Angelina Jolie

Interview by: Superheidi

There I was, sitting next to the most beautiful woman in the world. Now, for a straight woman, this is an extraordinary thrill, because normally this thing would inspire no more than normal jealousy in me.
But this surpasses jealousy. She's fucking amazing. She really is, in my opinion, the most beautiful woman in the world. She's also smart and talented. I feel massively inadequate

Besides, anyone who carries around blood in a vial around their neck, even if you did break up with them afterwards anyway, is a girl after my own heart.

What's it like to be Frankie the One-eyed Hot chick in Sky Captain?

Angelina as Frankie

A: I think as actors we play make-believe all the time. We're used to a fake room, a fake set, it was a bit strange but not that bad. I think Jude and Gwenyth had to work hard, and they had things coming at them that they had to freak out about, and I tended to have ships coming in behind me and, whatever.

There's a strong fantasy element in Sky Captain: is it like reliving a childhood fantasy?

A: Yes. There was this one moment where I had the bubble on and I was wearing the eye patch and I was just sitting on a box. And I wasn't in a plane and I wasn't anywhere, I was just sitting in a room full of a hundred people and I had my accent and I was sitting in an almost cardboard box with this thing, pretending that I was getting hit. I felt like a complete, wellat first I felt very silly. And then I felt that it's great to get back to what's fun about this business and be creative and do things that aren't safe. And be silly again. It was refreshing.

Do you have a back-story as to how your character Frankie lost her eye and

were you involved in creating her look?

A: She always had one eye. But I did love that about her. And we had talked about a back-story. I think the idea is that if this works well, we will do a prequel

Did you have problems with peripheral vision with only having the one eye?

A: I did. Yeah, there were a few things about it. The dizziness, the awkwardness of standing, but anytime the other actors were talking to me, you can't see someone sneaking up on you on that side, so you'd be all {Angelina feigns fright} So you'd take it off and it'd be like it s first thing in the morning and you've got this one eye. No, It's not that bad.

What did you think of the final cut of Sky Captain?

A: I haven't seen it

You haven't seen it yet? [Even I've seen it]

A: No, I've seen pieces, I saw the first five minute sequence thing that the filmmakers made before they actually made the film. It's very weird.

Were you attracted to the character, or the fact that it was such an extraordinary genre feature?

A: As an artist I thought it was something that was original and hadn't been done before. It was kind of brave. There was a bit of everybody going in and trying for something. I miss that spirit of things a lot when I do films these days. You lose that sense of fun and adventure and 'lets try something that hasn't been done before. ' so for that, just to be a part of it was exciting. I do love my character

How do you lose that sense of fun?

A: I think so much is analyzed and criticized, and how much it does at the box office or if it was reviewed this way, There are those few great movies that are really pushing the windows for the sake of really making something great, like Alexander. These things just don't feel safe. They don't feel like, 'here are the main characters, and here is a solid story with a few little interesting twists' That' sit. You're not really taking an art form to a new level. You're not really trying for something bold or different. Because of studios, and because of how much I think the business has affected the art, we all get caught up in it. It's important to push past that. You try something, you try to somehow raise the money or try to get people behind it to say, 'Okay, lets just do something we're not sure of'

So the director of Sky Captain was just an indie filmmaker who fulfilled his vision. How cool is that?

A: He's a sweetheart. I am so happy for him. That he was sable to create this and that it's going so well. It's been sitting in his head for so many years that he was thrilled to be able to see it come together.

Will you let your son see Sky Captain?

A: Yeah!

You don't think it might be too intense?

A: No. No.

Genre films are notorious for portraying women as victims or eye candy. But you seem to get very strong roles. How do you feel about the roles that are available to women in genre films today?

A: I 've been very very lucky. I have also found films that could be one way, and I think you can work to make them moreDo you know what I mean? We can always wish that there was more of something for certain ethnicities, for men, for women, but I think that we all just have to focus on getting a hold of the character and see if we can make it deeper. And I have been very lucky, I think.

You've been lucky with the roles, but it's also a matter of choice. I heard you're looking at Catherine the Great as a possible role? Historical characters rock.

A: I love those historical characters, but I believe that they have to be done right, so it's not certain that I'll be doing that. The more I've researched her, the more I think that her character is very full, and it needs to be done correctly. And, so, I get nervous that she could be done wrong. Especially for a whole country, when that's their hero, to step into that and say, 'I'm going to be this woman that you respect and revere, She's a part of your history' I take that more seriously. I want to make sure that it represents who she actually wasI'm fascinated by that kind of woman. Olympias was that kind of woman, in Alexander. She's not everyone's favorite woman. She's dark. I still like to try to respect who I thought she was.

