Brad Pitt soaks up the scenery southeast of Calgary in the first picture of the Hollywood heartthrob portraying legendary outlaw Jesse James. Pitt is filming The Assassination of Jesse James in our area.

CALGARY - Brad Pitt saddled up in earnest for the first time yesterday. Pitt is both the star and a co-producer of the $30-million western The Assassination of Jesse James that has been filming in Calgary since Aug. 29.

According to a Sun source, yesterday was Pitt's first day in front of the cameras.

He was filming outdoor scenes with several cast members as well as Sam Shepard, who plays Jesse's older brother Frank James.

Pitt arrived in Calgary on Aug. 16 for meetings with fellow producers brothers Ridley and Tony Scott as well as David Valdes.

He also familiarized himself with the horse he is using in the film and was fitted for costumes and make-up.

It was hardly all work.

Pitt dined at restaurants like The Kensington Verve and dropped in for a brew at such pubs as The Bear & Kilt Freehouse.

"It wasn't just our pub. He was rumoured to have dropped into several places on the Stephen Avenue Mall," says Jay Frost, the night manager of The Bear & Kilt.

"It was all pretty low-key, which is what he probably wanted. He'd come in late at night, select a corner, have a couple of beers and leave."

Frost says he was dressed in jeans, a dark hoodie and sunglasses.

"With his new dark hair and goatee, he didn't attract any attention at all."

Pitt also had a visit from his companion Angelina Jolie and her children Maddox and Zahara, and took them to tour the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller.

Pitt accompanied his camera crew for some pre-production shots on Aug. 26 and then left to spend a week with Jolie in New York, where she is filming the espionage drama The Good Shepherd with Matt Damon and Robert DeNiro.

While Pitt was away, director Andrew Dominik filmed scenes near Millarville, Turner Valley and along the Bow River at McKinnon Flats.

They also filmed for one day in Heritage Park.

These scenes feature Casey Affleck, who plays Robert Ford, the man who shot Jesse James, as well as Paul Schneider and Jeremy Renner, who play Dick Liddil and Wood Hite, two of the other members of Jesse's outlaw gang.

The Sun's source says Dominik capitalized on the good weather by filming both day and night scenes, making for long work days.

The production moves up to Edmonton today for three weeks of shooting in Fort Edmonton Park beginning Thursday.

Mary Louise Parker, who plays Jesse's wife Zee James, will join the production in Edmonton.

Fort Edmonton Park will be used to represent three different towns.

The park will be closed to the public for the duration of the shoot.

Shooting will also take place in Winnipeg.

More Artists