Brad Pitt's Cogan's Trade Changes Its Name

Let the Roberta Flack jokes begin. Variety reporter Jeff Sneider has tweeted news that Cogan’s Trade, Brad Pitt’s latest collaboration with his The Assassination of Jesse James director Andrew Dominik, has changed its title to Killing Them Softly. No idea why, but there you go.

Do you prefer the new title? I’m on the fence. At the very least, Cogan’s Trade sounded more original, more distinctive. Killing Them Softly calls to mind a Lifetime movie of the week, perhaps starring Dana Delaney or Valerie Bertinelli. Then again, we didn’t quite know what Cogan was trading in the first title. At the very least, both titles are far shorter than the full name of Pitt and Dominik’s last effort, so the poster designer already is in their debt.

Trade, or Softly, adapts a George V. Higgins crime novel from 1974. It casts Pitt as a point man – the name for someone who travels ahead of a hitman – who arrives in a nondescript city and explores a possible opportunity to boost the financial assets of the local mob. Pitt’s not alone in this endeavor. Dominik also has cast Ray Liotta and Richard Jenkins, so if you were on the fence about possibly checking it out, that but of news should push you right to the box office.

Does a title matter? Probably not, but let us know what you think. The Weinstein Co. plans to release Killing Them Softly in September, so keep your eyes peeled for a possible trailer in the coming weeks.