After two weeks of meetings with the director of the movie, State of Play, Kevin Macdonald, Brad Pitt decided to pull out of the movie that was scheduled to begin shooting on November 15.
The disagreement had to do with the screenplay. Pitt supported the original screenplay written by Matthew Michael Carnahan, while the studio preferred the revised screenplay by Peter Morgan, Tony Gilroy and Billy Ray.
Universal Pictures is thinking of suing the 43-year-old actor, if they are not able to find someone to fill the part in time. Universal has already begun their search. Some of the possibilities are Tom Hanks and Johnny Depp. Pitt had the starring role alongside Edward Norton, Helen Mirren, Rachel McAdams, Jason Bateman and Robin Wright Penn.