Angelina Jolie is still hearing some grumbling and mumbling after she pulled out of filming in Bosnia. It seems that Jolie could deny, deny, deny, but some Bosnian groups still believed that her film was about a rape victim falling in love with her rapist. Jolie announced last week that although the Bosnian government had given her permission to film there, she was going to complete her film in Hungary, and likely send a second unit to Bosnia for a few days to get some exterior shots. Her announcement came on the heels of yet another rape-victim advocacy group protesting the film, this time in an open letter, so it seemed like the two events were related, and that Angelina really just didn’t want to deal with various groups of people who wouldn’t give up the belief – despite repeated denials – that the subject matter is about rape. Anyway, Angelina is trying to scrounge up some good press from the film shoot, so she granted an interview to a Hungarian media outlet. Here’s most of the piece:
You live in the fast lane starring in movies, raising kids, and running around the world as a great humanitarian. Why and when did you find the time to write this script?
Actually, like nine-ten months ago I got the flu and had to keep some distance for a few days from my kids not to get them sick. So I was sitting in another part of the house and had been reading and felt like I should just start writing. But I didn’t have the Final Draft program, so I had to go space, space, space… And the first draft of it looked really funny. Everything was zigzag, it didn’t line up. It was a very funny, unprofessional looking piece. Then, for weeks, I left the script on my desk.What gave you the idea for the story?
I’ve had a lot of frustration with how long it takes to intervene or understand what’s happening within a conflict and for the world to give assistance to these people in need, and get the right information out to the international community. I’ve met with so many people over the years, and in some way this story could take place in any country. The essence of it is we meet people on the eve of the war and we see what their lives could have been. We meet them as young people, and it’s a lot of hope and wonderful lives that come out from Yugoslavia. They’re an extraordinarily unique people. And then the war begins in Bosnia and it’s how even people who try to hold on to their humanity as long as they can are effected, it is about living inside war and witnessing the death of your friends and family, and what that eventually does to people and how it takes its toll on them. And it started for me with just that thought that if there’s a way to intervene even in one year what damage has been done … But for four years, five years? Look at Darfur now! Things go on for so long without proper assistance and intervention.The conflict in Yugoslavia had a long pre-history and has had a long-lasting history after the war was over.
It’s true. I had to learn so much. Because it started out with a simple story and I knew I had to get a great education in this part of the world in order to complete it. A lot of it came from the research I’ve done. I watched documentaries and films, I met with experts, but in the end I cast local people and they all sat with me and told me their stories and walked me through what they did during the war, how they survived the war and what their families went through. So they helped me complete the story. There are people from all parts and all sides of the conflict in the film and they all talked to me about how they felt. So we tried to make it kind of a collective voice.The little you’ve shared so passionately about the film so far was that you don’t want to make a political statement and this is a movie about people. But sometimes you must take political sides.
Well, there isn’t an intended political statement. My goal was try to talk to people from all sides of the situation and allow them to have a voice. Allow them to have to go through what they went through and express it whether it be extreme cruelty or the loss of humanity or the extreme sense of hope or the beauty, whatever it was. I think if you represent something right, it’s not your view. It is their view. It’s a combination of views from different sides. And they are all stating what they believe in and they’re all making their arguments and the characters are all going through different things and they’re all doing different things and in the end they’re all being affected. If there’s a political statement it’s that hopefully people will watch it and say where was I when this was happening? How did I not know ? Why did I not do anything? Why did my country not do more? Why did it take so long? And next time when this happens what can we do to prevent? You would like to believe it couldn’t happen today. But I think there’s something about this time in history especially because it happened so recently that reminds everybody that it does happen today. We haven’t learned to deal with these issues, decades after World War Two. Hopefully it will also be a beautiful story where you get to know some of the people of the former Yugoslavia.Why do you keep referring to Yugoslavia, a country that doesn’t exist anymore?
