HFPA

Aug. 2017 FTKMF press con

quotes

I'm OK. “It is hard. This is the first time I’ve actually been doing this (interview) after a long time.  I am a little shy at this time, because I am not as strong I think inside as I have been in the past.

It's not easy doing press right now


What do you like about being a single? And what do you dislike?
I don't like it. It's not something I wanted.
Is there a good side?
No. I'm sorry, there’s just nothing nice about it. It’s just hard.

I actually couldn’t be at the final post (production for the film). “I couldn’t be there because of family issues. So sometimes, it appears I’m pulling it all together, but in fact, I’m just trying to get through my days. 

For me, this last year has been difficult.  I haven’t actually worked other than focusing on the work in Nairobi  and my teaching. I've spent most of my days just taking care of the children.  I will eventually balance more and do more work but because of family issues it's been extremely tough.

I feel that my body has sometimes taken a hit with all the things that I had to do. Then, emotionally, it’s been a very difficult year on top of it. I have had other health issues in the last few years. So, my health is something that I have to monitor.

I can't pretend this isn't a tough time in my life, but I'm trying to get through it by just moving forward and knowing it's part of being human. Sometimes I can forget that and we can all get pretty hard on each other.   But if you love what you do, then you tend to push forward and enjoy it.

With so much in life, you have to focus on how much worse it could be. And I am so happy I don’t have cancer, and I am so happy that I had the surgeries which will hopefully prevent me from getting cancer. If I get it, it will be delayed a few years and chemo will be delayed a few years, and the exchange for that peace of mind is quite good.

The only thing I do is try to laugh as much as possible. We tend to get so stressed that our children feel our stress. They need to feel our joy and have joy. For everything that we go through, just living every day, and while you are healthy and even if you’re going through chemo, find the ability to live, love and laugh. It may sound like a postcard, but it’s true.”

I don't want my children to feel my stress; they need to feel my joy and have joy in just living every day.  

Well I think every mother knows that it’s hard. I always ask myself that question and I am not very good at it. I am told often that I should try to find more time for myself, but I do love being a mom.


I am not very good at just letting things happen. I am somebody who will try to jump in. I can’t help myself. 

As I said before,  it is interesting and we focus so much on many things but making sure our children have a sense of joy is not a small thing, because we want to make sure that they have a sense of purpose of course. But their purpose gives them a sense of that they are looking forward in this life and that they feel engaged in this life and that they wake up with a certain sense of drive. But also that they laugh, live and appreciate. So challenges are when there are a lot of heavy things going on or just daily life or teenagers. I have many teenagers now and there are all the complications that come with it. I am just hoping that nobody will ever be as difficult as I was. So far they are not.”

They have been amazing.  They’re just like (Loung and her siblings) in the film. I know that they will have each other for life.  It’s been so moving to see how much they have helped each other, stood together, the big brothers helping the little kids and all of them helping me. They are your kids and you speak of your own kids, but they have really come into their own during this time. They are finding themselves and their voices. They are just like, in the film I supposed, I know that they will have each other for life.   I see them together and it gives me great peace to know that the day I pass away, they will have each other and take care of each other for life.




As a mother, I am proud of my children and what they do.  It is a good experience for them to be working on the film.

Listen, when you have six kids, you realise you are the boss of nothing. 


Oh my goodness,” she began. “I still fly. It’s been a while, because life takes over. But my boys are all flying. They’re all taking lessons—even Knox. He likes it, but you have to help him with the pedals. Actually, they’re flying so much that there’s no space for mom (laughs).

Actually, they are flying this weekend. The kids fly so much that I can barely see them on the weekend.

“I always feel like the best adventure is the next one. But now, with the kids, [it’s] nice to be able to think they’re my partners. And what are we going to do and where are we going to go?”

I’ve started cooking lessons. I’m not sure how good I am at it.  But cooking is one of those things when you are settled in your life and you take that time, you can enjoy food and cooking. Somehow I am very impatient and I am a little bit erratic, so it’s very hard to stand in the kitchen, but I am really trying. I’ve learned with the kids that if I cook, they all hang out. They just love it, but they often take over and tell me that they can do it better.”
So then I had a thought that maybe it’s a genius thing for a woman to say, ‘I can’t cook,’ because now all my children can cook really well. I joke that I did it on purpose.
I can’t follow a recipe. I am not one of those people. I don’t like to follow the rules, so I am a little bad at that.”

“Well, there are probably 12 of us (laughs). I need to rediscover some of the feelings of the old me, actually. We lose our way a bit and we get quite overwhelmed. I have had a lot happen in my life, from certain people passing, health issues to raising the children.
“It’s been a good time to absorb, develop and grow. But maybe, it’s also my kids growing up, where I’m starting to realize my own sense of play and joy have been put on hold a little bit. And maybe the kids hitting their teens is going to bring out a little more fun in mom (laughs). So maybe I’m going back. It may be time.”

Ten years ago I would have not absolutely said where I am today, because I would have thought very differently about my family life and my marriage. I would have thought very differently about my career. I would have never thought that I was going to be a director. I would have bet on just all the kids, all the travel and continuing that work.  In 10 years, I don’t know. You get to that age and you just want to be healthy. So I hope I 'll still be creative. Mad will be 26. He just got to be 16 and I couldn’t stop crying as I was reading him his card. He couldn’t stop laughing at me. So I have no idea what I’ll be doing. Chasing them around, I suppose. Hopefully, no grandkids yet (laughs).”


(bing translate)
Your winery Miraval in France produces very good wines. Will you continue to do so in the future?
Absolutely. Soon we will have a new wine coming to the market. The Miraval well is something particularly beautiful for our family. We have a deep connection with it. I hope this remains the case.



I asked Loung how she, as a Cambodian orphan, would feel if I adopted a Cambodian orphan,”
“She was very supportive. So she has known Mad his whole life.” (Angelina and Loung have been friends for 16 years now.) “Mad has known of Loung’s story his whole life. I told him, ‘One day, son, you’ll be ready, and you will tell me when it’s time to go deeply into your country. But I need your help. You have to do it with me.’
“One day, he said, ‘I’m ready.’ And he was. I made him go really deeply into the research, daily work and the edit. Also because the film is from a child’s point of view, it was good to have somebody younger (like Maddox) in there to say, ‘You’re losing my attention.’”
Understanding what happened in the Cambodian genocide helps enlighten her, especially in her volunteer work as UN’s special envoy, she claimed. “This cruelty and man’s inhumanity, oppression, intolerance and hate—we (still) see it today,” she said. “So there’s a need to rise against it and show the extraordinary people who go through it.
“We need to help share their voices, listen to them and connect people. So the next time I see a little girl in the middle of a war zone, I know how to speak with her more freely and feel more informed to be able to give her the right kind of support.”
On the controversy stirred by a Vanity Fair article that claimed Angelina and her team used emotional manipulation when they were casting the Cambodian child actors, she countered, “I have explained it and you can look it up.” (She said that the children’s guardians and parents were present at all the casting sessions and that everyone knew make-believe was involved.)
“It was a mischaracterization. It didn’t happen in any way that wasn’t absolutely with the thought of what is best for the child, the family and the situation. Everybody knows Rithy (Panh, producer) and me pretty well and the way we’d handle these situations.”
Having realistically showed man’s inhumanity in her absorbing war dramas, what’s her personal take on forgiveness?
“It’s a very good question,” she replied. “This answer gets political. I believe that without any form of justice, it’s very hard to ask for complete forgiveness. I speak to the kids often and say, ‘I don’t want you to hold ill will toward anybody in your heart, nor wish for anything bad for anybody.’
“There’s right and wrong, justice, criminal behavior and cruelty, and there are things that must be stood up against. So, in order to get to a place of peace and forgiveness, you have to address the crime and make sure that the crime does not repeat itself. Cambodia is a very interesting country to look at for that.
“Loung had death threats. There were people saying that these things didn’t happen, even 10 years ago, when I’d go there. There’s an argument for those brave people who would come forward in the tribunal. However small the amount of people convicted, there was a determination that there was a crime. Maybe that’s partially why we were able to finally make the film a few years after the tribunal, because the country is breathing differently.”
About reconciliation in general, she said, “I can reconcile if I feel that there’s been some form of justice done and some lessons learned. We must do that, or else we’re just staying in the cycle. In my heart, it’s important not to ever hold hate—it just destroys you. Louis (Zamperini, whose life as a prisoner of war in WWII she chronicled in ‘Unbroken’) taught me that.”

Another account of the same HFPA press con.  The writer is the husband of the other Nepales whose account of this press con was posted earlier.  Both are members of the HFPA.  He is the better writer.

#AngelinaJolie drops a surprise: all her sons, including Knox, are flying or learning to fly planes; shares more.https://t.co/hwavALTHPK pic.twitter.com/JrVNOEzDvf

— ruben nepales (@nepalesruben) September 6, 2017

(First of two parts)
LOS ANGELES—In one of her first interviews since separating from Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie described this period in her life as “very difficult.”
The actress-director opened up about the split, which she referred to as “family issues,” as she touted “First They Killed My Father”—the new film that is being hailed as her best work so far as a director.

“It is hard. This is the first time I’ve actually been doing this (interview) after a long time,” remarked Angelina in our recent conversation at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles. “It’s not easy. I’m a little shy at this time, because I am not as strong inside as I’ve been in the past.”

