ANGELINA JOLIE INTERVIEW
ANGELINA JOLIE is a scorch…
When she arrived on the scene back in the 90s, I knew she would be a very big star. She has it all: spectacular beauty, effortless sex appeal, acres of raw talent, charisma to burn.
I’ve always liked the wildcats that take no prisoners. Let’s just say we have a lot in common…
I usually lose interest in these women when they become…more domesticated, shall we say. But Angelina still fascinates in a dangerous white hot fashion. She reminds me of another outspoken, extravagantly gorgeous blue eyed brunette who played by her own rules, did exactly as she damn well pleased and had the world at her feet with the press hanging on her every word regardless.
Her name was ELIZABETH TAYLOR.
EW has an in depth interview with Angelina and it’s one of the best I’ve ever read. There are some very surprising facts that come to light that I wasn’t aware of before.
Angelina has two upcoming projects: the action thriller WANTED (costarring JAMES McAVOY and MORGAN FREEMAN), set for release on June 27 and THE CHANGELING, which is directed by Clint Eastwood. It’s due in October.
Speaking of her character FOX, Angelina said, “But the idea behind WANTED is not that she’s a bad ass assassin that just likes to kill people. It’s that, if you ran into Hitler before he did everything – and you knew – should you shoot him? And I would.”
As for politics, Ms. Jolie stated, “I think people assume I’m a Democrat. But I’m registered independent and I’m still undecided. So I’m looking at McCain as well as Obama.”
It’s an extremely cool read…
To check out the rest, please go here
June 12, 2008 at 11:15 pm
Huh.
It’s a little weird to me that she talks about how sweet and cute Maddox’s gun drawings are though she works with refugees. I mean, it’s perfectly natural for a boy his age to be into guns and war, but to hear her call it and the necklace “cute” and “sweet” is a little strange.
Just an observation…
June 13, 2008 at 5:57 am
k, I noticed that as well.
But I thought I would leave that particular observation to one of my beloved regular commenters who (naturally) wouldn’t let that go by.
I admire Ms. Jolie for many things. But I’m not the first (and I’m sure I won’t be the last) to remark on the fact that she’s….a little contradictory. Part of her immense charm in my view.
But that’s me…
June 13, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Naturally, that wouldn’t get by… haha.
I don’t like her as an actress, but I certainly admire her humanitarian work. She does tend to be a little contradictory, though, as that quote shows.
June 13, 2008 at 2:29 pm
You’re like a lot of women I admire, k. Nothing gets by you. (Well, nothing gets by me either, which is how I can recognize a kindred spirit.)
Angelina is truly a multifaceted individual. Who would’ve assumed that this glamourous, provocative wild child that drives men – and women – crazy would ever have evolved into this humanitarian earth mother?
I’ve seen a lot of savage reversals in my time. But this is one that I did not expect.
It’s always nice to discover that people have hidden depth, though.
June 14, 2008 at 8:55 am
Ha! Am that I regular commenter…? If not, I agree with him/her…
Turns out that on the opposite side of the fence with Ms. Jolie, or, rather, the opposite side of the fence from the public about her. I know you are in need of NO idol as you’re such a self-assured woman, Miranda, but there are moments when I get as uncomfortable about many people’s near-worship of Angelina as I do about Oprah. She’s an actress – before any other profession. Yet, there was an article I remember reading a Vanity Fair (I think, maybe Esquire) article about her last year – “Angelina Jolie Dies for Our Sins.” Seriously? Yeah, she does some good work. Great, so do a lot of other people, actors and actresses included.
I’m not going to hold her to the weird or “dark” stuff that she admits from her past, but I do continue to struggle with the mixed message she sends not only in these interviews but also in her roles. She touched on it with how she approached “Wanted”, but not to my satisfaction. Don’t expect me, Angelina, to align my morals with whatever you say in an interview and then ignore your continual “choice” of roles as a sex symbol, assassin, or (now twice), a sexy assassin. What was wrong with Beyond Borders? Wouldn’t that have been more the “real you”? But because it (and A Mighty Heart) was a box-office bomb (I paid to see both in the theater) you have to do the blockbuster stuff? Who cares if it’s “hard” for the audience? I don’t know. I almost want to say – you’ve got enough cash to not work for a few months. Why keep taking these sex/action roles if your heart is in saving humanity?
Sigh. I’m over it. I don’t know her, and even if I did, I wouldn’t want to judge her. She’s a strong-willed woman and she’s done some good things, fine, but to me that fact alone doesn’t earn my unconditional respect, nor does it set her apart from many other stars and MANY other regular folk who don’t get cover interviews every other week…that’s where my real issue lies I think…
June 14, 2008 at 9:00 pm
Ha ha, Danny.