Because when I asked all these people in this film what’s your nationality or where you’re from even in the casting tapes, they’d say I was born in Yugoslavia. Now I’m something somebody tells me I am, but I was born Yugoslavian. Now a lot of them on paper are one thing or another or some even have to check “other” on forms because their parents are from different backgrounds. So now they’re Bosnian, Serbian, Croatian, but then and at birth they were Yugoslavian.How did you make sure of historical and political accuracy?
I was never intentionally trying to make something political. I was always trying to make it human. And so I tried to stay as close to real human stories that I knew had happened and I talked to people that really went through it and let these artists really express their true stories. And so in that there was truth. The more you dig in the more you find. This region is very complex, and there’re many opinions. There’re very passionate opinions on all sides for different ways of handling all the different scenes. But there were certain things that everybody agreed on. And in the end there was nothing in the script that any one actor said “you can’t have or this doesn’t make sense”. So I let them say what felt right or what felt wrong and then we’d investigate different elements of the story to see if we can find different research on one element or one scene, and I tried to talk to as many people as I could and get a kind of a general sense. But at the same time I had to remember that we’re not making a documentary, and I couldn’t possibly cover this war. I can tell a piece of this war and I can tell a story that I think is worth telling and hopefully within it there’re many voices represented and I hope it will make people talk and discuss this war and these situations again, and remember the people that went through this. But I tried to also remember how to give characters and a dramatic story, and try to tell a story that would also be engaging for people whose focus isn’t politics. Because they don’t necessarily follow this kind of stuff in the news, or they wouldn’t necessarily want to see a political or a foreign film, but we hope they will be open to our film. Which is why we say it’s “a love story”, only it’s a different kind of love story.How did you raise the budget?
I gave the script to Graham King whom I did The Tourist with, and he said he’d support the project, and Brad and I also put our money in. We had a big talk about doing it with local people and no names. It had to be that way. And it got to a point where I almost couldn’t not do it! I didn’t want to be a director, it somehow just fell so into place. I had one day when I realized it all fell into place and I had that panic moment of oh my god… what am I doing? I don’t know how to do this. I’ve never done this. I don’t know what I’m getting into and getting myself into. And it’s not a simple story and it’s a sensitive story, and it’s the people’s history and the cast is from this area, and I want to make sure I do right by them. I had trouble sleeping for a little while. But it’s been the greatest film experience.And then… you showed up in Budapest!
They came to me and said it’s great to shoot in Budapest. The crew came and they scouted and they said “you wouldn’t believe Raleigh Studios! It’s extraordinary. You wouldn’t believe the local crews. You wouldn’t believe the locations. We don’t have to fly everybody in, there’s a whole bunch of pros there.”The internet has been abuzz with you going, then not going to Bosnia to shoot parts of the film. What`s the latest?
We’re trying to make a film about not one particular person or group because that’s not the voice of the people. We’re going to Bosnia, yes. Anybody telling a story about somebody else’s history has to respect their sensitivities that they can never understand and they have to be extremely respectful and extremely careful. And I know here everybody on this crew is coming from the right place and their heart is in the right place and wanting to do a good thing and wanting to do what all the people feel comfortable with. If you’ve really lived through something it’s just so personal to you that there’s never anything enough to do or say the right thing. I have so much love for this part of the world, and I’ve got to know this cast from all over Yugoslavia and they’ve all become dear friends of mine and they’ve taught me so much.How is it to be director now that the panic is gone?
Actually, from the very first day I’ve loved it more than I’ve ever loved acting. I’ve always loved being an actor but there’s something about being a director where you really get to know the crew and the actors so much more. You really become part of the team. Actors kind of stay in their scenes and their characters and they`re in their moments and they stay together quite often. But as a director… to really be able get to know everyone, the camera department, the grips, the electrics, the sound, the set designers and working closely with them…How much do you need to know about technical stuff?
Technically I’m extremely lucky to have Dean Semler with me. Everybody knows him not just as an extremely talented DP but also just as a very helpful, gracious man. So any time I’m confused about something I can always lean over and ask him to explain it to me and he does it with such care and never making me feel I don’t know something but seems happy to help me learn. And I got some technical books. We laughed because I had a last minute pile next to my bed of different ways to shoot scenes, and I tried to do a crash course. And I tried to pull out images, reference images and light images, I did a lot of that to try to explain not just with words on the page but also with images to the crew what I was looking for. And we had a lot of research material that helped.Is the film going to be black and white or color?
