How Brad Pitt Deals With the Tabloids

Dec. 1, 2004 -- -- When six of Hollywood's brightest stars agree to an interview, sometimes they reveal parts of their community they usually wouldn't expose on their own.

That's what happened when Diane Sawyer sat down with six of the stars appearing in "Ocean's Twelve," the sequel to 2001's "Ocean's Eleven," in which a band of thieves pulls off heists of three casinos in one night. It's due to hit theaters Dec. 10.

Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Don Cheadle were all eager to chime in on a topic they have in common: being famous.

See Diane Sawyer's one-hour exclusive interview with these stars on "Primetime Live", Thursday at 10 p.m.

Brad Pitt, who plays the loner thief Rusty Ryan in the new film, has frequently been the subject of gossip-page speculation, along with his wife, Jennifer Aniston.

But Pitt says his "Ocean's" co-star Julia Roberts taught him how to deal with it a long time ago: never read the rumors.

"I have a no-reading policy," Pitt told Sawyer. "I like the pictures," he says, laughing. "You know, I found life much easier if you just abstain ... It was Julia who said 'Don't read them' ... she was the first one to tell me that. 'Don't read them. Just look at the pics.' "

Garcia, who plays the cheated casino owner now looking for revenge, added: "I think the first onslaught of like fame is a hard thing to deal with ... you feel like you're going to lose something, you'll never be able to regain ... it'll invade you and just kind of just chew you up and spit you out and then you can no longer retain that."

In "Ocean's Twelve," Garcia forces the gang to go to Paris, Rome and Amsterdam to gather more millions -- because they have already blown the loot they got in the first movie.

A Look at the Future

Sawyer also asked the mega-stars where they wanted to be -- professionally and personally -- three years from now.

Damon, who plays the pickpocket Linus Caldwell, said he's content career-wise, yet "I would like to try directing. But that would involve writing a script ... I don't know that I will have one ready to go in three years."

On the personal front, he says, "I know I want kids, but I don't really have a time limit set on that."

Meanwhile, Clooney, who plays leader Danny Ocean, said he was getting over the challenge of putting on 30 pounds for his upcoming film "Syriana."

"It's not about how you look. The bigger issue for me was that physically ... I like to play basketball. I like to play sports ... and suddenly ... walking up the stairs made you out of breath ... And it really messes with your sort of psyche. It's actually sort of depressing. But I also did it in 30 days. I put on 30 pounds in 30 days. That's what really hurts."

"I was in the movie with him. He was the most depressed I've ever seen him," added Damon. "When you're used to exercising a lot and burning off, you know, it's just totally throws your body for a loop when suddenly you don't do that at all ..."

Clooney said some of the added flab is still there. "Not all of it ... I'm a little soft still, but you know, it's all right. I'll lose it," says Clooney. "I have to 'cause I've been left off of the ["People" magazine] sexiest man list and it hurt," he joked.