Showing posts with label W. Show all posts
Showing posts with label W. Show all posts

Friday, January 3, 2025








Interview by Lynn Hirschberg
Photographs by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott
Styled by Sara Moonves
Jan. 3, 2025


The past two years have been eventful for Angelina Jolie: She launched her clothing line, Atelier Jolie; won a Tony Award as a producer of The Outsiders: A New Musical on Broadway; directed the Salma Hayek–led film Without Blood; and made her return to acting in Maria, her first role since 2021’s Eternals. The ambitious film, directed by Pablo Larraín, is the final installment in his trilogy that centers misunderstood iconic women, following Jackie and Spencer. In Maria, Jolie takes on the challenge of portraying opera legend Maria Callas, balancing the diva’s commanding stage presence with the complexities of her private life. To embody Callas, the Oscar winner underwent months of Italian lessons and rigorous vocal training to perform some of Callas’s most famous arias. When Maria premiered at the Venice Film Festival in August, it received an eight-minute standing ovation, moving Jolie to tears and positioning her as a strong contender for this year’s best actress race at the Oscars. Here, Jolie reflects on the intense preparation required to play Callas; her relationship with her late mother, Marcheline Bertrand; and her hopes for her own children.






Before playing Maria Callas, what did you learn about her?

I knew of her music, and it doesn’t take much to look her up and start to see everybody’s opinion of her. But you don’t really know her. I think she was misunderstood. Her illnesses were not known—when she couldn’t make a performance, the vitriol and the stories were unbelievable. We came to discover that she was dealing with many medical issues.

There’s this idea that she wanted to be glamorous or be “the thing.” I think it was more survival. When she was young, her mother made it very clear to Maria that she was not good enough as she was. So she was always trying to pull it all together—to do and be and present. I don’t think she felt that being just Maria was enough.

When you play a character like that, do you find yourself consumed by it?

I was very “in it” when I was in it. I had seven months of singing class, Italian class, and opera class. Then, throughout filming, Pablo and the team treated me like a singer—which really meant a lot to me. I had pianos wherever I went, my coaches, my exercises, and every night I was practicing for the next performance. But I'm different because I'm a mom, so I was able to step away from a heavy day at work and think about something else.

Aside from Maria Callas, you've played the model Gia Carangi and Cornelia Wallace, the wife of former Alabama governor George Wallace. Do you like playing real people?

I do. I feel I’m good if I’ve come to care for them. I have to love them to do a good job, but you don’t want to make them saints. The more I learned about Maria, the more I felt she deserved empathy and understanding. In those last years of her life, when she was so criticized and so alone, my goal was for the audience to please give her life a second look. Give her one more moment.

Callas had great style. Was there a particular piece of jewelry or a garment that connected you to her?

My favorite look of hers was her robe. It was handmade in Italy, crocheted. The woman behind closed doors, in the robe, with her faith and her little poodles following her—that was not what the world wanted from Maria. What they wanted was Callas.

Did you always want to be an actor?

I did it in the beginning because it was my mother’s dream. She pursued acting, but by the time my mom was 25, she was divorced with two kids and she decided to focus her life solely on motherhood. She didn't make me feel like it was a sacrifice—she loved being a stay-at-home mom. But she really wanted me to be an actress. I don’t remember making the choice. I remember it made my mom happy. My mom was my manager, and we were a team. I always wanted to buy her a house, and I started to pay the bills. When my mom passed, it was harder for me to be an actress because I realized how much of it was for her.

Do you have any pet peeves?

So many things. But my pet peeve is somebody who is a liar. Somebody who feels a need to not say the truth or what they want, what they feel. There's a big version of that—and I'm not trying to be heavy about it—but people who say one thing and mean another, who aren't completely who they are. I think a lot of people don't say what they mean.

What is your secret skill?

I can fly a plane. I have a Cirrus.

Do you love it?

Yes. My son is now flying.

Do you get nervous when he flies?