It’s shot in color but it could transfer to black and white. We haven’t decided that. I can show you… we put a series of pictures together in black and white and it was beautiful. But the important thing I want to make sure that we make a film for people who just want to go to the movies to watch a love story. To not be put off by anything that seems too heavy So we want to walk that fine line to make it accessible to everybody because it`s important for as many people to see it.Are you shooting it in English or, in all fairness, in one or more languages of the former Yugoslavia?
We actually shot a full version in their native language and we shot a full version in English. We shot two complete films. I was only able to do it because the actors were so fluent in English so they were willing to work hard and do the scenes in two languages.And which language will be your choice for distribution?
We talked to the distributors about it and they might just offer every country an option. So if they want it in the native language they can have it. That’s the plan. But we certainly have done it for the people in the area.When are you going to release it?
I don’t know. I have lots of people giving me lots of opinions. I just want to do it right. I have to go back and edit both versions at the same time in Los Angeles, because Brad`s working there, so we’ll be in LA. And if it hopefully turns out well and people respond to it…we’ll see. But of course I want to pay respect to the area and the cast and the people, so I am listening to them and where they want it released. I still just hope to put a good film together.
[From Vasarnapi Hirek]
Um… she shot the whole thing in English, and then she shot the whole thing in the “native language”. Wait, what is the native language? Let me look it up. According to Google, the most common and widely spoken language is called Serbo-Croatian, otherwise known as Serbo-Croat, otherwise known as Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian (BSC). I learned something today. I learned that Angelina Jolie uses up a lot of damn film because she can’t make the call for what language she wants to shoot her film in. Whatever happened to dubbing? Whatever happened to subtitles? You know she just made TWO different films.
Also – look, you know I love her, but my girl has moments where she’s terribly affected and grandiose. I rolled my eyes when she answered the question about filming in Bosnia with “We’re trying to make a film about not one particular person or group because that’s not the voice of the people.” Angelina, HUSH. You are not the voice of the people, and your film is not the voice of the people! Even if it was, that’s not for you to say, mmkay?
…no, but she’s attempting to represent the voice of an entire population, and she said as much in the interview. I’d buy the opinions of her cast and crew over what can be “read into” the way she speaks about the project.
She is very charitable but she seems to take herself too seriously.
This movie will need the Wayne’s World tagline:
You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll hurl.
I think all they hype about her being ST. ANGIE..has finally gone to her head…
b*tch please
love la jolie and can’t wait to hear her oscar speech when she wins best director
she did not say she is voice of people , she said she want the voice of the people to be heared , normal people and not one side of the story
read well
I thought I would never see the day you stopped kissing her ass.
I don’t think she meant that she was the “voice of the people”. I read it to mean that she didn’t want to focus on just one group because that isn’t representative of what that area is. She is trying to get perspective of all of them. I don’t see how that’s a bad thing. The movie sounds like a version of Romeo & Juliet. I’m not sure what she did, but you used to give her benefit of doubt, Kaiser, and now you just seem to assume the worst.
Wow that big head of hers is ’bout to topple her little ass over.
Actually, from this interview it’s clear that she knows a lot about Yugoslavia and this war and other related things but her movie isn’t about them, it’s a love story, where war etc is just a background.
Another thing – budget of the movie is 15mil so if she managed to “make 2 movies” with this bidget it’s actually realy cool and not something to shame her with. And dubbing doesn’t work for every market out there, for example in US they don’t dub movies they show them with subtitles and no one goes to see such films unless Hollywood makes a remake in English.
Could this be an overcomplicated exercise in political correctness and the inability to express value judgments?….as in there is no wrong/no right?
If so, it will miss the mark as a work of art, or, as plain old entertainment.
Atleast Angelina did not call the people ( retarded).
No matter what the haters say, she is still getting paid millions. I wonder how much the haters are making?
