From
Total Film
The Total Film Interview – Angelina Jolie
By James Mottram
Iconic beauty, mother of six, Oscar winner, ambassador and now director of In The Land Of Blood And Honey, former wildcat Angelina Jolie has navigated one hell of a career - and she’s still only 37.
Irresistible.
It's a word that describes Angelina Jolie to a tee. Not just the sultry
sex appeal that's bewitched countless men (and women). Nor those
bee-stung lips, emerald-green eyes and Lara Croft curves. No, it's her
arc that's proved impossible to resist. Never mind that she once told Vogue, "I am still at heart -- and will always be -- just a punk kid with tattoos". Her evolution from outsider bad-girl to Hollywood humanitarian and 'rainbow' mother is nothing short of sensational; and it's a trajectory the new generation of leading ladies would do well to follow.
These days, wall to wall coverage of her and partner Brad Pitt, and their nomadic crusades into conflict zones around the globe with their brood of six children, means the Brangelina bandwagon has all but obliterated the Jolie of old.
When we meet in Berlin's Adlon hotel, the 37-year-old Jolie is dressed in beige heels and a cream, tattoo-revealing sleeveless dress.
(You can read the rest of the intro in the magazine. The actual full interview is below. -- Fussy)
In an age of guarded Hollywood stars, you've always been very open with the press in your interviews. How come?
I've always wanted to be open with the press because I believe if you're going to do an interview, you might as well share something, which maybe would mean something to somebody who read it -- or else you shouldn't do it. So I don't mind.
But have you been burnt by this attitude?
A thousand times. But I don't want to be somebody who thinks about what they say, and censors it -- ever in my life. I don't want to do that here because then I think I'd do it in my life. I believe we're all here to communicate with each other. Whatever it is. Sometimes the mistakes I've made, and how I've recovered from them, might mean something to somebody. Nobody identifies with a perfect person. If I read something about somebody with a perfect life, it doesn't mean anything to me.
So you don't feel that an actor needs a mystique surrounding their private life?
I don't think that's necessarily true. You know the actor. You've seen them at award shows, you've seen them at premieres dressed up. So whether they share or not, their cover is already blown. I've been pretty open, and hopefully people watch my films and follow the characters. And sometimes it's helpful, because maybe you feel closer to what you're watching.
You always find characters that are both very strong but also very feminine. Is that a must for you?
I do feel that's very much what a woman is, that combination, and I think interesting roles do have that combination -- more complex people have that dual side to their personality. Really, I am drawn to those characters more than a victim. It does tend to to be mor somebody like that.
That said, one of your earliest triumphs was Gia, winning a Golden Globe for portraying tragic, heroin-addict model Gia Carangi. What memories do you have of that?
After Gia, I felt like I didn't have much to give, because she was so much like me, she just broke me. I kind of died with her, so I moved to New York and separated from my husband (Jonny Lee Miller) because he didn't want to go there; we both thought it was best for each other.
You went on to win the Oscar for Girl, Interrupted. Was she also a character you related to?
The thing is, her impulses are completely free. So I found my impulses completely free...to me, she was heartbreaking, and the essence of her was that she wanted somebody to talk to. She wanted somebody to drop their fucking guard and stop the bullshit and just admit whatever it is and just stop pretending.
With these films, along with Playing By Heart and Pushing Tin, you began to be seen as a sex symbol....
And that's a good thing!
So it's not a tag that's ever bothered you?
I'm a woman, and anytime you tell a woman that she looks nice, it's not going to upset her. It's very nice to feel sexy, and it's important. But you don't become involved in the world, and suddenly that means you're not a sexy person...
That's true -- though your time as a UN Goodwill Ambassador has radically overhauled your public image. Have you any idea how it came about?
It's funny because you're always asked to sum up who you are, and your personality and your changes -- and I've never had therapy, so I don't know exactly how I did that! I just know that I opened myself up to want to learn more about the world and about other people and things that are really going on. And so I changed. I adopted a child, and that changed me, and I went through a divorce (with Billy Bob Thornton) and that changed me. So all these different events happened and I did grow up, as we all do. I felt really fortunate that I was exposed to the right things to become a better person.
It never made much of an impact at the box office, but Beyond Borders was a particularly key film for you in that way, wasn't it?
Yes. I was really moved by the story, and when I finished the script, I cried. At that time, the film didn't [get greenlit] because it is a hard film to make -- and I never thought it would go. And I was really upset about that, because I wanted to understand it. Then I realised I could just go. I got a bunch of books, and went to Washington and met with some people from UNHCR and then I went into the field with them. Then, over a year, I went to three different countries and they asked me to join the UN. My first trip changed me completely.
You even wrote about your experiences in Notes From My Travels. How did that come about?
When I went into the field for the first time, somebody said to me "you're going to come back and have extreme feelings, and you're not going to be able to talk to your husband about it, or your mom, because they weren't there... so keep a journal, hand it to them and then they'll be able to talk to you". So I kept a journal and the UN asked me to put it on the web, and I got a lot of letters from young people. So I was really excited about that, and then I was asked to publish it.
