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As I updated yesterday on that Angelina Jolie post, Jolie covers this week’s Newsweek. I kind of love the photos, even though I’m not quite convinced that a weekly news magazine should be doing glamour shots of a actress for the cover. That’s not a cut on Jolie – that’s a cut on Tina Brown, the editor-in-chief of Newsweek (and the Daily Beast). Anyway, The Daily Beast has released the full Newsweek article, which you can read here. Here are some highlights from the piece (which is very complimentary to Jolie and the film):
Jolie‘s approach to her humanitarian work: “When I go somewhere, I am always willing to learn about it. I get briefings, I read books, I talk to people,” she said. “But mainly I try to go somewhere to bring awareness, to come home and pick up the phone and call someone and try to get something done.”
She brings the same approach to filmmaking: She told me that when it came to the technicalities of making a film, “I wasn’t afraid to ask the DP [director of photography]. And I listened to my cast, most of whom lived through the war. I listened to their stories and tried to incorporate it into the work.”
Lack of real-time awareness of the Bosnian War: How could a woman who was only 17 when the conflict in Bosnia erupted in April 1992 have so perfectly captured the horror of a war that focused largely on indiscriminate and brutal attacks on civilians? She is honest when she says, “At the time, I had no idea of the extent of the agony.” But her work as an ambassador to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees exposed her to the plight of the Bosnian civilians and how the aftermath lingers on. The women who were raped in the infamous eastern Bosnian “rape camps” are still suffering from the emotional and traumatic fallout; it was an especially sensitive point for her.
No offense: “The people felt as though the world had forgotten them,” Jolie said. “It was a time of great pain, and I wanted to depict how courageous people were—without offending anyone.” The Bosnians desperately wanted help, from anywhere, anyone—but no one came. Even now, too few people know what happened there. Perhaps it takes the star power of someone like Jolie to remind them of this incredibly complex, bloody conflict. “It was made to remind everybody of the war—but only a small group of people will really understand,” she admitted.
The film is partially improvised: “It was half script, half improvisation,” Jolie said of some of the scenes, and she relied heavily on local staff. “The white shirt that the leading character wears throughout,” she mused at one point. “It stayed white through the rape-camp scenes—and it bothered me. We kept talking about that white shirt.” She also shows characters longing for food, for contact with the outside world, for books, cinema, poetry—all the things that existed before the war.
Writing the script: These journeys gave Jolie the experience to write the script for In the Land of Blood and Honey, which took “about a month, then it went through a lot of revisions, Brad read it, people read it,” but the actual technicalities of directing must have been daunting.
Approaching filmmaking like a UNHCR mission: There is no red carpet in Libya or Sudan. She still packs her own flashlights, notebooks, and waterproof gear. She made Blood and Honey with $13 million and a lot of humility. She approached it the way she does her job for UNHCR, like a student. “When I go on a field mission, I get multiple briefings, including from the CFR [Council on Foreign Relations],” she said. “And I took a course on international law. So I did the same thing I did with missions. I studied.” For the film, she “read a lot of books about the war. I talked to a lot of people, I watched, I listened. I just wanted to tell the real story.” She repeated what she has said several times: “I wanted to be respectful of people.” If she did not know something, “I asked.”
About her kids: During dinner, she talked with love and passion of her family, how she is educating them in their own languages and cultures, how she loves to fly around the world but how hard it is to be separated from them when she is away. She talked of how someone “who never was a babysitter” knew how to take care of Maddox as a 27-year-old single mother. “I didn’t know whether to give one bottle or 30 bottles,” she says, laughing, of her son’s infant days. “I called my mother.”
Angelina on her mom: “Her goodness had a huge impact on me,” she said. “Sometimes I go into hotels now and bellboys ask me about her. My mother used to write them notes when their children were born or christened. She was just that sort of person—everyone loved her.”
[From Newsweek/The Daily Beast]
The entire article is very good, and I recommend reading it when you have a chance. It was written by Janine di Giovanni, a reporter who covered the Bosnian War, and has been a war correspondent in several conflicts. She did a lot of research (more than Bob Simon at 60 Minutes) and she and Angelina spent hours together – it’s one of the better interviews I’ve ever read on Jolie, honestly.
Photos courtesy of Newsweek.
Written by Kaiser
Posted in Angelina Jolie
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55 Responses to “Angelina Jolie on Newsweek, approached filmmaking like a UNHCR mission”
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She looks gorgeous, but yeah. Kind of wierd for a news magazine.
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Seriously. That face. Wow.
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I love this interview! Finally something different from the “Do you still have a wild side?” question.
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Angelina lives a life of comfort, security, and wealth. Yet, time and again she leaves that comfort to meet the most disenfranchised people in the world, and advocates on behalf of millions of refugees who have nothing. She uses her ability to bring an audience, to highlight a darkness in the world that most people don’t like to think about.
It takes a very brave person to put themselves out there with such weighty difficult material. Not everyone will like this film, this film will make a lot of people uncomfortable, but there is no doubt in my mind that it is GOOD this film was made.