The actress, filmmaker, humanitarian and mom turned a bit emotional and got misty-eyed at certain points in our chat, especially as she talked about her six kids. However, she was forthright, as usual, one of the things we enjoy when we chat with her. She occasionally clasped her hands as she answered our questions with her typical candor.

Wearing a simple off-white dress by Bottega Veneta, Angelina also discussed her powerful adaptation of Loung Ung’s bestselling memoir book about the Cambodian genocide, “First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers.” The film earned a standing ovation when it was recently screened at the Telluride Film Festival.

Loung wrote about her memories as a child in the ’70s when the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia and wiped out an estimated 2 million people. She and Angelina collaborated on the screenplay. It is a deeply personal passion project for Angelina, who found Maddox, her oldest son, in a Cambodian orphanage that Loung told her about. She was filming “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” in the Southeast Asian country at the time.

“I actually couldn’t be at the final post (production for the film),” Angelina admitted. “I couldn’t be there because of family issues. So sometimes, it appears I’m pulling it all together, but in fact, I’m just trying to get through my days. But if you love what you do, then you tend to push forward and enjoy it.”

The result is a stirring film released by Netflix, anchored by the fine performance of Sareum Srey Moch, who had no experience in acting, yet gave a nuanced portrayal of Loung, who was only 5 years old when the Khmer Rouge came to power and drastically changed her life and that of thousands of Cambodians. Loung lost her parents and two of her six siblings. The film is also a moving story of survival and love among Loung and her other siblings amid horrific circumstances.
Angelina is back in top form as a director after “By the Sea,” her straightforward drama film with Brad which was panned by the critics and failed at the box-office. Ironically, Angelina fares better with logistically more complicated war dramas, like “In the Land of Blood and Honey” and “Unbroken.”

It was apparently while Angelina was making “First They Killed My Father,” especially during postproduction, that whatever issues were simmering between her and Brad began to boil over. She filed for divorce in September 2016. Brad told GQ magazine that he has stopped his heavy drinking, which is reportedly one of the factors that led to the split.

Special envoy
“For me, this last year has been difficult,” admitted the 42-year-old, who is a special envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

“I haven’t actually worked other than focusing on the work in Nairobi (which hosts more than 490,000 refugees, many of them victims of sexual and gender-based violence) and my teaching (she’s a visiting professor for a new master’s program on women at the London School of Economics). I’ve spent most of my days just taking care of the children.”

On her health, the mother recently told a magazine that she had a bout of Bell’s palsy (a temporary facial paralysis) and hypertension. Cancer risks led the actress to have a preventive double mastectomy and her ovaries removed.

“So much in life you just focus on how much worse it could be,” said the solo parent of Maddox, 16; Pax, 13; Zahara, 12; Shiloh, 11; and twins Knox and Vivienne, 9 (the first three are adopted, while the last three are her biological kids with Brad). “I’m so happy I don’t have cancer, that I had the surgeries that will hopefully prevent me from getting cancer. And if I get it, it will be delayed for a few years. Chemo will be delayed a few years and the exchange for that peace of mind is quite good.
“I feel that my body has sometimes taken a hit with all the things that I had to do. Then, emotionally, it’s been a very difficult year on top of it. I have had other health issues in the last few years. So, my health is something that I have to monitor.”

With a smile, Angelina stressed, “But the only thing I do is try to laugh as much as possible. We tend to get so stressed that our children feel our stress. They need to feel our joy and have joy. For everything that we go through, just living every day, and while you are healthy and even if you’re going through chemo, find the ability to live, love and laugh. It may sound like a postcard, but it’s true.”

On being single again, she was empathic: “I don’t enjoy it. It’s not something I wanted. There’s just nothing nice about it. It’s just hard.” She did not talk about the media reports that the divorce is on hold.

Amazing kids
Angelina smiled again as she answered about how her kids have been supporting each other. “They have been amazing,” she pointed out. “It’s been so moving to see how much they have helped each other, stood together—the big brothers helping the little kids, and all of them helping me. They have really come into their own during this time. They’re finding themselves and their voices.
“They’re just like (Loung and her siblings) in the film. I know that they will have each other for life. It gives me great peace to know the day I pass away that they will take care of each other.”

Asked if she still flies planes, Angelina dropped a surprise—even her sons are also now soaring in the sky like their adventurous mom.
 “Oh my goodness,” she began. “I still fly. It’s been a while, because life takes over. But my boys are all flying. They’re all taking lessons—even Knox. He likes it, but you have to help him with the pedals. Actually, they’re flying so much that there’s no space for mom (laughs).

“I always feel like the best adventure is the next one. But now, with the kids, [it’s] nice to be able to think they’re my partners. And what are we going to do and where are we going to go?”
Cambodia, which granted an honorary citizenship to Angelina for her conservation work in that country, is a frequent destination.

The filmmaker was given unprecedented access to shoot “First…” for 50 days in Siem Reap and Battambang (where she first saw Maddox lying in a box). “It was wonderful,” she recalled. “We lived in the country [for] over four months. That was so special.”

Recreating a harrowing era
But, she had to be careful because recreating Khmer Rouge’s harrowing, cruel Communist regime was painful for some Cambodians to see and think about again.

The multitasking parent confirmed that she’s adding a new skill. “I’m going to cooking classes,” she said. “I am not sure how good I am at it. The thing is, cooking is one of those things that is perfect when you’re settled in your life, you take that time and you can enjoy food and cooking.
“Somehow, I’m just very impatient. I am a little erratic, so it’s hard to stand in the kitchen. I am trying because if I cook, the kids all hang out, and they just love it. They often take over and tell me that they can do it better (laughs).

“So I … thought that maybe it’s a genius thing to do as a woman to say, ‘I can’t cook,’ because now, all my children can cook really well. I joke that I did it on purpose, but they can actually cook better than me.”

We picture the glamorous mom cooking, surrounded by her six children, in their new digs, an LA mansion that was once owned by mogul Cecil B. DeMille.
So, what else is left to challenge her as a parent? “I’m not very good at just letting things happen,” she replied. It’s probably the understatement of the year. This woman didn’t get to where she was by being a slacker.

Sense of joy
“I can’t help myself, I’ll try to jump in,” remarked Angelina as she beamed, which put a glow on her face, set off by red lipstick and framed by her long hair arranged on the right side.
“As I said before, we focus so much on many things. But making sure our children have a sense of joy isn’t a small thing. We want to make sure that they have a sense of purpose, of course.
“So, the challenges are when there are heavy things going on. I have teenagers now—there are all the complications that come with it. I’m just hoping that nobody will ever be as difficult as I was,” conceded the daughter of actors, Jon Voight and the late Marcheline Bertrand. She was a punk outsider in high school with a penchant for knife play, and she experimented with drugs. “So far, they are not.”

Part 2 of my column on interview w/ #AngelinaJolie--she opens up some more about her kids, new film, future, more. https://t.co/jzU8YQKspo