How have you coped with the things you've seen?
When I first traveled, I was just a ridiculous crying mess. And maybe there was a moment when I realized I was crying more that the people who suffered a lot more than me. I think that's the thing you realize. These people have had their families killed, had their houses burnt down, become stateless -- they're not crying because they don't have the time for it, and I'm not helping them just by feeling for them. I had to stay practical and focused.
What have you learnt from your travels?
Conflict zones, or situations in the world where there's unrest, it brings out the worst, but it also brings out the best in people. Because of that it really males you focus on what life is about, and it teaches you so much. It's also what we should be doing with our lives. We can't just sit around and not be a part of the world we live in. And the part of the world we live in, there are so many displaced people, so many people raped, so many children without schools, education and parents. So knowing that...we have to all be engaged in the world. I'm just glad I had the opportunity to do so.
What drew you to directing In The Land of Blood and Honey?
I
didn’t set out to ever become a director or write a script. I was never
intending to make a film. I often give myself homework on different
things; it’s good exercise to get your mind working. So I was very
frustrated by the lack of intervention. I’ve been travelling for
over 10 years to these conflict and post-conflict zones, and thinking
about what happens to people when they live inside these situations, and
how their humanity is just stripped apart. I spent so much of
the time bringing people back - like they’re in the refugee camp and
returning them to the place where they faced war. So I wanted to have a meditation on what this is and how people who are neighbours can turn against each other.
Why the conflict in the Balkans, though?
The Bosnian was was always one I felt I should know more about because it was my generation, but I never did. When I traveled to the region, I couldn't quite understand it. It was the one conflict that I couldn't quite get my head around. You try to get people to explain things to ou, and you go 'OK, so what is the Balkans? How did this happen? And why did this happen and how did it go on for nearly four years?' I could not figure it out. So I felt... as somebody who was alive through that time and traveling through Europe and not paying enough attention, I felt a responsibility.
How did you manage to juggle your family with directing?
Well Brad and I always take turns working, so he's a great Dad and he was on duty with the kids and taking them to school. There are much harder jobs and there are much harder things to do. But we had a very short prep, though -- two and a half months. Because we take turns, I was with Brad -- he was on Moneyball -- until three days before shooting.
Brad is well-established as a producer. Did you consult with him on this project initially?
I didn't really. Partially, I had to figure it out for myself. I didn't go to him to produce either. I wanted to learn. I worked with people I know to make it. But he was always there. I think when you're a couple and you live together, you influence each other without knowing it. He was always supportive, all the way through it. And even now, through releasing it, it's been tense. It's been a tense time. It's a difficult film, and it's a difficult film to get out -- it's not easy. There's a lot of heaviness! All the heaviness of people who have hostility or who are reaping it the wrong way, and then there is the beautiful side of it. It's a bit of a rollercoaster.
You even managed to cast Brad in a cameo, taking a bullet! How did that come about?
This is a practical things, when a director makes a decision...when you need somebody, you have to find out who around you takes the best shot. It's actually a hard thing to do. He happens to be really good at taking a bullet! He did my utility stunts!
Do you often discuss the fact that had it not been for Mr. & Mrs. Smith, you would not be together?
Yes, we do talk about that. We look around at our kids. I'm not somebody that thinks about destiny and fate but I don't walk away from it when something unfolds. It's like my children. Especially when you adopt, in some countries...Maddox had a bit of a say when I met him...but all my other children were just 'This is the child that's been chosen for you' and I suppose it's like a child you give birth to, as you can't have a say in it. I see that when I look at my kids. It just seems to be right. It's hard to understand how it could unfold so beautifully; at certain times things do feel that way.
Is it family that keeps you grounded?
The great thing about having a bunch of kids is that they just remind you that you're the person who takes them to go poop. That's who you are! We have a very normal, very grounded home. And we're friends, and we have a laugh with our kids. And we don't pay any attention to this [celebrity] view of ourselves. We don't buy those magazines, we don't watch those TV shows. We just shut it out. We just explain to our kids that people like to take pictures of people who make movies. And that's all it is. It's not anything special about Mummy and Daddy -- we just happen to make movies.
Are you ever worried about the reception to any of your films?
I've never made anything thinking about the reviews and the response. That's never how I work. I make something that I feel is something I want to make, I make it the way I want to make it, for the reasons I think are important, and I stand by it. So if everybody hates it, I did the best I could and I stand by it. That's how you should make art. You shouldn't make art considering and adjusting to how it's received.
Has this always been your approach to your movies, even in the early days?
Pretty much. I've never read a review. I don't read articles in magazines I've done. If somebody says 'This is a great article about you', it's not healthy to read about yourself that way. If it's bad, same. What does it matter? You just say 'If there's a problem, tell me.' Like if there's something incorrect, I have to fix it...but other that that I don't. I just want to live my life.