I’m VERY MUCH aware that I have made references from time to time about certain people that I know fairly well or am close to – basically feeling that they will recognize themselves in what I’m writing and either shape the hell up or get the point. (As in, I’ve either written to them or sat in a room with them and talked about the subject{s} endlessly without feeling that they understood so I’m taking one last crack at it.)
The only problem is that SOME people may misinterpret and mistake my message or reference to them when it’s really meant for someone else.
So, all I’m saying to anyone that might be reading this, if you know me online OR offline and you’re a friend of mine, a romantic prospect or an ex (I was gonna say current boyfriend but as of two weeks ago that’s done) AND YOU’RE NOT SURE, please contact me.
Don’t want to upset anyone or have any wires crossed.
The only reason I bring up that whole thing in light of this particular conversation is that you said something about a “regular commenter” and when I made that remark, I actually wasn’t referring to anyone in particular.
God, this is the problem when you start making these oblique, vague statements. Then a lot of people think, Oh, she meant THAT, didn’t she?
All I have to say is, if it’s keeping you up nights and you really don’t know, e-mail me, call me or drop by the ol’ plantation. I’m a straight shooter in private. All will be revealed.
Anyway, to the subject at hand….
I am a very big admirer of many individuals in the entertainment industry. I’ve met some famous people but they were not part of my life for extended periods of time. So I’ve never known anyone in that sector particularly well.
But as I was telling the glorious Nicky Plowman at his fabulous blog FATACULTURE we can’t realistically expect too much from the well known men and women that we adore. They’re human, they’re flawed, they make mistakes just like we do. They get enormous free passes for their talent, charisma, beauty etc. but they’re just (highly paid) people at the end of the day.
But to state that I am a “self assured woman” is an enormous compliment and I do appreciate that immensely. It’s always wonderful to be highly thought of by people that you have enormous affection and respect for.
Christ, do not get me started on Oprah. As a girl with a Caucasian background, I am very happy that a black woman has that kind of power in American culture. I think that sort of diversity is essential.
But there’s a lot that bugs me about Oprah. She was an exceptional actor and I liked a lot of the stuff that she did artistically. But I can’t say that I agree with her on many things so the fact that she has millions of followers that hang on her every word and this pervasive never ending influence bugs the hell out of me. I’ll be frank. I’ve thought (FOR A VERY LONG TIME) that the private woman is very different from the public personality.
Give you an example. Back in the 90s (in the area that I live in) there were two politicians at a particular level that were both elected and serving their constituents in the same party. One was a very beautiful young woman, married with three kids. The other politician also had a spouse of his own. They ended up falling in love and divorcing their respective partners so that they could be together. At one point, the gorgeous young woman was invited on Oprah’s show so that she could talk about the scandal and how she was coping from that point.
When the young woman was interviewed locally (as people wanted to know what Oprah was really like), she said with a perfectly straight face, “Oprah’s not warm and fuzzy. She’s a good businessperson.”
There’s something about Ms. Winfrey that just doesn’t seem genuine to me. I’ve thought that for a very long time. That’s all I’m gonna say…
Now I’ve got another story for you. I was on the verge of seeing Kung Fu Panda. But when I looked at the trailer and the clips it just didn’t seem like my cup of java. The one thing that got me going (until I changed my mind) was that I discovered that Angelina was playing a tigress and that was also the name of her character. A friend of mine gave me the nickname Tigress many years ago (God love him) and that intrigued me sufficiently to have a look at KFP’s material. But it just didn’t seem like hot fun to me. So I changed my mind.
When I was over at your site I noticed that you really took Tigress to task as a character and I was laughing a little. I was actually going to post over there and say, “Hmmm…Doesn’t seem like you’re an Angelina fan, Danny.”
But now I don’t have to…
Danny, you know that you have carte blanche to say whatever you please at CP. There are very few areas where people could say anything and it would offend me enough to have it out with them. Since I consider you a friend, I would NEVER be hard on you in any case.
Aside from a VERY few areas I can think of (women being abused/subjugated/disrespected, animals or children being exploited or hurt), I certainly tolerate myriad opinions and points of view here at CP. I completely and utterly believe in free speech and the right of people to discuss whatever they feel in the context that they deem constructive.
I don’t mind if Angelina doesn’t float your boat. She is very much aware of the fact that she’s a highly divisive personality and I think that she’s strong minded enough that it genuinely doesn’t bother her. She made her peace with that long ago.
I’d have to ask her (as I would have no way of knowing otherwise) but I have a feeling that Angelina – despite the family, the charity work and the humanitarian stuff – is not willing to entirely set aside her wild image. I think she wants all of the colours in the Crayola box to play with. There are various levels to her and I doubt seriously that she’d answer to anyone. It’s her show, what she wants to do and how she wants to put her message across.
