Did you think Michael Pitt was a dog person? Well, you were wrong. “I have a cat,†he told us at a screening of Seven Psychopaths hosted by the Cinema Society last night. “His name is Crackhead.†Please, explain. “It was a joke,†he told us. “It started off as a joke, and then it became his name. It was an accident. I am not a bad parent. It is really funny when you go to the vet because they announce, “Is Crackhead’s parents here?’†As for whether Crackhead lives up to his name by acting crazy, Pitt told us about that time he took Crackhead to Paris, where he shot The Dreamers: “He killed a French rat.â€
Also on hand for a random conversation about animals was Seven Psychopaths director Martin McDonagh, who explained why he cast a shih tzu in the movie. “Shih tzus are a great film character,†he said. “They are so cute. And they have soft paws.†But that doesn’t mean it’s easy to find the perfect shih tzu. “You have to troll through some shitty shih tzus,†McDonagh said. “They are all very Hollywood, very froufrou, and they have ribbons. And then one came in and was much more like De Niro in the seventies — didn’t give a fuck.â€