— ruben nepales (@nepalesruben) September 7, 2017

LOS ANGELES—“I speak to the kids often and I say, ‘I don’t want you to hold ill will toward anybody in your heart, nor wish for anything bad for anybody or have hate toward anybody.’”
Angelina Jolie shared that in reply to a question about forgiveness in general, but her admonition to her children couldn’t be timelier and relevant amid the rise of intolerance, belligerence, racism and white supremacy.
In this conclusion, we continue our report on our recent interview with the multi-faceted Angelina (our first since her split from Brad Pitt), as she talked about her kids, including Maddox, who is the executive producer of her latest directing effort, “First They Killed My Father,” based on Loung Ung’s best-selling memoir; her work as United Nations’ special envoy, and what she looks forward to in the next 10 years.
“First …” symbolizes some sort of coming full circle for the three—Angelina, Maddox and Loung.
Angelina recalled that fateful night in Cambodia when she and Loung swayed in hammocks as it rained outside. “I asked Loung how she, as a Cambodian orphan, would feel if I adopted a Cambodian orphan,” she reminisced.
“She was very supportive. So she has known Mad his whole life.” (Angelina and Loung have been friends for 16 years now.) “Mad has known of Loung’s story his whole life. I told him, ‘One day, son, you’ll be ready, and you will tell me when it’s time to go deeply into your country. But I need your help. You have to do it with me.’
“One day, he said, ‘I’m ready.’ And he was. I made him go really deeply into the research, daily work and the edit. Also because the film is from a child’s point of view, it was good to have somebody younger (like Maddox) in there to say, ‘You’re losing my attention.’”
Understanding what happened in the Cambodian genocide helps enlighten her, especially in her volunteer work as UN’s special envoy, she claimed. “This cruelty and man’s inhumanity, oppression, intolerance and hate—we (still) see it today,” she said. “So there’s a need to rise against it and show the extraordinary people who go through it.
“We need to help share their voices, listen to them and connect people. So the next time I see a little girl in the middle of a war zone, I know how to speak with her more freely and feel more informed to be able to give her the right kind of support.”
On the controversy stirred by a Vanity Fair article that claimed Angelina and her team used emotional manipulation when they were casting the Cambodian child actors, she countered, “I have explained it and you can look it up.” (She said that the children’s guardians and parents were present at all the casting sessions and that everyone knew make-believe was involved.)
“It was a mischaracterization. It didn’t happen in any way that wasn’t absolutely with the thought of what is best for the child, the family and the situation. Everybody knows Rithy (Panh, producer) and me pretty well and the way we’d handle these situations.”
Having realistically showed man’s inhumanity in her absorbing war dramas, what’s her personal take on forgiveness?
“It’s a very good question,” she replied. “This answer gets political. I believe that without any form of justice, it’s very hard to ask for complete forgiveness. I speak to the kids often and say, ‘I don’t want you to hold ill will toward anybody in your heart, nor wish for anything bad for anybody.’
“There’s right and wrong, justice, criminal behavior and cruelty, and there are things that must be stood up against. So, in order to get to a place of peace and forgiveness, you have to address the crime and make sure that the crime does not repeat itself. Cambodia is a very interesting country to look at for that.
“Loung had death threats. There were people saying that these things didn’t happen, even 10 years ago, when I’d go there. There’s an argument for those brave people who would come forward in the tribunal. However small the amount of people convicted, there was a determination that there was a crime. Maybe that’s partially why we were able to finally make the film a few years after the tribunal, because the country is breathing differently.”
About reconciliation in general, she said, “I can reconcile if I feel that there’s been some form of justice done and some lessons learned. We must do that, or else we’re just staying in the cycle. In my heart, it’s important not to ever hold hate—it just destroys you. Louis (Zamperini, whose life as a prisoner of war in WWII she chronicled in ‘Unbroken’) taught me that.”
Teased about the many sides we see of her, Angelina quipped with a laugh, “Well, there are probably 12 of us (laughs). I need to rediscover some of the feelings of the old me, actually. We lose our way a bit and we get quite overwhelmed. I have had a lot happen in my life, from certain people passing, health issues to raising the children.
“It’s been a good time to absorb, develop and grow. But maybe, it’s also my kids growing up, where I’m starting to realize my own sense of play and joy have been put on hold a little bit. And maybe the kids hitting their teens is going to bring out a little more fun in mom (laughs). So maybe I’m going back. It may be time.”
In parting, she was asked where she sees herself in 10 years, and how she would have answered that same question 10 years ago. “Ten years ago, I wouldn’t have absolutely said where I am today, because I would’ve thought very differently about my family life, marriage and career. I would never have thought I was going to be a director. I would have bet on just the kids, all the travel and continuing that work.
“In 10 years, you get to that age and you just want to be healthy. So, I hope I’ll still be creative. Mad will be 26 [then]. I couldn’t stop crying as I was reading him his (birthday) card. He couldn’t stop laughing at me. In 10 years, the kids are all out of the house. So I have no idea what I’ll be doing. Chasing them around, I suppose. Hopefully, no grandkids yet (laughs).”

Random Fuzzy


Maleficent 2 we're working on, most likely.  We have been working on the script and this is going to be a really strong sequel. And I look forward to having some fun with that.
-  It sounds like it will be ready to go  "in the months to come" or after Ad Astra, so we should be hearing about a director very soon.



I've taken over a year off now, because of my family situation, to take care of my kids.  
Is that resolved?
JOLIE: When they can have – when I feel it's time for me to go back to work, I'll be able to go back to work. I've been needed at home. I hope in the months to come.
- She has clearly linked her ability to go back to work with her "family situation" being resolved. At this point, she has in fact already started working since she has been collaborating with Jez Butterworth and Disney on Maleficent 2's script.  And it looks like also with Sony on Cleopatra's script.
Brad is filming and she has started working and planning her filming schedule.  It's fairly obvious that the "family situation" is already resolved. She no longer "need(s to stay) at home."



Cleopatra, there is a script.
- After years of waiting for Eli Roth to come up with an acceptable script, it seems David Scarpa has succeeded.  Roth's name is no longer listed by IMDb but Brian Helgeland, who worked on the first script, still is. What remains to be seen is if Martin Scorsese still wants to direct and if he can entice Daniel Day Lewis to come out of retirement to play Julius Caesar as he had originally envisioned.

Since she volunteered this update without being specifically asked, Cleopatra is likely ready to go after Maleficent 2 -- perhaps after World War Z 2.  Scorsese is currently filming The Irishman with Robert de Niro and Al Pacino for Netfilx.  He has a long list of potential projects including another with Leo DiCaprio.

Cleopatra was famously discussed in the Sony emails leaked 3 years ago.  The one below reports on a conversation with Scorsese's agent, Rick Yorn, regarding his interest to direct and his intention to cast DDL and Leo diCaprio with Angelina.

From: <Wyman>, Mark <Mark_Wyman@spe.sony.com>
Date: Thursday, November 13, 2014 at 5:40 PM
To: ITPS <Michael_Deluca@spe.sony.com>
Cc: "Gumpert, Andrew" <Andrew_Gumpert@spe.sony.com>
Subject: Cleo/Scorsese

Had a brief conversation with Rick (still not feeling well).  He said Marty is interested, but the deal will have to “blow him away” and he will want a big development fee and producer credit.  He mentioned that he starts  shooting Silence soon, do you know anything about that picture? (It looks like a big independent with Emmet/Furla, Checchi Gori, etc.) He says Marty got more than 10MM on Wolf and Hugo, but he is getting back to me with quotes.  He also said Daniel Day Lewis and Leo were going to be in Cleo, in addition to Angelina, but that Rick “lives in the real world” and knows there will  be some kind of “box”.   Re Paramount, he will also get me that obligation, but he said “Amy knows about it” with the implication that we should be OK with Par co-fi because “Amy knows”.  I told him this could be a hurdle, but that perhaps they  could be passive without any right to distribute (Andrew, can we do that?), which he thought might work.   Let’s see what he comes back with.

Pascal at one point wrote:  “Marty's version of Cleopatra is very complicated... but it's just my opinion.”

The exchange below which was the last on the film included in the leak seemed to indicate that they were very close to a deal with Scorsese.

From: Rick Yorn <rmy@lbient.com>
Date: November 17, 2014 at 8:00:01 AM PST
To: "Pascal, Amy" <Amy_Pascal@spe.sony.com>
Cc: Ari Emanuel <aemanuel@WMEentertainment.com>
Subject: Re:

Yes. We are getting your guys info on paramount deal, etc

Happy Monday

Sent from my iPhone


On Nov 17, 2014, at 7:53 AM, Pascal, Amy <Amy_Pascal@spe.sony.com> wrote:

Can we get into the deal with Marty today?

****


"Right now, I don't have anything to direct that I feel passionate about like this."
"There's a lot of different things floating around. But I haven't committed."
She has apparently only committed to Maleficent 2 and Cleopatra.



“I am not very good at just letting things happen. I am somebody who will try to jump in. I can’t help myself.
- This may be a reference to when she intervened to help Brad reconnect with the children, esp. the boys who at the time refused his visits, by helping him learn how to interact with them and then joining them for family therapy.

We also propose that the parties participate in joint sessions with a trauma specialist so that they may learn how to best support and interact with their children given their current state.

She is looking for a new home in the Los Angeles area so that she can continue the family therapy sessions." 

I don’t enjoy it. It’s not something I wanted.  No. Sorry, there’s just nothing good about it. It’s just hard.
- You can replace "it" with "being apart from Brad."


*****

The September issue of Harper's Bazaar with The Weeknd on the cover was revealed August 3, a Thursday.  I presume her spread that was shot in Namibia is the October cover and that it should be released either this Thursday, Sept. 7 -- days before TIFF,  or next Thursday, Sept 14 -- right before the film is released worldwide.


*****

Select quotes

I'm OK. “It is hard. This is the first time I’ve actually been doing this (interview) after a long time.  I am a little shy at this time, because I am not as strong I think inside as I have been in the past.

It's not easy doing press right now ... I can't pretend this isn't a tough time in my life, but I'm trying to get through it by just moving forward and knowing it's part of being human. Sometimes I can forget that and we can all get pretty hard on each other.

I actually couldn’t be at the final post (production for the film). “I couldn’t be there because of family issues. So sometimes, it appears I’m pulling it all together, but in fact, I’m just trying to get through my days. But if you love what you do, then you tend to push forward and enjoy it.

For me, this last year has been difficult.  I haven’t actually worked other than focusing on the work in Nairobi  and my teaching. I've spent most of my days just taking care of the children.  I will eventually balance more and do more work but because of family issues it's been extremely tough.

What do you like about being a single? And what do you dislike?
I don't like it. It's not something I wanted.
Is there a good side?
No. I'm sorry, but there's nothing good. It's hard.
Where do you find the time as a single mother, and also shoot films?
Last year it was impossible. I needed and wanted to look after my children. Now I am starting again to find the right balance between home life and work.  

Well I think every mother knows that it’s hard. I always ask myself that question and I am not very good at it. I am told often that I should try to find more time for myself, but I do love being a mom.
 

Yes, my body has sometimes taken a hit with all of the things that I had to do.  And then, emotionally, it was a difficult year on top of all that. But I don't want my children to feel my stress; they need to feel my joy and have joy in just living every day.  

With so much in life, you have to focus on how much worse it could be. And I am so happy I don’t have cancer, and I am so happy that I had the surgeries which will hopefully prevent me from getting cancer. If I get it, it will be delayed a few years and chemo will be delayed a few years, and the exchange for that peace of mind is quite good.