*Confused* I read the whole thing and read it again, then once more for good measure and I promise I never got the tone of her voice where Angie even THINKS she is the voice of the people. Angie is saying she wants THE PEOPLES voice to be heard.
It was a very long interview, its quite understandable things get misread just like people mishear things or misunderstand things. Its natural.
I don’t think there is anything wrong with shooting a film in one language and then in another. Thats exactly what they are doing with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
I always get super inspired reading Angie’s interviews. I am excited for her and can’t wait to see this film.
Angelina never said she was the “voice of the people.” Please read what she said. And everything she said in that interview has been said by just about every director who has ever directed. Please!! The woman is trying to do right by a movie she is responsible for. What’s wrong with that?
And it does not cost any more money to film a movie in two languages. Most of the time a scene is done two, three or a dozen times to get it right. There would be no monetary difference in filming a scene first in english and then in the native tongue. None whatsoever. In fact, dubbing would cost MORE money because you would have to do that after the fact and possibly pay another actor to do it. So Angelina was being practical.
On another note: I wonder what movie Brad will be filming in L.A. early next year while Angelina is editing the film?
didn’t read read the post yet… first, i just came down here to say i don’t believe Angie would say something as delicate as that in a condescending manner or context. good. okay…now, back up top to read the articles and posts 🙂
What a stupid, stupid woman…
During the early to mid 90s, when the Bosnian War was going on, millions of people her age were watching it, studying it. What was she doing? Drugs, self-mutilation, modeling, and scrambling for a low budget acting part. And yet, just because she was blissfully unaware of major world affairs at the time, she assumes that everyone else was as oblivious and ignorant as she was. And that we all need to now be educated by her?
Is she fuckin’ kidding with this? It takes a truly self-absorbed person to think that she’s the first one to ever know about something once she learns about it. And almost two decades after the fact, I might add. Does she not even realize how many other movies have already been done on the subject? Such delusions of grandeur. She thinks she has invented everything she ever does…
For someone who supposedly loves Angie you are more critical than the Bosnia womens group. You are a liar and have never been fully positive about anythin that Angie does. So keep writing your Aniston is gorgeous joke articles and leave Angie alone. Phoney.
Please go back and reread because that’s not what Angelina said at all. I think it’s great to do this film in different languages, beats having to read captions. Remember it’s her movie and not yours. hush
LMAO, my Brangeloonie card is being revoked!!!
I’ve read this thing so many times, and yes, I think she is saying that HER FILM is attempting to be the “voice” of the people.
Angelina seems to be really enjoying making this movie. I’m sure she does not mind that Brad is being so supportive.
What a great life Angelina has, to be able to do the work that she loves and enjoys, to have a loving supportive man beside you and to have 6 beautiful little ones and a good man to go home to everyday.
Angelina has it all, no wonder the haters, hate so much. To top that she is rich and her man is rich. LOL How could this woman life get any more perfect?
How about she finance, guide and mentor a group of Bosnian women to make a documentary and tell their own story / stories in the way that they see fit?
She could also use her considerable resources to set up a film-making scholarship programme which would allow the women to learn about the film-making process and produce their own documentaries/movies which speak about their own issues.
In this way she can show her professed concern that their “voices” be heard and allow the people to speak for themselves.
After all, helping people in need is not supposed to be about enjoying yourself, but about ensuring the people you claim to be helping have full agency and autonomy to address their own needs.
Just a thought.
whatever brings the hits
after reading that, i maintain my stance. she didnt say SHE is the voice of the poeple. if anything, she’s trying to make a movie that can be looked at as the voice of the people… two completely different things, Kaiser.
it’s good tho’… people bitching about AJ is the norm. makes me feel like they know something about her they don’t know they know 🙂 like how awesome she is! plus, everybody hates celebrities! they are so easy to hate. lmao!
@Mia135; who’s to say she’s not already doing that? surely, u don’t think u know what she gets up to 24/7?
wow, she shot TWO whole movies?! makes me giddy! me, i’m African. i wish she were doing the film in Darfur!
