Angelina Jolie Hints At 'Maleficent' Sequel in China
8:58 AM PDT 6/3/2014 by Clifford Coonan
The actress spoke to the press in Shanghai
ahead of the Disney film's local debut; Brad Pitt took the kids to get
lessons in preparing dim sum.
While partner Brad Pitt took the kids for lessons in preparing dim sum, Angelina Jolie was
busy charming the Chinese press corps at a briefing in Shanghai’s Art
Deco Peninsula hotel and tantalizing everyone with the prospect of a
follow-up to her smash hit, Maleficent.
The Disney live-action fairytale opened with a $170.6 million global box-office haul and is due to bow in China on June 20.
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Jolie directed the upcoming
Unbroken, her second outing as a
director, and she has spoken of her desire to act less and direct more,
but when asked what her next role would be, she also hinted that she
might be back as the titular villain in
Maleficent.
“It’s kind of hard to top her, she was pretty fun. Maybe I’ll get the chance to play her again,” said Jolie.
“I’m very happy to begin a directing career. I didn’t know if I’d be
able to successfully make this change. I love telling stories. You learn
so much about life. In my case, both films I’ve done so far deal with
history, so it’s a very full experience, and you work very closely with
the crew. So I love directing, and I would like to direct more. I think
I’d like to do less acting and more directing and I’m fortunate,” she
said.
In China,
Maleficent is one of a number of big Hollywood movies that will open this month. The
Tom Cruise-starrer
Edge of Tomorrow opens on June 6,
Godzilla and
The Guardians bow on June 13,
Maleficent, Autómata and
Grace of Monaco open on June
20 and
Transformers: Age of Extinction will open day-and-date with its US opening on June 27.
Q&A: 'Maleficent' Writer Cried Writing Angelina Jolie's Big Moment
Jolie was not worried about the competition.
“What sets (the film) apart is that it has action and it does have a
lot of adventure but it is something that you haven’t seen before. There
is something very unique to this film. It has a message in it that is
very strong,” she said.
She also spoke of the experience of working wither daughter
Vivienne, who plays a younger Aurora in the movie.
“Brad and I never had intentions of turning our children into actors.
When I was on the set I was quite physically scary for children and
when little kids would visit the set and see me in person they would cry
-- one little kid froze for a good five minutes staring at me,” she
said.
PHOTOS: Inside the 'Maleficent' Costumes
“We realized it would be very hard for a young actor or actress to do
that scene, where she has to like me so much. But Vivienne of course
doesn’t see a monster, she only sees her mommy, and she happens to look
like Aurora. She was the only child that could do it, and it was so much
fun for me to be able to work with her,” said Jolie.
Jolie heard the news about the film's global box office tally en route to China, and she spoke of her delight.
“This type of a film is one that you do for the audience, and you
hope that people will come and bring their children and share in the
joy. It thrills me that people are enjoying the movie,” said Jolie.
“I believe that it’s very important in life to do things that scare
you. The idea of playing this character movie scared me a bit because
she was somebody I loved as a child, and this is such a big performance
and such a big voice that there is no half way to go about it as an
artist, to take it on. The script was very moving, one of the best I’d
read. It’s so moving,” she said.
VIDEO: Angelina Jolie Says Maleficent Is a Character to Commit to
She spoke of her delight at discovering China for the first time and
said she was finding out about Chinese directors and artists and hoped
to collaborate with them at some point.
“I would hope someone in China would reach out,” she said.
“I try not to assume before I come to a country, and I try to be very
open to new experiences. I loved the Long Museum of Contemporary Art,
and I loved the French Concession. I loved being here with my children
and seeing what other moms and dads do with their children and realizing
all the things we have in common,” she said.
“Shanghai is very, very elegant,” she said.
VIDEO: Angelina Jolie Talks Wearing Leather Horns and Acting With Her Daughter in 'Maleficent'
One of the places the family visited was the Long (Dragon) Museum of
Contemporary Art in the city, which is the second museum set up in two
years in the city by the art collector
Wang Wei and her husband
Liu Yiqian.
Pitt, who angered Chinese authorities with
Seven Years in Tibet
and was banned from the country, was basically along to look after the
kids, but he likely was also dipping his toe in the water to get a sense
of the China market, now the world's second largest.
“Right now they're doing dim sum classes with their dad," Jolie said
of her kids. "The most wonderful thing for us is we’ve gone for walks.
Local families have been very gracious and welcoming. It’s been a
wonderful experience."
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A big driver for
Maleficent's $70 million North American
debut were girls and women. The female audience is also a key
demographic for the movie in China and Jolie spoke of some of the
complex women she had portrayed over the years.
“I never get cast as normal. People often perceive the characters
that I play as being very strong, but they are often vulnerable. To me
it’s very interesting to be able to show all sides of a woman, maternal,
emotional and also open and very strong,” she said.
At the end of the briefing, she was presented with a birthday cake
and the assembled crew and a fair smattering of journalists sang
Shengri kuaile, or
Happy Birthday in Chinese.
Asked if she could keep something from her costume as
Maleficent, she immediately replied: “My horns!”
And why?
“It goes without saying!”