No. Maybe I just have a big family [Laughs]. I worry more that people aren't finding themselves and something they love. I think that's more dangerous, to walk so tentatively through life that you don’t take a risk. You don’t wake up with passion. I think that’s scarier. I'd rather they be out there trying and failing than not pushing and being passionate.

Are you more like a cat or a dog?

I’ve been told I’m like a cat. I’m loyal like a dog, and I follow my kids around like a dog, but I probably am more catlike. When I was in acting class, we would study cats. They only use the muscles they need. They have perfect relaxation. A cat is either very loving and really with you, or else do not get in its space. I have a feeling I’m a bit like that.

What sign are you?

Gemini. I think we're mistaken for being of two faces, but we probably have 20, which is why a lot of us are actors. We just have many, many sides.

Hair by Renato Campora at Kalpana; makeup by Raoul Alejandre at CLM.

Style Director: Allia Alliata di Montereale. Hair for portfolio by Paul Hanlon at Dawes & Co.; makeup for portfolio by Sam Visser at Art Partner; manicures for portfolio by Michelle Saunders James. Set design by Gerard Santos at Lalaland.








I find it amazing that People headlined the connection between liars and Brad. It's hard to miss although she is referring to other liars as well. It sounds like they just fought. People is an extension of Brad's PR, they were OK with the post?




Angelina Jolie is saying exactly what she means.

The 49-year-old Oscar winner opened up in her cover story for W Magazine’s Best Performances issue, which was released shortly after the news that she had finalized her divorce from ex Brad Pitt following an eight-year legal battle.

When asked about her “pet peeves,” the Maria star replied, “So many things. But my pet peeve is somebody who is a liar.”

Without naming anyone specifically, Jolie explained, “Somebody who feels a need to not say the truth or what they want, what they feel. There's a big version of that — and I'm not trying to be heavy about it — but people who say one thing and mean another, who aren't completely who they are. I think a lot of people don't say what they mean.”

And while Jolie didn’t offer specifics on any “liars” she had encountered, the actress and advocate has been publicly embroiled in a legal battle with her ex and the father of her six children, Pitt, for years.

The exes officially signed off on their divorce on Monday, Dec. 30, ending their divorce proceedings after Jolie’s initial filing in September 2016.

Jolie's divorce attorney James Simon of Hersh Mannis said that she has been "focused on finding peace and healing for their family," and, "Frankly, Angelina is exhausted, but she is relieved this one part is over." A rep for Pitt, 61, declined to comment on the divorce finalization.

A source close to Jolie tells PEOPLE that she hopes Pitt can now "move on" and "stop attacking her."








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Monday, January 9, 2023





BEST PERFORMANCES
Brad Pitt Tries to Find the Music in Each Day
Interview by Lynn Hirschberg
Photographs by Jamie Hawkesworth
Styled by Sara Moonves
01.09.23

The past year has been quite busy for Brad Pitt. After starring in Bullet Train, popping up in Sandra Bullock’s The Lost City, and executive producing the critically acclaimed Women Talking and She Said, he capped off 2022 with the release of Babylon, Damien Chazelle’s frantic, more-than-three-hour ode to 1920s Hollywood. In it, Pitt stars as Jack Conrad, a suave, if somewhat messy, Hollywood luminary grappling with his fading star power. Even before its December release, the ambitious film, over a decade in the making, received nine Critics Choice Award and five Golden Globe nominations, including a Best Supporting Actor nod for Pitt. For W’s annual Best Performances issue, the 59-year-old Oscar winner reflects on his extraordinary career so far.

How did Babylon come to you?
I’d been following Damien since Whiplash. The script came, and it was 180 pages. I said, “This thing is a masterwork. But what’s going to get cut?” Because it’s really hard just to get 120 pages in there. And he said, “Nothing. I’m going to pace it a minute a page. I’m gonna have it moving.” We talked about GoodFellas and Casino and some of the other Scorsese pics. And sure enough, he did it.