Angie is an incredible woman, doing incredible things, that no other actress in Hollywood would even try. This project is risky. However, I think Angelina approached it with sensitivity and a true desire to universalize, and humanize the story of war. Personally, that description of the human craving for books, music, poetry, and love during a time of war, a time when none of those wonderful parts of life are accessible, that description really spoke to me.
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agree.
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It’s not really that “brave”. Brave would be directing a mainstream film for the general public to watch, disect and criticise – if this underperforms then its failure will be blamed on the subject matter.
I believe Drew Barrymore showed more stones by putting out Whip It!
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Why must we compare Drew Barrymore (another actress I love) to Angelina Jolie? Both are fine actresses who were “brave” enough to direct their own films. As women let’s support them and their film making achievements. To compare “Whip It” and “In the land of milk and honey” is like comparing apples to oranges. One film is about a all female rolling skating team and the other about females in pow camps. Both films are about the female experience. Neither could have been easy to finance or get made.
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I love these photos to be honest. They come across as glamour as she is such a beauty that its really hard for them to be understated. This interview seems far better than that craptacular 60mins one.
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of course they are glamor shots taken by fashion photographer. You don’t see a female politician or AID worker reveling her legs in a couture gown in magazines.
The cover photo is blah. Her world famous lips look gross like someone chewed an orange and spat out.
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her face is stunning. i just wish that the background of the mag wasn’t the same/similar color as her hair.
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Great Photos. That is sexy!
Newsweek has run entertainment related covers featuring actors for eons. Eons.
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- I really need to read that piece! The excerpts seem really interesting.
- That face, timeless! How can anyone be that beautiful, damnit!? The eyes, cheekbones, truly perfection. There’s probably some photoshopping but in candid photos she’s as gorgeous as she is in magazines so it’s not like you’re looking at a different face which is refreshing.
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Newsweek (and Time) have always done entertainment covers wasn’t Clooney on the cover of one of them last month?
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I’m thinking back to Goldie Hawn in Private Benjamin…….in 70 something and since then. Nothing new. Usually they are calibrated to match up with some other current affairs issue of social trend.
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The best part about the 60 Minutes interview was that her entire face MOVED when she spoke—her forehead wrinkled, the area between her eyes scrunched, etc. That face is real. It’s amazing.
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“A New Movie. A New Mission. Angie goes to War.” I have a feeling that even Jolie will cringe when she reads that headline. So aggrandizing and cheesy.
Anyway, I agree with others-she is truly one of the most beautiful women on earth. Breath-taking really..
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So she studied International Law and she STILL is so naive to work with the UN and buy all their lame ass excuses and motivations? Ah.
Look. I like her. But this whole “saintdoom- humanitarian – goody good – politics savy – wonderwoman” thing has got to go. She needs to chill and leave politics to politicians.
What is she trying to prove to herself, anyways? It’s ok to be human, you know.
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Are you serious? It looks like the politicians forgot about the Bosnians! She’s not doing this stuff just for the image; she’s doing it because she actually cares and has the resources to make an impact on people’s lives. And she does so much more than just donate; she takes steps to ensure that people who have suffered aren’t forgotten.
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Yeah, janie. I’m serious. The UN is a political organization that only takes into consideration “helping” countries when it is of political advantage to them (and to those handful of powerful people they are so eager to please). She looks, to me, like a clueless pawn in their hands.
Secondly, I do believe that Angelina is VERY naive when it comes to international crisis. for instance, her take on the “Arab spring” was a masterpiece of the UN well crafted BS, that even the most jaded politician in Europe could not stand by. We all knew what was going to happen after the riots.
Lastly, she does come across as if she’s trying to expiate some sort of sin, and it’s getting tired. It’s not just her humanitarian work, it is also about her general vibe nowadays. She is trying to erase every trace of human fault from her public persona, and that feels as if she can’t stand a part of herself that is just better to accept.
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@janie: She could give away her entire income to the refugee cause and some people would still fault her because she didn’t give away an arm and a leg too.
Some people, like the one you were responding to, just enjoy being bitter. Better they take it out on a website than kick the cat.
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Really, we’re laying the efficasy of the UN at Jolie’s feet?
And her attempts to do some good with her celebrity are irritating?
Jolie aside, if we wait till all the tools for doing good in the world are perfect before we try to do good…it will be a long long wait.
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She seems to have entirely forgotten the Palestinians.
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Sorry, Cheyenne, WHAT? “Kick the cat”?!
Look, sweetheart, I actually have a VERY bad opinion of celebrities who work with the UN, regardless of their name or last name or prettiness, because of the UN’s work and ethics.
I do not care nor will I ever care about Angelina Jolie specifically, who is surely a beautiful person.
Then, if you want to be all bitchy and judge a poster, do it on the opinion they express, not on them personally since you do not know them, mmk?
Also, I will not make assumptions on alleged pet violence inclinations on your part, since apparently I at least think older than you.
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dat’s tellin her
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The tone of both your posts speaks for itself. Lighten up a bit. All that bile is bad for your innards.