But the only thing I do is try to laugh as much as possible. We tend to get so stressed that our children feel our stress. They need to feel our joy and have joy. For everything that we go through, just living every day, and while you are healthy and even if you’re going through chemo, find the ability to live, love and laugh. It may sound like a postcard, but it’s true.”

As a mother, I am proud of my children and what they do.  It is a good experience for them to be working on the film.

Listen, when you have six kids, you realise you are the boss of nothing. 

I am not very good at just letting things happen. I am somebody who will try to jump in. I can’t help myself.  

As I said before,  it is interesting and we focus so much on many things but making sure our children have a sense of joy is not a small thing, because we want to make sure that they have a sense of purpose of course. But their purpose gives them a sense of that they are looking forward in this life and that they feel engaged in this life and that they wake up with a certain sense of drive. But also that they laugh, live and appreciate. So challenges are when there are a lot of heavy things going on or just daily life or teenagers. I have many teenagers now and there are all the complications that come with it. I am just hoping that nobody will ever be as difficult as I was. So far they are not.”

They have been amazing.  They’re just like (Loung and her siblings) in the film. I know that they will have each other for life.  It’s been so moving to see how much they have helped each other, stood together, the big brothers helping the little kids and all of them helping me. They are your kids and you speak of your own kids, but they have really come into their own during this time. They are finding themselves and their voices. They are just like, in the film I supposed, I know that they will have each other for life.   I see them together and it gives me great peace to know that the day I pass away, they will have each other and take care of each other for life.

Ten years ago I would have not absolutely said where I am today, because I would have thought very differently about my family life and my marriage. I would have thought very differently about my career. I would have never thought that I was going to be a director. I would have bet on just all the kids, all the travel and continuing that work. In 10 years, I don’t know. You get to that age and you just want to be healthy. So I hope I am able to still be creative and Mad will be 26. He just got to be 16 and I couldn’t stop crying as I was reading him his card. He couldn’t stop laughing at me. So I don’t know. I guess in ten years, they are all out of the house. So I have no idea what I will be doing. Chasing them around I suppose. Hopefully no grandkids yet.”

Oh my goodness,” she began. “I still fly. It’s been a while, because life takes over. But my boys are all flying. They’re all taking lessons—even Knox. He likes it, but you have to help him with the pedals. Actually, they’re flying so much that there’s no space for mom (laughs).

Actually, they are flying this weekend. The kids fly so much that I can barely see them on the weekend.



“I always feel like the best adventure is the next one. But now, with the kids, [it’s] nice to be able to think they’re my partners. And what are we going to do and where are we going to go?”

“I always feel like the best adventure is the next one. But now, with the kids, [it’s] nice to be able to think they’re my partners. And what are we going to do and where are we going to go?” 

I’ve started cooking lessons. I’m not sure how good I am at it.  But cooking is one of those things when you are settled in your life and you take that time, you can enjoy food and cooking. Somehow I am very impatient and I am a little bit erratic, so it’s very hard to stand in the kitchen, but I am really trying. I’ve learned with the kids that if I cook, they all hang out. They just love it, but they often take over and tell me that they can do it better.”
So then I had a thought that maybe it’s a genius thing for a woman to say, ‘I can’t cook,’ because now all my children can cook really well. I joke that I did it on purpose.
I can’t follow a recipe. I am not one of those people. I don’t like to follow the rules, so I am a little bad at that.”

Well, there’s probably 12 of us (Angelinas).  But now I need to rediscover a little bit of some of the feeling of the old me actually. We lose our way a bit and we get quite overwhelmed. I have had a lot happen in my life from certain people passing to health issues to raising the children and a lot of things. It’s been a very good time to absorb a lot, develop a lot and grow. But maybe it’s also my kids growing up where I am starting to realize my own sense of play has been put on hold a little bit, my own sense of joy. Maybe with them hitting their teens is going to bring out a little more fun in mom. So maybe I am going back. It may be time.

(bing translate)
Your winery Miraval in France produces very good wines. Will you continue to do so in the future?
Absolutely. Soon we will have a new wine coming to the market. The Miraval well is something particularly beautiful for our family. We have a deep connection with it. I hope this remains the case.


*****


The paragraph below relates to her support for the work of the ICC in bringing those who have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity etc. to justice.  She is referring to reconciliation between victims and perpetrators (shown in three of her films) such as between Louie Zamperini and his former Japanese captors, with warring sides in Bosnia or with former Khmer Rouge members.  She has spoken about this many times before.  She states very clearly at the start that her response refers to political situations.  This is clearly NOT about Brad.  Recall how she acted swiftly after TMZ tried to twist an excerpt of her remarks to the ICC about bringing to justice those who had committed crimes against children (like Joseph Kony) as a reference to Brad.  She asked the ICC and the person who posted the video excerpt to delete their tweets.  It is just one of many instances since the incident when she showed she was very protective of and looking after Brad.   The others included: her refusal to divulge what happened on the plane even when asked directly by the BBC, avoiding any mention of the DCFS' child abuse investigation, never giving any hint about Brad's actions and behavior, not mentioning the children's trauma, asking therapists to join them so he could spend the Holidays with the family.

Most of the HFPA members get to see her during a press con.  We saw the photos of her addressing the press con earlier and this happens every time she meets them.   I have yet to read an HFPA write up that admits that they participated in a press con despite the fact that they all sport the same quotes.  They always write it up like they had a one on one, often adding questions to fit the answers after the fact and at times making misleading assumptions or interpretations.  I have observed that this always happens from previous years which is why, as I did above, I prefer to focus solely on her quotes. They don't all transcribe her quotes verbatim so it is also necessary to compare several to get a feel for consistency. Regardless of what the Manila Bulletin writer, Nepales, chose to provide as a question, Angelina clearly stresses that her answer is political and there is no reason to interpret it otherwise outside of a desire to do so.


Well it’s a very good question I think because, it gets political this answer, I believe in justice and I believe that without any form of justice, it’s very hard to ask for complete forgiveness. I speak to the kids often and I say I don’t want you to hold ill will towards anybody in your heart, wish for anything bad for anybody or have hate towards anybody. But the idea that there is a right and a wrong, there is truth to that. There is a right and a wrong. There is justice and there is criminal behavior. There is cruelty and there are things that must be stood up against. So in order to be able to get to a place of peace and forgiveness, you have to address the crime and you have to make sure that the crime does not repeat itself.  I can reconcile if I feel that there has been some form of justice done and some lesson learned. But I believe that we must do that, or else we are just staying in the cycle. But in my heart, I think it’s very important not to ever hold hate, and it just destroys you. And Louis taught me that.

*****

Working on some new table bases designed by Brad Pitt. These will have figured, spalted sycamore tops on them. The fine black lines in the wood works well with the hard geometry of the base. We will show this table at #monacoyachtshow_official on September 27-30. #pollaro_inc #teakandtitanium #monacoyachtshow_official #monacoyachtshow2017 #superyacht #luxuryfurniture #montecarlo #artfurniture #functionalart #timelessdesign #unrivalledquality #handmadefurniture #handmade #ultraluxury

A post shared by Pitt Pollaro (@pitt_pollaro) on Sep 2, 2017 at 2:11pm PDT

-- Fussy

More from the HFPA.  I will compile all her actual quotes after a few more.


Manila Bulletin

By: Janet Nepales Published September 4, 2017, 12:05 AM

Los Angeles – Looking radiant in a white Bottega Veneta dress, Angelina Jolie talked to us for the first time after her separation from Brad Pitt. She talked to us about her kids, her thoughts on forgiveness, reconciliation, how she sees herself 10 years from now, her new movie and the Angelina Jolie of today.
“I don’t enjoy it. It’s not something I wanted,” Angelina told us when asked about being single these days. “No. Sorry, there’s just nothing nice about it. It’s just hard.”