But you can loathe her or have some negative feelings for her. That’s entirely up to you.
I think that it’s wonderful that you visit at CP regularly and that you feel free express your views on any subject whatsoever, Danny.
It’s a supreme honour to have you here…
June 15, 2008 at 3:22 am
Wow, Daniel, you nailed it.
I don’t have a problem with Angelina Jolie. I don’t find her to be a divisive personality and I don’t blame her for the end of ~ Brad and Jen ~. I do find her contradictory, and I think she tends to put her foot in her mouth. (She recently had a quote in VF saying that artists raise kids differently in that THEY raise cultured children, and the way she presented her idea gave the strong implication that children who do NOT have artists as parents are raised without any culture whatsoever.)
I don’t have a problem with her. I think I have a problem with the people who hang on her every word.
It has gotten to the point where you can’t say anything slightly negative about Angelina Jolie without having your head bitten off (not referring to you, Miranda, because you have never behaved that way, just in general). I do admire what she does for refugees. I mean, anyone who goes out there and actually DOES something like that makes a difference, regardless of what their intentions are — like some celebrities who do charity work for good press. I don’t really care, so long as people — high profile people, in particular — keep talking about and bringing attention to real matters of substance.
I think, as an actress, Jolie has a long way to go. I find her boring and limited in the types of roles she chooses. People tend to regard her as being some sort of acting phenom, a legend, when she really, when you think about it, hasn’t done that much at all. I mean, after she won the Oscar for Girl, Interrupted, she did a string of lousy films featuring some of the lousiest acting I’ve seen of anyone. Gone in Sixty Seconds, the Lara Croft films, Beyond Borders, Life or Something Like It, Taking Lives, Shark Tale, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Alexander, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Beowulf… and I wasn’t a huge fan of The Good Shepard or A Mighty Heart (disappointing, because the story is so sad and fascinating). So the level of hero-worship that surrounds her is, to say the least, bizarre and a little unfounded.
I mean, and again, people have their preferences which are obviously going to be different than mine. Hell, I’m a fan of both Natalie Portman and Keira Knightley, but I don’t think they’re anywhere near perfect actresses. Portman picks crappy projects, comes across as being very stiff, and cannot do accents to save her life. Knightley has no variety in the genres she picks (period film, period film, period film) and tends to talk through her teeth, which makes all of her characters seem the same. It happens. Most people find Cate Blanchett to be The Second Coming of Meryl Streep (or something) and, thus far, she has failed to impress me in anything except Elizabeth and Notes on a Scandal.
So, those are my thoughts on all of this. Yeah.
June 15, 2008 at 10:55 am
Magnificently stated, k. You don’t pull any punches. I dig women like that – a whole hell of a lot.
Though I do consider myself an Angelina fan (as opposed to fanatic), I vehemently agree with almost everything that you said.
I don’t mind people calling out others (even the artists that I adore) if they do something contradictory or goofy. I might remark that I’ll give them a pass because I do love them, but I don’t have difficulty with people pointing out behaviour that makes no sense or is ridiculous to some degree. You can admire men and women and still admit that what they’re doing is silly, wrong or shortsighted. It’s the difference between what they say/do (as anyone can make a mistake or make a remark that was ill adivised) and the person that they are.
The only thing that you and I genuinely don’t see eye to eye on is how talented she is. I think she is a fabulous actor. When she’s onscreen, I rarely see her do ANYTHING that’s not incredibly suited to the particular character. She doesn’t overact or do anything inappropriate. I think she’s well on her way to being one of the greats.
But many of the films have been perfectly awful. Of the ones I’ve seen that you discuss above I like Girl, Interrupted, the FIRST Tomb Raider, Life Or Something Like It and Sky Captain. But I WOULDN’T give them any more than three stars at best (Tomb Raider and LOSLI are dangerously close to two) and Sky Captain almost doesn’t count, as her role was very small and little more than a cameo.
I find it almost shocking that a white hot star of her calibre is languishing in such crappy material. But realistically I think it has very little to do with her and much more to do with the state of the industry.
What does it say about the state of the business that Angelina’s BEST role and most riveting performance to date (IMO) wasn’t even a movie that got a theatrical release, but the HBO film GIA?
When you think of JULIA ROBERTS – who’s a terrific performer and THE BIGGEST FEMALE STAR ON THE PLANET FOR THE LAST TWENTY YEARS – and her filmography, how many lousy movies has she made? I’m SURE that her name has come up in EVERY SINGLE CONVERSATION concerning development of a film project with a major female lead since her break out success in (that horrific) Pretty Woman. She’s only made some truly memorable pictures (ERIN BROCKOVICH, NOTTING HILL, CLOSER) within the last few years.
