Angelina Jolie Watch

There hasn’t been much Angelina news of late and I’ve never been one to post just for the sake of posting but we finally have some news. A few months back I reported that Angelina’s first film was being released on DVD this summer. Looks like Tuesday(the 30th) is the day. Lookin to Get Out, which starred Angie’s dad John Voight and Ann Margaret is Angie’s first big screen role. She played a  little girl who’s never met her father. The dad is played by Jon Voight. (Ironic I know.)

The film didn’t do well the first time around both the critical reception and box office were poor. “Hal was working on two other films at the time (of the movie’s release), and there was a lot of drama. Our film was handed over to other editors, and the result was a crippled movie. We were very hurt by the reception.” John Voight told the New York Post.

Voight decided to rerelease the filming after learning the director recut the film before he died in 1988.

“I was a co-writer and co-producer, so I had a lot to say about the casting… Angie was terrific, very well-prepared. I wasn’t looking for any signs whether she’d be an actress… Hal’s hand is in every single frame,” Voight added. “Finally, this is the film he intended. It’s like a message in a bottle.”

The plot focuses on two “on-the-run gamblers who hightail it to Las Vegas in an attempt to score big and avoid the thugs trying to collect on their gambling debts.”

Sounds like a fun film.

Angelina’s Jolie’s first film is set to hit DVD shelves this summer. Angelina’s work in Hal Ashby’s comedy Lookin to Get Out was actually cut from the 1982 release. Four-year-old Angelina appeared in the film alongside her father, Jon Voight, Ann Margaret and Burt Young. The film, with Angie’s part intact will also screen at the Sarasota Film Festival next month.

The plot centers around “two gamblers (Voight and Young) who must flee New York City after one loses a lot of money. They head for the gambling capital of the world, Las Vegas, to try to turn their luck around.”

Lee Ashby McManus, the daughter that Hal Ashby never met, thinks she’s the inspiration for Angelina’s character.

Voight told NewsBlogRadio.com, “She said, ‘I think the little girl at the end, who was played by Angelina Jolie… was me.’ I thought about it and I said, ‘It is very possible it was you.’ I remember discussions we had and it was supposed to be a little boy, and Hal wanted a little girl.”

What irony that a character based on a girl who never met her father is played by a girl who’ll become estranged from her’s.

Source: The Improper

Are you guys enjoying this as much as I am? I’m managed to round up one of the first videos of Angelina and Brad at the Oscars thanks to the official Oscar website.

Angelina, and perhaps Brad, has traveled from the West Coast to the East Cost over the past few days.  Brad and Angie were spotted at the uber trendy Katsuya restaurant Sunday night.  One paparazzi asked Brad and Angie if they are trying to compete with Nadya Suleman aka OctoMom. Brad responded with a cheeky, “Yeah we sure we are.” This was the second trip for the couple who also had dinner their Friday.

Today Angelina was spotted apartment shopping in New York. The family will settle there while Angelina films the spy thriller Edwin A. Salt. They’ve already secured a Lloyd Neck estate. Angie’s probably trying to find something in the heart the city for when she has long shoots.

Angelina’s Salt character is a CIA agent who’s been accused of spying for the Russians.  She escapes capture and tries to prove her innocence.  Salt features at least one scene where Angelina goes undercover as a man in order to sneak into a the White House.   An “insider” talked with Life & Style about the coming transformation, “I’m sure she’ll give Brad [Pitt], who aged in reverse in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a run for his money in the makeup department.”

Though the film is very close to starting not everyone has been cast.  In fact, Liev Schreiber(Naom Watt’s baby daddy) is in talks to join the cast.  Phillip Noyce who last worked with Angelina in The Bone Collector will direct.  It’ll be nice to see Angelina do a bit of action.  Sounds they’ve got a strong team in the works.

Angelina was interviewed yesterday as part of Nightline’s weeklong Oscar series. Here’s some of what she had to say that not included in the short clip that was able to scrounge up.

Her priorities in life:

“I’d say kids first … [being a] woman to Brad and then my work internationally and being a kind of … trying to educate myself and trying to learn about the world and … trying to do some good things while I’m alive.”

She doesn’t want to miss out on life for the sake of career:

“I don’t want to wake up one day and say I had my career that expanded so much longer and I did that many more films and miss out on all those other things in life,”

Her perspective on the the Oscar frenzy:

“I feel, for an actress, if you’ve ever done that in your career, it’s nice. Many people have had great careers and never won. I think you have to have your head around you to understand what certain things are, as much as they’re nice … it shouldn’t make you feel differently about your work.”

