Superstar Brad Pitt sends the crowds wild at Cannes

The screen idol sent them into raptures as he paced quickly up and down lines of fans bordering the pavement in Cannes, signing autographs.

Angelina Jolie, Pitt’s long-term partner with whom he has six children, was not on the red carpet with him at the festival in the French Riviera resort because of prior commitments.

Earlier in the day at a Press conference for Pitt’s new mob thriller Killing Them Softly, Pitt said she would not be attending and also quashed rumours they had set a date for their wedding.

He said: “We have no date. We actually really, truly have no date.”

The 48 year-old, who plays mob enforcer Jackie Cogan in director Andrew Dominik’s new film, appeared on the red carpet with co-stars Ray Liotta, Scoot McNairy and Ben Mendelsohn.

Describing the idea behind Killing Them Softly, in which Liotta stars as Markie, who owns and runs gambling clubs, Pitt said newspaper headlines about the global financial situation and what was happening to people were a source of inspiration.

He said: “This commentary – in the way it’s done in this film, in the way that you believe you’re watching a gangster film – I felt it was really a gangster film and it wasn’t until the very end that things coalesced for me as far as maybe the direction the film was pointing to overall; that the film actually was saying something about the greater world.”

He said his character killed people in the best way possible, hence the title of the film, as was dictated by his occupation.

“There’s actually a humanity there for the person who’s got to go – ‘This is just an unfortunate part of our business but it’s got to be cut-throat and that’s the way it is’.

“I equate that to business, business can be very, very cut throat and we all accept the terms.”

Also on the red carpet last night were model Kelly Brook in a glittering low-cut jewelled dress, actor Jeremy Irons, rapper P Diddy and actor Alec Baldwin.