Angelina, who recently directed the biographical historical thriller film, “First They Killed My Father,” which is based on her Cambodian friend, author and human activist Loung Ung’s memoir of the same name, co-wrote the film with Loung. Angelina also produced the film along with Rithy Panh, while Angelina’s son Maddox, 16, is also the executive producer and her other son Pax, 14, is involved in taking production still photos.
“As a mother, I am proud of my children and what they do,” she told us. “It is a good experience for them to be working on the film.”
Since the movie revealed the bonding of Loung with her siblings when they were separated from their parents under the rule of the deadly Khmer Rouge, we asked Angelina how her own six children have been supporting each other everyday.
“They have been amazing,” she proudly said. “It’s been so moving to see how much they have helped each other, stood together, the big brothers helping the little kids and all of them helping me. They are your kids and you speak of your own kids, but they have really come into their own during this time. They are finding themselves and their voices. They are just like, in the film I supposed, I know that they will have each other for life. It gives me great peace to know the day I pass away that they will have each other and they will take care of each other.”
She talked about the greatest challenges of being a parent these days and how she handles these challenges. “I am not very good at just letting things happen,” she admitted. “I am somebody who will try to jump in. I can’t help myself. As I said before, it is interesting and we focus so much on many things but making sure our children have a sense of joy is not a small thing, because we want to make sure that they have a sense of purpose of course. But their purpose gives them a sense of that they are looking forward in this life and that they feel engaged in this life and that they wake up with a certain sense of drive. But also that they laugh, live and appreciate. So challenges are when there are a lot of heavy things going on or just daily life or teenagers. I have many teenagers now and there are all the complications that come with it. I am just hoping that nobody will ever be as difficult as I was. So far they are not.”
Asked why she felt she had this creative and artistic need to do films that examine the world’s atrocities and in man, Angelina explained, “I was exposed to many of these countries and what they have been through. I wanted to understand more, and go deeper. I want to understand more. This war in particular I had learned quite a bit about, but I felt that the country doesn’t speak about this in the way that I felt. I didn’t really feel there had been in a way something that spoke to the young people of the country in the way that I wanted this to. I knew that it wasn’t being taught in schools in this way and it just started to very small. There seemed to be something that was really lacking in the discussion and my son being Cambodian, I really wanted Maddox to learn about this history, so I felt that this was a journey that we would take. But this particular film, as I have explored different sides of war and first kind of how war affects people, how they are separated, how they become and be torn in separate parts of the conflict
“There’s something about this, seeing it through the eyes of the most vulnerable, the little girl, and trying to be inside that, feel that, see inside what propaganda does, what this kind of a life does, how she could come out, and how does that happen? What do we not know about life? We wake up and we really don’t understand. They have been through the worst and they are so evolved. So I wanted to walk her steps and learn and hope my kids would learn.”
So where does she see herself 10 years from now and how would she have answered that question 10 years ago, we asked.
“Ten years ago I would have not absolutely said where I am today, because I would have thought very differently about my family life and my marriage. I would have thought very differently about my career. I would have never thought that I was going to be a director. I would have bet on just all the kids, all the travel and continuing that work. In 10 years, I don’t know. You get to that age and you just want to be healthy. So I hope I am able to still be creative and Mad will be 26. He just got to be 16 and I couldn’t stop crying as I was reading him his card. He couldn’t stop laughing at me. So I don’t know. I guess in ten years, they are all out of the house. So I have no idea what I will be doing. Chasing them around I suppose. Hopefully no grandkids yet.”
And how is she in terms of everything that has been going on in her own life?
“I am okay,” she revealed. “It is hard. This is the first time I have actually been doing this for a really long time. It’s not easy. I am a little shy at this time, because I am not as strong I think inside as I have been in the past.”
Her attitude personally to forgiveness?
“Well it’s a very good question I think because, it gets political this answer, I believe in justice and I believe that without any form of justice, it’s very hard to ask for complete forgiveness. I speak to the kids often and I say I don’t want you to hold ill will towards anybody in your heart, wish for anything bad for anybody or have hate towards anybody. But the idea that there is a right and a wrong, there is truth to that. There is a right and a wrong. There is justice and there is criminal behavior. There is cruelty and there are things that must be stood up against. So in order to be able to get to a place of peace and forgiveness, you have to address the crime and you have to make sure that the crime does not repeat itself.”
So is there some great reconciliation for her personally, we asked.
“I can reconcile if I feel that there has been some form of justice done and some lesson learned,” she disclosed. “But I believe that we must do that, or else we are just staying in the cycle. But in my heart, I think it’s very important not to ever hold hate, and it just destroys you. And Louis taught me that.”
There are two Angelina Jolies – the one of 20 years ago and the one today. Can she share with us her feelings about the new Angelina?
“Well, there’s probably 12 of us,” she said. “But now I need to rediscover a little bit of some of the feeling of the old me actually. We lose our way a bit and we get quite overwhelmed. I have had a lot happen in my life from certain people passing to health issues to raising the children and a lot of things. It’s been a very good time to absorb a lot, develop a lot and grow. But maybe it’s also my kids growing up where I am starting to realize my own sense of play has been put on hold a little bit, my own sense of joy. Maybe with them hitting their teens is going to bring out a little more fun in mom. So maybe I am going back. It may be time.”

Morgen in #HetLaatsteNieuws en op HLN.be: mijn interview met #AngelinaJolie! #Hollywood #Movies

A post shared by Kristien Morato (@kristienmorato) on Sep 3, 2017 at 10:53am PDT

Thrilled to catch up with #AngelinaJolie to talk about amazing Cambodian #Netflix film #FirstTheyKilledMyFather https://t.co/rpZXF9bOs1 pic.twitter.com/44Da7RRctO

— Jenny Cooney (@JennyCooney) September 3, 2017

Seventeen years ago, Angelina Jolie and Cambodian author Loung Ung were sitting in hammocks, waiting out a torrential monsoon in a remote part of Cambodia, when Jolie asked a question that would change her life.
"I asked Loung how she would feel – as a Cambodian orphan herself – if I adopted a Cambodian orphan," she says, with emotion in her voice. "I'll always be grateful she was really supportive, because if she had said the opposite, my life would have been very different and I might never have found Maddox."
The two women – now close friends – met at that time because Jolie had been to Cambodia to film her first movie blockbuster, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, and in her efforts to get to know the country better had picked up a copy of Loung's book First They Killed My Father. It documents her story as a five-year-old girl struggling to survive the genocide of the Khmer Rouge regime responsible for the deaths of an estimated 2 million people.
Loung also vividly remembers that night in their hammocks, when Jolie asked for her blessing. "All I saw was that her heart was big and her desire to be a mother was real and her wanting to mother a child from Cambodia was authentic," Loung says.
"I actually wanted her to adopt me as an orphan but, being that I'm older than her, I couldn't really suggest that."
Loung's book has now been adapted into a film, directed by Jolie. The made-for-Netflix movie – released on September 15 – is shot in the native Khmer language and begins in 1975, when the five-year-old Loung Ung and her six siblings are living a privileged life in Phnom Penh as the children of a high-ranking government official. Their world is turned upside down when Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge regime storms into the city and forces everyone to evacuate, killing those who resist and sending the rest to work camps during what became a four-year nightmare.

Jolie and Loung have talked about turning Loung's story into a film since Jolie adopted Maddox, now 16.
"Loung has known Mad his whole life and Mad has known of Loung's story his whole life and it was Maddox who finally said, 'It's time, let's go make the movie,' " Jolie says. She acknowledges her son's contribution in the end credits as an executive producer. "I think we were both waiting for him to be ready because I'd told him when it was time he would have to really be there, and I was proud of him for how he immersed himself in the experience.
"He's my son but he belongs very much also to Cambodia, so it was nice to see him at home."
On this day, Jolie is in a hotel suite in Beverly Hills, California, to discuss the film and is doing her best to look calm and confident. The bright red lipstick on the Oscar winner's famously bee-stung lips draws attention away from her eyes, which look as if they could fill with tears at any moment. She is eager to talk about her passion project but knows there is an elephant in the room – her split with Brad Pitt. Their 12-year relationship (and two-year marriage) ended reportedly due to Pitt's alcohol issues and a well-documented blow-up with Maddox on the tarmac during an airport stopover. Jolie filed for divorce in September last year – requesting full custody of their six children, aged nine to 16. Pitt recently told GQ magazine he had been sober for six months.

How is she? "I'm OK. It's hard," she says softly. "I am a little shy at this time, because I am not as strong I think inside as I have been in the past."
Jolie, 42, is uncharacteristically cautious when asked how she has handled the past year. "It's been difficult and I haven't worked, other than teaching and focusing on my work in Nairobi [involving a June visit to mark World Refugee Day]. I've actually spent most of my days just taking care of the children," she says, her voice cracking. "I will eventually balance more and do more work but because of family issues it's been extremely tough.
"It's not easy doing press right now ... I can't pretend this isn't a tough time in my life, but I'm trying to get through it by just moving forward and knowing it's part of being human. Sometimes I can forget that and we can all get pretty hard on each other ... Maybe sometimes it appears I am pulling it all together, but really in fact I am just trying to get through my days."
Jolie also tears up when she talks about her awakening as a humanitarian after her first visit to Cambodia and what that country means to her.
"Going there the first time helped me realise how little I knew about the world and opened my eyes to camps and refugees and the landmine issue," she says. "But I also became a mother through Cambodia, when I found Maddox, and I've been a citizen for over a decade and we have our home in the north, near the Thai border, so making this film brought everything I love into one place."
Jolie cast a wide net to find a young Cambodian girl to portray Loung Ung. She found the expressive Sareum Srey Moch and says she exceeded expectations.
"What I've learned from my own kids is that you really can't tell them what to do," she laughs. "She showed up every day and surprised me." As for claims that the film's casting team used exploitative methods during auditions involving giving and taking away money in a "game", Jolie has called the allegations "false and upsetting".
She says of Sareum: "I asked her if she wanted to be an actress and she said, 'no, I want to be a director.' She's obviously learnt very quickly!"
Loung later joins Jolie in a joint interview and they appear close, giggling and whispering as if we are talking about someone else who suffered the trauma that is depicted in the film. Loung's parents, two sisters and 20 other relatives (the title of the film is the plot spoiler) were killed during the Khmer Rouge reign. In 1980, Loung and her older brother Meng escaped by boat to Thailand, where they spent five months in a refugee camp before moving to the US to live with a host family in Vermont. Loung returns to Cambodia frequently for her non-profit work and has been reunited with her surviving siblings, pictured with her in a moving cameo in the film's final scene.
"I don't see it as a story about horror or war but a story about love," Loung says. "I think it's a story about resilience; about a child and a family and a country going through a genocide but it also shows how love, as broken as it was, inspired us all to survive."
Jolie is less guarded when asked about her ongoing struggle with her health, after opting to have a preventive double mastectomy in 2013 – sending her into early menopause – and more recently being treated for hypertension and Bell's palsy.
"Yes, my body has sometimes taken a hit with all of the things that I had to do," she says matter-of-factly. "And then, emotionally, it was a difficult year on top of all that. But I don't want my children to feel my stress; they need to feel my joy and have joy in just living every day. I see them together and it gives me great peace to know that the day I pass away, they will have each other and take care of each other for life."
Her tone turns lighter when asked where she'd like to be in 10 years. "I guess all my kids will be off on their own and I'll be visiting them and chasing them around, but I hope I'm not a grandmother yet!"
She shudders at what she put her parents through as a wild teenager. "Now I have them, I know there are many complications that come with it. But I am just hoping that nobody will ever be as difficult as I was – and so far they are not."
Having watched this former wild child of Hollywood evolve into a devoted mother and humanitarian, you have to wonder what the next chapter of her life will look like.
"Maybe watching my kids growing up makes me start to realise my own sense of play and joy has been put on hold a little bit," Jolie says. "Maybe them hitting their teens is going to bring out a little more fun in mum. Maybe I'm going back; maybe it's time."
First They Killed My Father is released on September 15 on Netflix.