She added that she’s  “rooting for Brad” Oscar night.  This is Brad’s second nomination.  He was also nominated for Twelve Monkeys in 1995.  Brad’s looks often overshadow his talent. (I’m as guilty as the next person.)  We should remember that he’s a very good actor with a tremendous range.

Brad and Angelina skipped out on Monday’s Oscar luncheon.  Expect them to walk the red carpet Oscar night on February, 22.  Can’t wait to see what our favorite star wears.  I hope she rocks some old school Hollywood.  What about your?

In an interview with England’s GMTV, Angelina revealed that she weaned twins Knox Léon and Vivienne Marcheline after three months of breastfeeding. “It’s very hard. I stopped at three months, [it was] about as much as I could do.”

“There’s this football hold – it’s a lot harder than it looks in the books,” she said in the prerecorded interview. “I did that a few times. I would take turns. It just takes a long time.”

She also revealed the timing of the twins conception. “We decided to start trying in the beginning[of Changeling filming], and by the end I was.”

I really admire Angelina for sharing her parenting struggles. Sometimes the press can make celebrity parents look like they never experience any of the ups and downs of parenting. I’m sure lots of women relate to the difficulty of breastfeeding twins. Part 1 and 2 of the interview are below.
Part 1

Part 2

Angelina Jolie broke down at a Changeling press conference yesterday when she talked about how her mom inspired her portrayal of Christine Collins. So sad. It certainly explains her compelling performance in the film.

Cuteness. Find out what Angelina’s favorite candy is.

Angelina completed her first post-twins UNHCR trip yesterday.  She visited Afghan citizens who’d returned home from neighboring countries like Pakistan.

During her trip, Ms. Jolie visited recent returnees in the eastern province of Nangarhar, where almost 20 per cent of all Afghans who return to the homeland have settled since 2002.

Refugees told Angelina that they are not able to return to their homes of origins because of poor security and lack of land. People who have are still in their home country but are not able to return to their original city and state are classified as internal refugees.

Angelina was impressed with the “the courage, resilience and quiet dignity of returnee families rebuilding their lives against the kind of adversity few of us can imagine shows the human spirit at its best.” She encouraged more international age fore resettling Afghanis.

As always,  kudos to Angelina.

During this morning’s Today show appearance talked about adoption, the Changeling and the nomad lifestyle they live. Here are a few snippets.

They will adopt again:
“Yeah. I have something in mind.”

They’ll weigh when the time is right:
“It depends…you can’t even start the process until any new children are six-months-old. It’s a smart thing…to understand when to bring another child in.”

The family handles new additions with ease these days:
“We have so many children that they’re not really stunned anymore when kids come home.”

We also have new scenes from the Changeling. This is going to be an amazing movie.  I’m guessing that Angelina is in New York for a very short time to do Changeling press.  Do you think the twins are with her?  What about the other kids? I thought Brad had started filming.

Angelina Jolie and Clint Eastwood gave an exclusive interview to MTV. Looks like Angelina’s presence was a surprise to the interviewer.

The family is having a grand old time in the Big Apple. Friday, Angelina took the three oldest kids to Lee’s Art Shop. Angie and kids always hit up Lee’s when they are in New York.   Lee’s is a four story Manhattan landmark that features every art supply under the sun.  They’ve even got a remodeled toy department on the second floor. Click on the pics below to make them larger.

Friday night Angelina attended a Changeling Dinner at Il Bucco. For the occasion she rocked out a gray trench that matched her eyes. I really like her hair a bit longer with just a hint of curl.

Il Bucco is a well known Italian restaurant that was actually started by and independent filmmaker. Though Angie attended solo she was joined by the rest of the Changeling cast.

Images

ET just released an exclusive sneak peak of Changeling. The clip includes short interview with Angelina Jolie and director Clint Eastwood. We’ve seen most of these clips but there a few new portions.

This list movies looks deeply disturbing. Remember folks the film is based on a true story. Angelina plays the mom of a missing boy that has supposedly been returned but Mom has her doubts. In the movie, Collins is made to look like an unift mother and eventually committed to an asylum. Christine’s insistence that this wasn’t her son eventually helped expose corruption in the LAPD.

Angelina has said that she pulled on characteristics of her own mother for the roll. She talked about taking on the roll shortly after her mothers death, “I lost my mother a few months before (shooting) the film,” she said. “To me she’s very much like my mother — my mother was very passive in many ways and very, very sweet but when it came to her children she was a lion.

“It was a way to kind of revisit my mother after (her) passing, spend time with her.”

The Changeling opens on Friday, October 24. You can watch the HD trailer at Yahoo! Movies.

This film looks like it might be an Oscar contender.
Will you be the first in line?

We’ve got some video news reports already. This is going to be a busy day folks.