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Cheyenne, er, I’m the one who needs to “lighten up”?
No, sweetie pie. Oh, and cheers from my cat!
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Give your cat a hug. She probably needs one. You too.
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He gets plenty of hugs, and I do too, thanks!
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@RocketMerry: What have you done today for the less fortunate people? Even if you think UN is the devil, you still can’t deny that they are doing something for the refugees that a lot of us don’t even care about.
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These photos, WOW, stunning!
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maybe it s just me but i think she is so tiny like in unnormal way.
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OMG.how can someone look this stunning.her face is just AMAZING.really unfair.just the face and everyone will be hypnotized.no need to show boobs, over the top styling etc, etc.just that fantastic face.that say’s it all.oh angie, your a goddess.love you girl.
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An absolutely drop dead gorgeous face with a flawless bone structure but…I don’t know if that’s because she’s framing it with her hands (and her hands are skinny and long-fingered) but I have the impression that her face looks really thin on that cover.
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Okay the mag is on the newsstand and I’m reading a copy right now on my lunch hour. It’s a good interview. Angie seems to have done her homework while making this movie. Still hard to predict if it will be a critical and/or commercial success (critical, probably; commercial, very long shot), but this article will definitely generate interest among people who don’t read tabloids — which is most of the reading public.
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Gorgeous pics! That face! Amazing!
New adorable pics of Angelina and Jane Pitt in New York:
http://forums.thefashionspot.com/showpost.php?p=10005955&postcount=77
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Love the pix of her and Jane Pitt.. Bill Pitt is also there. Loved that they ce to NYC to support her… They must be so proud
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Great pics!
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Thanks for the link to the pictures of Angie with Jane and Bill Pitt. Awesome!
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Her magazine cover is beautiful but honestly the photos of her in the white are awful. She looks anorexic! That is not a natural weight. I’m 5’7, 116lbs and look nowhere near that skinny. She needs to start eating and hit the gym.
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Oh lord! All the Anistonites who insist after seven years that Bill and Jane Pitt hate Angie will be completely undone by those photos. Thanks for posting the link.
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What an amazingly beautiful, talented and inspirational woman! I love the Newsweek interview! Awesome.
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She is great.
One of the few actress in the world that do some study and research before anything.
Take that Swank.
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I just want to throw this out here … I hope it’s appropriate for this thread.
While surfing the Internet a couple of days ago I found a blurb that Angie with an Agent so they can find her ‘Writing’ and ‘Directing’ jobs, not acting roles. And you know what? That thought never ever occurred to me when I read that she’d signed with an Agent.
And it makes sense. People know her acting ability, but she’d need someone to push and fight with the Studios to get her signed on to write or direct a film.
Just more awesomeness from La Jolie!
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Good Grief!….. This woman is supermodel, ga-ga-gorgeous! It’s insane!
Keep going, Angie! You are an inspiration for many people…all over the world… from all walks of life!
So she is adding to her extensive CV…more writing and directing opportunities! She keeps pushing herself outside of her comfort zone to be more expressive and more creative (and of course, more in charge) of her talents.
She is very beautiful… with a heart of gold… she has a very full life…and she is intelligent as well as VERY TALENTED.
She is a very good example of what you can do with your life if you set your mind to it. She started very young and look where she is now! Wow!!! Go girl!
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This is probably the US edition of Newsweek. The rest of the world will have something else, just like the Time cover where the US edition had a cover story on “Why Anxiety is Good For You” and the rest of the world, including the Asian, European, and Latin American editions had a cover story on the Egyptian Revolution called “Revolution Redux”.
PS: One month to write an entire film script? Ha! Ha! Ha!
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GORGEOUS!!!
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She is so right. I remember at the time thinking why isnt the US getting involved? Oh because they dont have oil or anything for us.
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http://www.pajiba.com/trade_news/angelina-jolie-graces-the-cover-of-newsweek-gives-america-lethal-dose-of-the-heebiejeebies-.php
I just wanted to link this, its hilarious! As much as its a good photograph of Jolie, this one is even better!
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I guess her natural beauty bothers you! Green is not a good color on you LOL
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Srsly? Its Pajiba. Develop a sense of humor and you’ll get it. And besides, green is actually one of my fave colors!
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She looks gorgeous, love the photos and the interview excerpt was good too.
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Just read the article. Really well-written, thorough, insightful, not going to the tabloid route (just a small piece about her mother and children). Some interesting tidbits (like the writing of the scripts, how long they’ve been talking…). It’s a must read. Janine is very good journalist who obviously loves her work and actually does research before she starts her job!
The pictures are weird and gorgeous yet suitable for this article. A woman can be smart and beautiful
.
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Her face looks beautiful here, very Garboesque, but I can’t figure out why they chose this dumb pose with her hands. Her face is her best feature, her hands are possibly her worst. Why bring the two together? Let her face shine on its own.
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Her face is hideous to me. Look at how gaunt her features look.
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wow!! it’s gorgeous, the picture, and angelina.
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