So I don’t think it’s Angelina’s fault. Unless you can write and/or you have an effective production company that can generate quality product for you, you take the best of what you’re offered. Even on the A list. Unfortunately, i don’t feel that a lot of that is very substantial or particularly good.
k, you know what my feelings are regarding Ms. Blanchett. *rolls eyes* If she never made another film from this point, I WOULD NOT MISS HER.
Natalie Portman is someone that I had an enormous affection for early on. But I grew weary of her complete lack of charisma and skill in far too many films. But she wasn’t bad in MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS. I doubt seriously that she’ll ever be a favourite of mine. But I’ll watch her and see how she does in other roles. She is extremely attractive though – and seeing as I dig the whole glamour thing it’s always great to attend a film and have lovely people to look at.
KEIRA is very good looking too. She actually is far more glamourous and goddess like (to my mind) than Natalie. She goes up and down with me. I thought she was exceptional in some things. Merely fine in others. But she blew me away in ATONEMENT. I thought she was wonderful in that. She really was robbed of a nom. I would’ve much rather had her get the nod for that than P&P. Oh well…
But I’m observing KEIRA with a huge amount of interest. She may be the next great actor. But it’s hard to say at this point. She does have a lot of potential, though.
Awesomely done, k. Bravo…..
June 17, 2008 at 3:02 am
Wow, Miranda. I’m gone for a touch and you’re running full steam with multiple posts! Good for you. I’ll have to catch up bit by bit.
Looking back at your first comment, it’s obvious to me that you weren’t singling out anyone in particular. Don’t know why I read it that way. Anyway, your response was fantastic as always. I appreciate that you’re so open to people’s ideas on here, no matter how different they may be from your own. And that the discussion here is often about the bigger picture and life in general.
The Oprah situation is something that I totally understand. I respect what she’s done for herself but I’m certain she has a different private persona (we all do, and we probably all should).
Regarding Angelina in KFP, well, the funny thing is, k actually put in my place in my review. Apparently the role was actually MADE for Angelina, so it’s a little hard for me to criticize her inhabiting the character of Tigress. Nonetheless, the fact that they equated such traits with her and built it into the character speaks to what k and I are annoyed with in the first place. But it didn’t ruin the movie for me at all, and the character of Tigress is really a great one for kids.
So on we go. I’ll see Wanted. I’ll probably continue to struggle with her personas. In the end, it’s obviously more my problem than it is hers.
Thanks for the forum, dear.
June 17, 2008 at 5:37 am
Danny, as always, you are very, VERY welcome. It’s the people here that make this place what it is. You especially…
Thank you for your profound decency and generosity. That’s the lovely thing about knowing a few of you boys (of course I’m talking you, Craig, Christian and Nicky in particular) as I do. I don’t EVER have to worry about ridiculous things like insincerity.
As far as being open to other peoples’ ideas is concerned, I do want this to be a place where readers/commenters can come to play and they won’t feel that way unless they’re relaxed. They won’t feel comfortable unless they can speak freely. That’s something that’s very important to me.
I’ve heard lots of horror stories about various places on the web where screwed up head cases (who no doubt had tragic childhoods) made endless trouble, harassed, spread lies and rumours and just generally tried to put other people through hell. The only reasons they’re doing it, of course, is because they’re mentally disturbed and absolutely miserable.
THAT’S TOUGH. They should either be put away in padded cells or shot on sight. They’re just taking up space for no good reason.
There are lots of crazy people on the internet. This is no big news. But I just had to get that out there…
There is no way that I would ever have CP be a place that even resembled those hellholes. Everyone is welcome here (any time, anywhere) unless they go over the line – and I don’t think anyone would ever be foolish enough to do so.
As far as the discussions going on a different tangent than initially thought, I am a serious person (all evidence to the contrary) and I think that’s really important. I like debates of some substance.
I realize fully that I’m not at the level of CRAIG KENNEDY’S fabulous LIVING IN CINEMA. I don’t think I’m going to be having the brilliant WATERCOOLER discussions that he has every week. But in time perhaps eventually.
Things come and go here. Some topics attract a wide variety of comments and opinion. But there are some that don’t. AT ALL. But I’m only at the three month mark in terms of this site and things will progress as they will.
Actually, as soon as I saw the clips of Tigress I assumed thay they had created that character specifically for Angelina and likely reshaped it to her specifications. She is a huge star and the powers that be do things like that for women of her white hot wattage. It’s just the way the world works.
Definitely not a bad thing unless you can’t stand her. Hee hee.
But yes, k is an exceptionally sharp woman. She does know precisely what’s going on. Nothing goes over her head. So I have to be on my A game to engage her. Personally, I wouldn’t have it any other way…
Thank you again, Danny. Always a wondrous privilege to have you here…