Random Fuzzy
  
These were from the HFPA press con last Aug. 25  which is why many of the quotes are exactly the same.  There should be a few more similar reports coming from other foreign publications.  It should be easy to just assemble her actual quotes and ignore the rest.

I don't enjoy being single. It’s not something I wanted. There are no upsides, there’s nothing nice about it.  It’s just hard.

She is already publicly stating she didn't want to file.  The separation was forced on them, she didn't agree with it and its been very difficult for both of them.

In other words, she doesn't enjoy being apart from Brad and she never wanted to be separated from him. 

This is the prelude to telling their story.

The "events that led to the filing" and that forced them to live apart.

That they've spent the last, "hardest" year healing from.

"It’s just been the hardest time, and we’re just kind of coming up for air. [This house] is a big jump forward for us, and we’re all trying to do our best to heal our family.”

That story should follow.


*****

She was asked about Miraval's wine and she responded that Miraval will "for sure" continue its wine production and "A new wine will soon be on the market. "  (red?)  She was not asked about the lighting design.  😀


*****


They had previously said:

GQStyle

"Well, there's a lot to tell them because there's understanding the future, there's understanding the immediate moment and why we're at this point, and then it brings up a lot of issues from the past that we haven't talked about. So our focus is that everyone comes out stronger and better people—there is no other outcome."

BBC

 "We will be stronger when we come out of this because that's what we're determined to do as a family."  "My focus is finding this way through. And as I said we are and forever will be a family.  I am coping with finding a way through to make sure that this somehow makes us stronger and closer.”

This may be Angelina's personal contribution to that effort:

Now I need to rediscover a little bit of some of the feeling of the old me, actually. I think we lose our way a bit and we get overwhelmed.
But maybe now that my kids are growing up I am starting to realise that my own sense of play has been put on hold for a while. And maybe them hitting their teens is going to bring out a little more fun in mom.

*****

She again declined to be drawn into any discussion of VF's account of the auditions.

I have explained it and you can look it up.  It was a mischaracterisation and it didn’t happen in any way that wasn’t absolutely with the thought of what was best for the child and the family.

Previously with Screen International:

Jolie says she regards the matter as closed, but stresses that guardians and parents were present at all times during child auditions, and all parties knew the process involved make-believe.

-- Fussy


Tz

PHOTO: Magnus Sundholm for the HFPA 

BLICK reporter Dierk Sindermann with Angelina Jolie at the interview in Los Angeles 

HFPA
Dierk Sindermann

Die Fans machten sich Sorgen um Angelina Jolie, weil Bilder von ihrer Kambodscha-Reise sie erschreckend mager zeigten. Beim Interview zu ihrem neuen Film «Der weite Weg der Hoffnung» (First They Killed My Father) sitzt mir aber eine Angelina Jolie gegenüber, die alle Sorgen zerstreut.
Durch das beige Bottega Venetta-Kleid zeichnen sich Kurven ab und das Lächeln ist strahlend wie eh und je. Ja, sie wird ernst, ihre Stimme rau und es treten sogar Tränen in ihre Augen, wenn die Fragen ins Private gehen. Wie bei dieser:
Was gefällt Ihnen daran, Single zu sein? Und was gefällt Ihnen nicht?
Angelina Jolie: Mir gefällt nichts daran. Es ist nicht etwas, was ich wollte.
Gibt es eine gute Seite?
Nein. Tut mir leid, aber es gibt nichts Gutes. Es ist nur schwer.
Woher nehmen Sie die Zeit als alleinerziehende Mutter, nebenher auch noch Filme zu drehen?
Im letzten Jahr war das unmöglich. Ich musste und wollte mich ausschliesslich um meine Kinder kümmern. Jetzt fange ich wieder an, die richtige Balance zwischen Heimleben und Beruf zu finden. Jede Mutter weiss, wie schwierig das ist. Und ich tu mich damit besonders schwer. Ich liebe es, Mama zu sein. Was zu kurz kommt ist Zeit für mich selbst zu finden.
Sie haben verraten, dass Sie nach Ihrer doppelten Mastektomie in die Wechseljahre gekommen sind. Belastet Sie das psychisch?
Das lasse ich nicht zu. Ich bin so glücklich, keinen Krebs zu haben. Trotzdem haben die frühen Wechseljahre natürlich negative Auswirkungen auf meinen Körper. Besonders weil ich nach dem schweren letzten Jahr emotionell angeschlagen bin und auch mich noch mit anderen gesundheitlichen Probleme herumschlagen muss.
Was tun Sie für Ihre Gesundheit?
Wachsam sein. Alles was in mir vorgeht beobachten. Das Wichtigste ist, dass ich viel lache und glücklich bin, weil das den Stress abbaut. Lachen, lieben, leben – das ist mein tägliches Motto. Ich weiss, ich klinge wie ein Spruch auf einer Postkarte, aber es stimmt.
Sie sind sehr offen mit Ihrer Krankheit umgegangen und haben so viel von Ihrer Privatssphäre geopfert.
Nichts wäre für mich schlimmer, wenn man sein Leben in Schweigen lebt und weiss, dass man anderen Frauen in derselben Situation helfen könnte – einfach indem man den Mund aufmacht. Wenn ich mich abends mit dem guten Gewissen, alles Menschenmögliche getan zu haben, ins Bett legen kann, dann ist dieses Gefühl jedes Opfer wert.
Wie sind die Kinder mit den schwierigen Umständen in der letzten Zeit klargekommen?
Sie sind aussergewöhnlich. Es hat mich unheimlich bewegt, wie sehr sie einander geholfen haben. Besonders die grossen Brüder waren für die kleineren Kids da und haben mich damit sehr unterstützt. Es ist beruhigend, dass meine Kinder so eng zusammenhalten und füreinander sorgen. Das zu wissen, gibt mir inneren Frieden. Denn der Tag kommt, wenn ich nicht mehr da bin.
Unterstützen die Kids auch Sie?
Ja! Sie kochen. Ich nehme zwar gerade Kochunterricht, aber es ist etwas, worin ich nie sehr gut sein werde. Mir fehlt einfach die Geduld dazu, hinter dem Herd zu stehen. Ich versuche aber mein Bestes. Zum Glück sind meine Kinder fähiger als ich und springen oft ein. Wir machen dann eine Party in der Küche.
Aber irgendetwas müssen Sie doch gut kochen können.
Nichts Bestimmtes. Wenn ich mich an ein Rezept halten muss, geht das meistens völlig daneben. Ich war noch nie gut darin, Regeln zu folgen. Manchmal kommt versehentlich was erstaunlich Leckeres dabei raus, wenn ich einfach wild drauflos koche.
Ihr Weingut Miraval in Frankreich produziert sehr gute Weine. Werden Sie das auch in Zukunft weiter betreiben?
Auf jeden Fall. Demnächst kommt ein neuer Wein von uns auf den Markt. Das Miraval Gut ist etwas besonders Schönes für unsere Familie. Wir haben eine tiefe Verbindung damit. Ich hoffe, das bleibt auch weiterhin so.
Wenn Sie reisen Sie eigentlich selbst?
Ich kann es noch, aber ich hatte schon länger keine Zeit mehr dazu. Dafür fliegen alle meine Boys grade. Sie nehmen Flugunterricht. Sogar Knox. Ich muss ihm allerdings helfen, weil er noch nicht an die Pedale rankommt. Die Kids fliegen so viel, dass ich sie am Wochenende kaum noch zu Gesicht bekomme.
Was ist für Sie die grösste Herausforderung bei der Kindererziehung?
Meine Kinder machen zu lassen, ohne einzugreifen. Ich neige dazu, Dinge zu übernehmen.
Was ist das Wichtigste, was Sie den Kids mit auf den Weg geben können?
 Ich versuche alles, dass sie glücklich sind und einen positiven Ausblick haben. Ich will, dass sie unbeschwert lachen können, aber auch, dass sie für sich einen bestimmten Sinn im Leben entdecken. Sie sollen einen Pfad finden und einen Drive entwickeln. Natürlich werden sie besonders als Teenager durch schwierige Situationen gehen und es wird Komplikationen geben. Ich hoffe nur, dass keiner von ihnen so schlimm und schwierig ist wie ich als Teenager (lacht). Bislang ist das nicht der Fall.
Der neue Film ist eine Familienangelegenheit. Ihr 16-jähriger Sohn Maddox taucht im Abspann als Executive Producer auf.
Ja da stimmt. Mad kommt ja aus Kambodscha und er kannte Loung, das Mädchen, um das der Film geht, persönlich. Er war sein ganzes Leben lang mit ihrer Story vertraut. Und den Titel Produzent hat sich Mad verdient. Er musste tägliche Recherchen machen und mir beim Schneiden helfen. Es war für mich sehr wichtig, die Perspektive eines Kinds zu haben, weil die oft einen andere ist als die eines Erwachsenen.
Wie schwierig ist es als Regisseurin, mit Kindern vor der Kamera zu arbeiten?
Man darf junge Darsteller nicht puschen wie man es mit Älteren tut. Bei dem kleinen Mädchen, das die Hauptrolle spielt, hatte ich gar keine grossen schauspielerischen Leistungen erwartet. Man kann viele Dinge durch guten Filmschnitt erzeugen. Am Ende hat mich aber völlig überrascht, was sie geleistet hat. Es war unglaublich. Als ich sie am Ende fragte, ob sie nun Schauspielerin werden will, sagte sie: «Nein. Regisseurin.» Was für ein kluges Girl (lacht).
Was würden Sie in Zukunft gerne tun, was Sie bislang noch nicht getan haben?
Ich denke darüber nach, ein Buch zu schreiben. Über die Geschichte von sexueller Gewalt gegen Frauen und wie wir in Zukunft damit umgehen. Aber wer weiss, vielleicht schreib ich auch was anderes. Vielleicht ein Kochbuch (lacht).
Wo sehen Sie sich in 10 Jahren?
Ich hoffe, dann immer noch gesund zu sein und weiterhin meine kreative Ader befriedigen zu können. In 10 Jahren werden alle Kinder aus dem Haus sein. Ich habe keine Ahnung, was ich dann mache. Vielleicht gibt es dann ja schon Enkelkinder, um die ich mich kümmern kann.
Publiziert am 03.09.2017 | Aktualisiert um 02:19 Uhr