You play a movie star at the end of the silent era of filmmaking. There’s a certain melancholy to the character.
Sadly enough, that melancholy may be my natural mode of being. Some congenital melancholy. But no, I think there’s a weariness that takes over with the character as he moves on. There’s a world-weariness that I can certainly relate to a little bit. At this time, more of us are trying to tear each other down than help each other up. I get a little weary.

The last time I saw you, you told me that dance was going to be in your future.
Did I? [Laughs] I’m sure I was joking, but dance has become a part of my future. Or my present.

In the movie, or in other things, too?
Just in life. I found myself enjoying a bit of a dance lately.

Brad Pitt wears a Prada suit, shirt, and tie; his own ring.

Do you have a go-to song?
Not really. Oh, I have a guilty pleasure. What’s the Spanish version of Jon Secada’s thing from the ’90s? I can’t do it justice.

Sing it.
Hell, no. I’m not going to sing. [Laughs] This is why I became an actor.

There’s so much physical energy in this film. You must have done some kind of dance training.
No, you know Damien’s films; there’s a rhythm—a syncopation—to the scenes. The way he puts it together and doles out the information. There’s always this kind of movement that I think comes from his early days as a jazz drummer. I find that I’m looking for that in life, you know? We all need to find the music in the day.

What was your first love scene?
It would have been in the show Dallas. I had to roll around in the hay in a barn. I don’t think I had a line. I was just rolling and frolicking.

And then there was the famous scene in Thelma & Louise.
Yeah, that was my entry into the big leagues, I guess. Geena [Davis] was so sweet and kind and delicate. That love scene, I think, went on for two days of shooting. She took care of me.

Did you know when you read the script that the film would have such an impact?
I just thought, I’m the guy for this. But they went through a couple of other actors. I didn’t get the part at first, and then it came back around and I didn’t get it again, and I went, “Huh. All right. Moving on.” And then it came back around again. I feel like it was three times.

Pitt wears a Bottega Veneta shirt, top, and pants; his own ring.

That film holds up really well.
That’s really Geena and Susan.

Have you ever crashed a wedding or a party?
I have crashed a wedding party. It was on the set of Mr. & Mrs. [Smith]. We were filming down in this Deco building downtown, and up in the penthouse above, we kept seeing people going up and down. It was a wedding party, so I crashed it. And they were okay with it. [Laughs]

Have you ever been starstruck?
In the early days, sure. I remember moving out here [to Los Angeles], and the first week I went to a Fishbone concert in the valley. I saw John Cusack, and that was the first I had ever seen a man or woman who actually worked in film. It was really strange, being in the same room with someone who you watched on the screen.

What are some of your pet peeves?
You know what my pet peeve—my Larry David moment—is? It’s when people are in the passing lane and they’re going as slow as everyone in the regular lanes. They block the whole thing, and you can’t get around. I gotta move. And when I feel trapped, I go all Larry David on ’em.

What do you do?
I try to be nicer these days. [Laughs] I might flick a bright. See if that gets anything. I might, like, move over into the rearview mirror a couple of times, see if that does anything.

Your not-so-secret skill is sculpture.
It’s something I had always wanted to try and always talked about. I’ve done some strange stuff over the years, always building toward this. Like, I took a mold of an entire tree that was wider than my arms, and I took a mold of a World War II tank. I had these ideas that I wanted to explore. I did these things, and I was laying track. [Laughs] I was moving this way, but I didn’t know how to go about it. And then I met my now dear friend Thomas Houseago. After our first meeting, I wrote to him and said, “Hey, you know, how do you feel about me coming into your studio for two weeks? Won’t be in your way; I just want to watch—I want to see how it’s done.” He said, “Sure.” I got the building next door, and I’m still there, years now.





Hair by Jason Low; makeup by Jean Black. Senior style editor Allia Alliata di Montereale; senior fashion market editor Jenna Wojciechowski. Manicure for portfolio by Michelle Saunders. Set Design by Gille Mills at 11th House.





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