Brad Pitt was set to star in the English political thriller State of Play, based on the award winning British television series. But the actor and director realized something wasn’t right. Like, oh, maybe the journalist Cal McAffrey–Pitt’s part–always feels less-than around politician Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck), and is secretly in love with Collins’ wife. Brad Pitt less-than? Brad Pitt not getting the girl? Both unthinkable, especially because, as director/writer Kevin Macdonald told the Guardian UK:

The journalist has receded into himself in some way, he’s unable to have stable relationships with women, he’s obsessed with work and lives in a weird, messy place piled high with papers and books. He’s a slightly closed off, schlumpy kind of person.

So, Macdonald went to Russell Crowe, who is familiar with playing disturbed, damaged characters. Crowe said yes, and State of Play got made. And it’s been updated to reflect the changing times, with a feisty young blogger and a newspaper facing shrinking circulation as a political scandal breaks.

Along with being able to open a movie with decent box office, Crowe also brought something else to the film:

Russell thinks that almost all journalists act out of self-interest and that most journalism is deliberately misleading and inaccurate. That newspapers and journalists act from their own agenda. Which obviously partly comes from his experience of journalism and having his life reflected in newspapers.

Um, ouch.