says he is a "perfectionist" when it comes to his work, is on a mission to make sure that quality films, not just mindless trifles, get made in Hollywood.

In "Moneyball" Pitt played the role of Billy Beane, a baseball manager who used a quirky but effective statistics-based approach to spotting on-field talent.

Pitt relished his Oscar-nominated role in the film, but said he may have gotten even more satisfaction as its producer.

The critically important behind-the-scenes-player on all films is responsible for hiring the director, overseeing the budget, coordinating the film's post-production and other indispensable tasks.

"Any movie you see here today wouldn't have made it to the screen, unless you had someone with the idea that this would make a good movie and then the fortitude and luck to push it through. Each one of these movies took some heavy lifting," Pitt told.

"That's why I enjoy the producing side so much," he said. (AFP)