Do you like to see yourself on screen?
I don't watch some of my movies. I never watch the monitor. Some actors, they do a shot and then they look at themselves. I never look at myself on camera. I've seen some of my movies, at premieres, but I never go into the editing room. I'm not interested in seeing myself.
What governs your acting choices?
I've never done a film for one reason or another except to look at it and think 'I'm going to learn from this.' But I've never tried to do something that was socially responsible! I've narrated a few documentaries, and worked on things like that -- but the things that really excite me are characters I can learn from.
Do you think Hollywood is guilty of offering up too much escapist fare?
I think Hollywood responds to what the people want. And these days, a lot of people want escapism more because of what they're going through at home.
Is it this need for escapism that drew you to playing Lara Croft in the Tomb Raider films?
I knew a little kid who had the videogame, and we used to kill [Croft] all the time because we liked the way she sounded when she died. I didn't really like her when I first saw the game. When I agreed to play her, I didn't realize how much of an icon she was. There are magazines on where she went to school, and the music she like...it's very bizarre! I only eventually did it because it's about a very strong woman. It was exposing but in a way where I thought 'I really like what she represents as a woman and so if I'm exposed in that way that's O.K.'
One of your most searing roles was a Mariane Pearl in A Mighty Heart. You were friends with her before you started. Was that a help?
It helped in that I was able to study her and I know her and have a very good clear idea of who this person was that I was playing. But then at the same time when you are close, it makes you very hesitant to do things when you feel like you're mimicking a friend and you feel very shy about it. I could never do the accent in front of her. Because I came to care about her and her son, it's harder when you do know the person, in a different way, in an emotional way. And the film becomes very, very secondary to the realisation that there's a woman and this is a time in her life and it's a responsibility...I didn't sleep well many nights during that
Talking of traumatic characters, you went on to play a mother who loses her child in Clint Eastwood’s Changeling. How was that experience?
I
tend to gush when I start talking about Clint. He's
everything you hope he would be. He's one of those people who you hear
so much about. He seems like this amazing alpha male – so decisive, so
strong and so cool. And you meet him and he's exactly
that! And you are in awe. And on top of it, I have never
seen a director more kind to his crew, more appreciative of every single
crew
member. He's the leader you'd hope for in any aspect of life.
Clint, of course, had his time as Mayor of Carmel in California. Have you ever thought about becoming a politician?
I
don't think I'd be a very good one! I do not know if I could walk that
line. Maybe my opinions are too strong. I just don't think that I'd fall in
line very well. I think politicians need to fall in line sometimes, and I
would not be very good at that.
Do you prefer to use your celebrity as a means to raise important issues? How difficult is it to make a difference?
I
can do things. I can work on private diplomacy. I can get a lot of
things done, and move some things – without anybody knowing. But
when you become a politician, suddenly it becomes a whole
different thing.
You are in negotiations to direct again – with WW2 tale Unbroken. How much does it now mean to you to call yourself a director?
If I never did it again, I would be happy not to. I loved this experience [on
In the Land of Blood and Honey], but I don't have to do it again. I
feel it would have to be the story – I loved doing this because I
love this story, this part of history, and I felt honored to work with
people who
survived this conflict. Every day was educational for me – I was very
passionate. I would have to have the same feeling to do it again.
Total Film is usually a reliable movie site but the line in the last question about Unbroken was obviously just inserted prior to publication and wasn't actually mentioned during the interview. The interview took place during the Berlin Film Festival last year and Jolie's response above is consistent with what she had been saying at the time about a possible career as a director. News of her selection as Unbroken's director only broke last month, and if there was a follow up interview when she was negotiating for the job, she would not have given the same answer she gave reporters a year ago when she was not sure she would want to direct again.
-- Fussy
Angelina Jolie gives us an honest, open and uncensored chat as the subject of The Total Film Interview this month.
You can read the full discussion in
the brand new issue of Total Film (available for
just £1.99 on your iPad), but here’s a sneaky snippet of what Jolie had to say about her directorial debut In
The Land Of Blood And Honey, a brutal love story set during the Bosnian war.
When we asked what drew the Oscar-winning actress to directing the film, she told us:
“I
didn’t set out to ever become a director or write a script. I was never
intending to make a film. I often give myself homework on different
things; it’s good exercise to get your mind working. So I was very
frustrated by the lack of intervention.
“I’ve been travelling for
over 10 years to these conflict and post-conflict zones, and thinking
about what happens to people when they live inside these situations, and
how their humanity is just stripped apart.
“I spent so much of
the time bringing people back - like they’re in the refugee camp and
returning them to the place where they faced war.
“So I wanted to have a meditation on what this is and how people who are neighbours can turn against each other.”
In The Land Of Blood And Honey will open in the UK in 2013.
For much more from Angelina Jolie, pick up
Total Film magazine issue 203 - which is out now!
Read a
full preview of Total Film magazine - Issue 203.