google and microsoft translate

«There is nothing good about being single»
Angelina Jolie speaks exclusively about separation
LOS ANGELES USA 
The fans were worried about Angelina Jolie because pictures of her Cambodia trip showed her frighteningly thin. In the interview for her new film "The Way of Hope" (First They Killed My Father), however, I am facing an Angelina Jolie, who distracts all worries.
The beige Bottega Venetta dress has curves and the smile is as bright as ever. Yes, she becomes serious, her voice rough and even tears come into her eyes when the questions go into private. As with this:
What do you like about being a single? And what do you dislike?
Angelina Jolie: I don't like it. It's not something I wanted.
Is there a good side?
No. I'm sorry, but there's nothing good. It's hard.
Where do you find the time as a single mother, and also shoot films?
Last year it was impossible. I needed and wanted to look after my children. Now I am starting again to find the right balance between home life and work. Well I think every mother knows that it’s hard. I always ask myself that question and I am not very good at it. I am told often that I should try to find more time for myself, but I do love being a mom.
You have revealed that you came to the menopause after your double mastectomy. Do you burden that psychically?
I will not allow that. I am so happy not to have cancer. Nevertheless, the early menopause has a negative impact on my body. Especially because I am after the heavy last year emotionally beaten and I also still have to deal with other health problems.
What do you do for your health?
Be vigilant. Everything that is going on in my mind. The most important thing is that I am laughing a lot and happy, because that relieves the stress. Laugh, love, live - this is my daily motto. I know I sound like a saying on a postcard, but it's true.
They are very open with your illness and have sacrificed so much of your privacy.
Nothing would be worse for me if you lived your life in silence and know that you could help other women in the same situation - just open your mouth. In the evening, when I have been able to go to bed with a good conscience to do all that is human, this feeling is worth every sacrifice.
How have the children come to terms with the difficult circumstances in the past?
They are exceptional. It moved me uncanny how much they helped each other. Especially the big brothers were there for the smaller kids and supported me very much. It is reassuring that my children are so close together and caring for each other. Knowing this gives me inner peace. For the day comes when I am no longer there.
Do the kids support you too?
Yes! They cook. I'm just taking cooking lessons, but it's something I'll never be very good at. I simply lack the patience to stand behind the hearth. But I'm trying my best. Luckily, my children are more capable than I am and often jump in. We then make a party in the kitchen.
But somehow you must be able to cook well.
Nothing special. If I have to stick to a recipe, it usually goes completely wrong. I've never been good at following rules. Sometimes accidentally something amazing comes out when I just cook wild drauflos.
Your vineyard Miraval in France produces very good wines. Will you continue to do this in the future?
Absolutely! A new wine will soon be on the market. The Miraval good is something particularly beautiful for our family. We have a deep connection with it. I hope this remains the case.
If you are traveling you actually?
I can still do it, but I have not had time for it. All of my boys are flying. They take flight lessons. Even Knox. I have to help him, however, because he is not yet on the pedals. The kids fly so much that I can barely see them on the weekend.
What is the greatest challenge for children?
To let my children do without interfering. I tend to take things over.
What is the most important thing you can give the kids along?
 I try everything they are happy and have a positive outlook.
 I want them to be able to laugh without complaining, but also to discover for themselves a certain sense in life. You should find a path and develop a drive. Of course they will go through difficult situations particularly as teenagers and there will be complications. I just hope that none of them is as bad and difficult as I am as a teenager (laughs). So far this is not the case.
The new film is a family affair. Her 16-year-old son, Maddox, appears as executive producer in the credits.
Yes, that's right. Mad comes from Cambodia and he knew Loung, the girl, about the movie, personally. He was familiar with her story all his life. And the title producer has earned Mad. He had to do daily research and help me with cutting. It was very important for me to have a child's perspective because it is often different from that of an adult.
How difficult is it as a director to work with children in front of the camera?
You can not push young actors like you do with older people. With the little girl, who plays the leading role, I had not expected any great actorial performances. You can create many things through good movie editing. In the end, however, I was completely surprised at what she did. It was amazing. When I finally asked her if she wanted to become an actress, she said, "No. Director. "What a clever girl (laughs).
What would you like to do in the future, which you have not yet done?
I think about writing a book. On the history of sexual violence against women and how we deal with it in the future. But who knows, maybe I write something else. Maybe a cookbook (laughs).
Where do you look in 10 years?
I hope to be healthy and continue to satisfy my creative needs. In 10 years, all children will be out of the house. I have no idea what I'm doing. Maybe there are already grandchildren, which I can take care of.
Published on 03.09.2017 | Updated at 02:19 h



news.com.au

Angelina Jolie opens up about her divorce from Brad Pitt and a tough few years

“I DON’T enjoy being single. It’s not something I wanted,” an emotional Angelina Jolie tells news.com.au.

