Brad Pitt's 'Heart of the Beast' puts a real rescue dog at the center of a survival thriller

Before 'Heart of the Beast' had even opened, producer Richard Raymond took to X to answer the one question he knew was keeping dog lovers from buying a ticket: the dog does not die.

Look, everybody loves a dog. It's about the only thing the whole world agrees on. So let me put your mind at ease right now: The dog does not die. You're welcome.— Richard Raymond, Producer

The survival thriller, directed by David Ayer and in theaters Sept. 25, stars Brad Pitt as James Belmont, a retired Special Forces veteran who survives a plane crash in the Alaskan wilderness alongside his combat dog Odin — played by Uber, a real-life search-and-rescue German Shepherd, and a team of three stunt animals. It is the first time in nearly 40 years of acting that Pitt has shared most of his screen time with a dog.

I learned to be actor slash dog trainer pretty good. He's such a beautiful beast and I really had an incredible experience. I haven't done anything like that. Don't know if I'll ever get to do something like that again.— Brad Pitt, Actor and Producer

The world premiere took place outside Nashville, in Franklin, Tennessee, where Pitt, costar J.K. Simmons, and Ayer spoke about a shoot that tested all of them. The film was made in New Zealand, not Alaska, and the elements — cold water, relentless wind, unpredictable weather — were a constant presence on set.

The most physically demanding sequence required Pitt to swim underwater into a crashed aircraft to retrieve supplies. Ayer described calling 'Action' and watching Pitt submerge, run through his choreography, and eventually surface for air — because, as the director put it, 'we need him the next day.'

It was just wet and cold. That's what you signed up for.— Brad Pitt, Actor and Producer

Simmons, 71, who plays a wanderer named Watkins who joins Belmont and Odin early in the film, had his own battle with the conditions. A canoe scene became a recurring ordeal: the afternoon wind was so disruptive that crew members had to enter the water to retrieve Simmons and the canoe on multiple occasions, according to USA Today.

The wind was my big concern for my three seconds of canoeing. There was a lot of time on the water battling the afternoon breeze.— J.K. Simmons, Actor

The bond between Pitt and Uber, however, came more naturally. Animal coordinator Andrew Simpson arranged a three-week period for Pitt and the dogs to get acquainted before filming began. Simpson credited Pitt's own experience as a dog owner for making that process smooth.

Brad's got a very grounded personality, so it was very easy for him to get along with the dogs. The fact that he has his own dogs, he knows how to handle them, knows what they like and what they don't, it was a great help to us.— Andrew Simpson, Animal Coordinator

Simpson also offered his verdict on Uber's star quality: 'He has the face. He's the Brad Pitt of dogs.'

Pitt, who attended the premiere with girlfriend Ines de Ramon, said he came to the project with a personal understanding of what dogs provide. He and de Ramon have three dogs at home, and he described them as a source of consistent joy during difficult periods.

In any of the loneliest of times, your dogs are just this beacon of joy and unconditional love.— Brad Pitt, Actor and Producer

That feeling, he said, shaped how he understood the film's central relationship — two veterans of war and loss, a man and his dog, trying to find peace before circumstance forces them to fight for survival again.

Life's just better with a dog.— Brad Pitt, Actor and Producer

'Heart of the Beast' reunites Pitt and Ayer, who previously worked together on the 2014 World War II film 'Fury.' Raymond, one of the film's producers, noted on X that the project has a longer personal history for him: in the 1990s at Pinewood Studios, he worked as a runner making Pitt tea and coffee on the set of 'Interview with the Vampire.' Raymond said he wanted to make 'the definitive German Shepherd film' and that the script, developed with writer Cameron, was brought to Paramount through producers Damien Chazelle and Olivia Hamilton before Pitt and Ayer came aboard.

Here's the part that still gets me. Back in the '90s at Pinewood, I was a runner making Brad his tea and coffee on Interview with the Vampire. To now be one of the producers on what may be one of his very best films… I don't have a word for it other than: pinch me.— Richard Raymond, Producer

'Heart of the Beast' opens in theaters September 25.

Why it matters — With one of Hollywood's biggest stars anchoring a wide theatrical release built around a working dog, 'Heart of the Beast' is a test of whether the man-and-dog survival genre can draw audiences back to cinemas at scale.

Reported by usatoday.com, people.com, thewrap.com