Angelina as Olympias

Do you like the fantasy crap, or do you like something like Alexander better?

A: I loved doing Alexander. As an actor, its more fulfilling, and for your soul and as a woman, you can go through so many different emotions and you can analyze yourself, the world, and your relationships, and when you're done with that film you feel like you've really grown and changed

Oliver Stone directed you in Alexander what's that like?

A: Oliver is a...he has a, umYou can agree or disagree with Oliver on where he's coming from but you can't debate that he isn'tone hundred percent who he is. He's very straightforward, and I appreciated that. He didn't allow anybody to be safe. If anything eh demands a certain kind of commitment and bravery and he doesn't allow for anybody to get too relaxed. He pushes to be more. For that he was great. I think, agree or disagree with him, he does know life and he has lived very fully. When he does films that deal with war and loss and love and pain relationships or whatever, he's drawing from a very deep well

He won't let you come in and say, 'well, I don't really feel like, I'm not sure of, I want to change this, Give me a few minutes to get into this' It's like, he wanted me to be Olympias, he wanted me to come on set as her, and he wanted us all to live as our characters. You know, he'd get upset if I lost my accent and we'd be out to dinner. He wanted to see everybody become who they were. And he tested me. My first shot at the studio was with me and six year old Alexander, who was the sweetest little boy, and I had to sing, which I hate, with my accent, and hold this python and try to get the python around the little boy's neck while I'm singing and convince him not to be afraid. On my first day. You know. He just expects it. It was nighttime and the snakes were getting kind of wild. Then someone said, 'It's nighttime, and they think its time to feed.' And I said, 'Oliver, It's nighttime and they think its' s time to feed!' And he was like, 'Oh, get in there!'

So, You're totally doing A Shark's Tale, that new Disney animated film about fish and stuff

A: I am the bad fish.

Why the bad fish?

A: My mom actually said that to me, she said, 'Why are you the bad fish, honey?' I'm a bad fish, but I'm a good personit's been an amazing process to do an animated film. It's a very different process. It's been years coming in. I hate my own voice, like most people, when you listen to yourself on a tape or an answering machine, so to do something with just my voice was, UGH!

Did they let you change your voice at all?

A: I wanted to! But they wouldn't let me.

What's it like trying to create a vision of the character when you're in a recording studio?

A: When I was invited in to Shark's Tale they brought me into this room. There were all these different pictures of fish, and they were gonna explain to me which fish was me. I kinda looked around and I saw this fish that I could see doing, and I saw this other fish that might be the oneThen I saw this one fish that had a big red mouth and pointy eyebrows. I thought, they can talk as long as they want, I know I'm that fish! And that was my fish. And I liked her. They made her very sparkly, sexy.. She came first

Your spare time is spent in exotic places, doing all kinds of cool shitis that a source of inspiration for you?

A: Life inspires me. My son inspires me. I just want to live a very full life. I love making films and I am very fortunate that I get to do them. I love being creative. There was a time that I think I lived through my characters, and I have now found that I prefer my life. I think most actors have this thing where they feel 'Oh, God, I get to go film this thing in the Sahara!' Well, why not just take the family and go across the Sahara? Learn about those people and spend time thereso, yeah, my focus in this life. I'd like to die feeling that I was useful as a person and that I'd done as much as I could with my life and explored cultures and peoples and family. That's all I want to do. In between, I have this wonderful job that I get to enjoy.

Another Tomb Raider?

Angelina as Lara Croft: Tomb Raider

A: Nah, I don't think so. I mean, I love doing them, I had a great time

Where do you get your strength?

A: Where do I get strength? I was raised by my mother to be very honest and straightforward. I don't judge people. I love people. I like people who know exactly who they are and they're straightforward about it. I tend to be able to be that boldly because I don't look down upon, but I am not comfortable with, the alternative. If that makes any sense. Whatever it is I am and who I am, as long as you don't hurt anybody, I like to be straightforward in this life. We have all gone through different things, like my parents, being a parent now, traveling all over seeing what there is to see, there is real pain. There are real things to be frightened of and to be scared of; these other things I live with on a daily basis are not those things. I tend to not be scared by things that are not as serious

Anything you want to do or any franchise you want to do that you haven't been offered yet?

A: I guess, maybe secretly, deep down, I've always wanted to be a Bond Villain.

One last thing about Angelina? She's a really fucking cool mom.

A: I've never really understood Xmas, It's always been difficult because I came from separate homes, and my Mom always made it wonderful (in case she's reading this) But, it was always something that felt weirdAnd having a child, it's like, 'I better get the tree, I better decorate the home, it's Xmas' and instead I ended up deciding that I would show him the world every Xmas. And this past Xmas I took him to see the pyramids on Christmas day. Every Christmas I will take him somewhere