“There are no upsides, there’s nothing nice about it.” Her eyes fill with tears. “It’s just hard.”
The Oscar-winning movie star is in Los Angeles to promote her third directorial effort, a Netflix film, First They Killed My Father. She hasn’t talked to the press since her split with Brad Pitt last year (she filed for divorce last September).
As any parent knows, the effects of divorce are often hardest on the kids. Now a single mum, Jolie, 42, says of their six children: “They have been amazing. They have been there for each other [to the extent that] I have never seen. It’s been so moving to see how much they have helped each other, stood together, the big brothers helping the little kids and all of them helping me.” She smiles.
“They have really come into their own during this time. They are finding themselves and their voices.”
Jolie looks fashionable, as always, and her makeup is flawless. She is friendly but there is a distinct air of fragility about her. And no wonder. She has certainly endured a lot in the past few years.
In 2013, she underwent a preventive double mastectomy after it was revealed she carried the BRCA1 gene, which gave her an estimated 87 per cent risk of breast cancer and 50 per cent of ovarian cancer. (Jolie lost her mother, grandmother, and aunt to cancer). Two years later she went under the knife again, this time to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes after a cancer scare. This caused her to begin menopause.
I asked her about the recent story in Vanity Fair in which she described herself as feeling “even more of a woman” after menopause. She explains, “I wanted other women to know that you can go through menopause and you can go through a mastectomy and still feel very much like a woman.”
Admirably, Jolie retains a positive outlook. “With so much in life, you have to focus on how much worse it could be. And I am so happy I don’t have cancer, and I am so happy that I had the surgeries which will hopefully prevent me from getting cancer. If I get it, it will be delayed a few years and chemo will be delayed a few years, and the exchange for that peace of mind is quite good,” she says.
“Just living every day and even if you’re going through chemo, you have to find the ability to live and love and laugh. It may sound like a postcard, but it’s true.”
With her multi-pronged career and hectic life as a single mum, how does she make time for herself?
“Well I think every mother knows that it’s hard. I always ask myself that question and I am not very good at it. I am told often that I should try to find more time for myself, but I do love being a mom.”
What’s it like being boss of such a brood?
She laughs. “Listen, when you have six kids, you realise you are the boss of nothing.”
Her film, First They Killed My Father, is based on the 2000 nonfiction book by Loung Ung, a Cambodian author and survivor of the genocide perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge during its barbaric reign.
It is the country to which Jolie felt a strong connection when shooting Tomb Raider. It is also the birthplace of her eldest child, Maddox, 16, who serves as executive producer on the film.
Though it would be an understatement to describe the film as emotionally gruelling, Jolie hopes it will act as a cautionary tale for the residents of Cambodia.
“Seventy per cent of Cambodians are under 30, and so they will be the future of the country. And if they watch this film and they don’t want that to be repeated, and if they want to learn from it and move forward, then they will be the ones to take the country forward.”
Despite her personal trials and tribulations, she has retained her adventurous spirit, notably her penchant for piloting. She lightens up. “I still fly. Actually my boys are all flying. They are all taking lessons, even Knox (aged 9). He likes it, but you have to help him with the pedals.
“Actually, they are flying this weekend. They are flying so much that there is no space for mom!”
Jolie recently shelled out US$24.5 million for a mansion in the Los Feliz district of Los Angeles.
“I’ve started cooking lessons. I’m not sure how good I am at it,” she admits. “But cooking is one of those things when you are settled in your life and you [can] take that time, [when] you can enjoy food and cooking. Somehow I am very impatient and I am a little bit erratic, so it’s very hard to stand in the kitchen, but I am really trying. I’ve learned with the kids that if I cook, they all hang out. They just love it, but they often take over and tell me that they can do it better.” She smiles.
“So then I had a thought that maybe it’s a genius thing for a woman to say, ‘I can’t cook,’ because now all my children can cook really well. I joke that I did it on purpose.”
And her best recipe? “I can’t follow a recipe. I am not one of those people. I don’t like to follow the rules, so I am a little bad at that.”
It seems there are two Angelina Jolies. The “wild” one from 20 years ago (when she was first introduced to me as “Jon Voight’s daughter” before our interview for the 1997 movie, Playing by Heart), to the one the world has got to know as filmmaker and humanitarian.
“Well, there’s probably 12 of us,” she jokes. “Now I need to rediscover a little bit of some of the feeling of the old me, actually. I think we lose our way a bit and we get overwhelmed. I’ve had a lot happen in my life, from certain people passing to health issues to raising the children. It’s been a very good time to absorb a lot and develop a lot and grow.”
What would like she to see in her future? She pauses. “When I think about where I was ten years ago, I wouldn’t have thought I’d be where I am now with regard to my family life, my marriage, my career,” she says.
“But now, I think I’m at an age where you just want to be healthy.”



telegraph

Angelina Jolie interview: 'I don't enjoy being single, it's not something I wanted'

John Hiscock
3 September 2017 • 12:01 AM

If she didn’t have a movie to promote it is highly unlikely Angelina Jolie would be sitting in a Beverly Hills hotel suite talking - albeit reluctantly - about her life since separating and filing for divorce from Brad Pitt last September.

But she is a show business veteran and the movie she co-wrote, produced and directed, the Cambodian-set drama First They Killed My Father, needs publicity. So she is submitting to a long weekend of interviews while admitting: “This is the first time I have done this for a long time. It’s not easy. I am a little shy this time, because I am not as strong inside as I have been in the past.” The last 12 months have clearly taken its toll on the 42-year-old actress, who is looking pale and gaunt.
“It’s been difficult,” she acknowledges. “I don’t enjoy being single. It’s not something I wanted. There’s nothing nice about it. It’s just hard. Sometimes maybe it appears I am pulling it all together, but really I am just trying to get through my days. Emotionally it’s been a very difficult year and I have had some other health issues. So my health is something I have to monitor.”
Four years ago she caused a worldwide stir by announcing she had undergone a preventative double mastectomy after learning she had an 87 per cent risk of developing breast cancer. Her mother had breast cancer and died of ovarian cancer in 2007 at the age of 56 while her grandmother also died of ovarian cancer aged 45. Two years later she had her ovaries removed and last year, in addition to hypertension, she developed Bell’s palsy, causing one side of her face to droop. Acupuncture helped her recover.
“So much in life you just focus on how much worse it could be,” she says. “And I am so happy I don’t have cancer, and that if I do get it, it will be delayed for a few years. The exchange for that peace of mind is quite good. I feel sometimes that my body has taken a hit, but I try to laugh as much as possible.
“We tend to get so stressed that our children feel our stress when they need to feel our joy. Even if you are going through chemo, you need to find the ability to love and laugh.” She pauses and smiles. “It may sound like a postcard, but it’s true.”
Her children - Maddox, 16; Pax, 13; Zahara, 12; Shiloh, 11; and the nine-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne - feature prominently in her conversation and she is negotiating custody arrangements while she settles her divorce. All six were with her in Cambodia for the four months she spent filming First They Killed My Father, which is based on Loung Ung’s 2000 memoir of the Khmer Rouge genocide, in which Ung’s parents and two of her siblings perished along with an estimated two million Cambodians.
Jolie has been a Cambodian citizen for a decade and owns a house near the Thai border, so the time they spent there was of special significance to her and Maddox, whom she adopted there when he was three months old.
“I had met Loung and I asked her how she would feel, as a Cambodian orphan, if I adopted a Cambodian orphan. She was very supportive. Had she not been my life would have been very different.
“So she has known Mad his whole life and Mad has known of Loung’s story his whole life, and I told him, ‘One day, son, you will be ready and you will tell me it’s time to go deeply into your country. But I need your help and you have to work and you have to be there every day and you can’t say no and that you are tired.’ And one day he said, ‘I am ready.’
“I really wanted Maddox to learn about Cambodian history, so I felt that this movie was a journey that we could take. And he went really deeply into the research and into the edit. And having somebody younger there to say, ‘you are losing my attention,’ or ‘that is too complicated,’ was really helpful.”
The film is a family affair: Maddox is credited as an executive producer, Pax did some photography stills and the other four were on set every day and became playmates of the child actors.
“Seventy per cent percent of Cambodians are under 30,” says Jolie. “And if they watch this film and they don’t want what happened to be repeated, then they will be the ones to take the country forward.”
She talks swiftly and quietly with mainly good humour. The only time she becomes testy is when I ask her about the controversy that surrounded her casting methods for the movie. In a Vanity Fair interview, she implied that her casting directors had played a game in which they offered money to the impoverished youngsters money and then pretended to take it away from them, awarding roles to the children who looked the most upset. The audition attracted criticism and Jolie’s lawyers asked for a correction but Vanity Fair stood by their story.
“I have explained it and you can look it up,” she says sharply. “It was a mischaracterisation and it didn’t happen in any way that wasn’t absolutely with the thought of what was best for the child and the family.”
First They Killed My Father is the fourth movie Jolie has directed following In The Land of Blood and Honey, Unbroken and By the Sea. Right now, though, she has no immediate plans either for acting or directing. Instead, she and the children recently moved into a $24.5 million (£19million) mansion once owned by Cecil B de Mille and settling in is currently her priority.
“I am going to cooking classes!” she says. “I am not sure how good I am at it. Cooking is one of those things you do when you are settled in your life and you can take the time. But somehow I am just very impatient and I am a little bit erratic, so it’s very hard to stand in the kitchen.
“But I am getting into it now. I am really trying, because I feel like if I cook, the kids can all hang out. Although they often take over and tell me that they can do it better.” She laughs.
“The children have been amazing,” she adds. “It’s been so moving to see how much they have helped each other and how much they have helped me. They have really come into their own and they are finding themselves and their voices. I know that they will have each other for life and it gives me great peace to know the day I pass away that they will take care of each other.”
Since finishing the movie she has visited London as a guest lecturer at the London School of Economics, talking to students about her experiences as a UN special envoy.
“Part of the reason I wanted to teach was that I wanted to learn, too,” she says. “I really wanted to hear from the generation coming up what questions they have and what their goals are..”
If and when she returns to filmmaking the chances are it will be as a director rather than an actor. “When you are an actor you’re not able to sculpt the final story,” she says. “But to be able to oversee everything, even the music that goes into the edit, feels very different.”
Jolie’s earlier years as wild child have been well documented. She has talked freely in the past about dabbling with drugs and self mutilation, and during her marriage to Billy Bob Thornton (she was also briefly married to Brit actor Jonny Lee Miller), she and Thornton wore each other’s dried blood in pendants around their necks and bragged about their wild sex.
She met Pitt in 2004 on the set of Mr. and Mrs. Smith and has devoted the past 15 years of her life to motherhood. But her life has changed dramatically during the past year and now she is thinking about changing with it.
“I think now I need to rediscover a little bit of the old me,” she says. “I think we lose our way a bit. I have had a lot happen in my life, from certain people passing to health issues to raising the children.
“And it’s been a very good time to absorb and develop and grow. But maybe now that my kids are growing up I am starting to realise that my own sense of play has been put on hold for a while. And maybe them hitting their teens is going to bring out a little more fun in mom.” She laughs. “So maybe I am going back. It may be time.”


Thanks for all of the above to Felicity