@Kaiser, like what’s celebitchy’s tagline? escapism can be smart! your headline read ‘Did Angelina just call HERSELF ‘the VOICE’ of the Bosnia people? yup, it’s sooo ambiguous! and so is her interview! *blink blink*
@Olivia, AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! stop banging your head on the keyboard, you’ll get a concussion. lmao!
@Love Angelina: No they didn’t shoot two versions of the same film, the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is the American remake of the original (far superior) Swedish movie. Fincher decided Americans are too stubborn to watch the original with subtitles, and had to rush a vastly inferior product.
Great article about this phenomenon in the Guardian a few weeks ago http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/nov/09/girl-dragon-tattoo-american-remake
What is so funny, the people who despise Angelina Jolie the most, are usually the ones making multiple comments on any and all Angelina-related threads.
It must be infuriating to be so obsessed with someone you hate so much. LMFAO
@Sakyiwaa. And in much the same way that I don’t know what she gets up to 24/7 (and I never claimed that I did), please show me the evidence that YOU know what she gets up to 24/7 and can confirm that she IS in fact actually doing what I suggested.
Six is half a dozen.
Because Angelina Jolie is a respected humanitarian does not mean that she is above critique. Engaging in ally work to help marginalized people can be a very difficult and complicated process. Angelina herself will be the first to tell you this. So because someone may raise concerns about the way she is approaching a project – trying to dismiss those concerned people as “jealous haters” shows blatant disregard for the actual humanitarian work that she is trying to do.
NB: This is actually my first time commenting on an Angelina thread of this nature, although I have read them all. You will also note that I gave my suggestions about what she could do RESPECTFULLY; I have no interest on “hating” on her because she is a celeb.
if anything she said she tried to avoid being a voice of ONE GROUP/SIDE because it’s much more complicated than that and there is no group/person/side that could claim being absolutely “right” and objective. It’s quite obvious from the context that there are no “people” with united voice and position, but the chorus of voices that all are singing different tunes.
What she does claim is that she or her movie ain’t the voice of anyone in particular.
Olive: You hit the nail on the head like no one ever has before on an AJ post. I truly detest this condescending tone she exudes in every sound bite – she may be one of the more intelligent and humanitarian MOVIE STARS, but amongst real people? HAH. Please, no one needs to be schooled by AJ, and the sooner she figures that out, the better.
Gosh she could have just taken that 20$ mill to do a sci-fi movie and called it a day. I don’t get why she is taking so much heat for using her own money to do a movie about a recent even that almost no one talks about. I mean did anyone get this mad when Eastwood made a movie about Aparthied?
I like that she shot the film twice. One for the English speaking world and another for the people in that country. I think it is respectful. Dubbing and subtitles suck.
@Mia135; welcome to the board, you’re a first-time poster? Nice to meet you. Well, to be fair, i also don’t know everything she gets up to… so what i do is… i don’t “suggest” what she should be doing with her money and her time. actually, you’re criticizing her for something you don’t know for sure, if she’s already doing or has plans of doing or not. i’m basing my arguments on what’s more likely. she’s never referred to any “concerned people” as “jealous haters” and she didn’t say “whatever!” like Kaiser insinuated and pack out of Bosnia. As you can read from the interview above, the movie is already wrapped. Two movies even. I just think it’s ironic to critique a humanitarian for no reason. 🙂 where’s Bono when you need him?
“What a stupid, stupid woman…
During the early to mid 90s, when the Bosnian War was going on, millions of people her age were watching it, studying it. What was she doing? Drugs, self-mutilation, modeling, and scrambling for a low budget acting part. And yet, just because she was blissfully unaware of major world affairs at the time, she assumes that everyone else was as oblivious and ignorant as she was. And that we all need to now be educated by her?
Is she fuckin’ kidding with this? It takes a truly self-absorbed person to think that she’s the first one to ever know about something once she learns about it. And almost two decades after the fact, I might add. Does she not even realize how many other movies have already been done on the subject? Such delusions of grandeur. She thinks she has invented everything she ever does…”
Thank you the great post. If I might add, how dare she even insinuate that she is bringing awareness to the Balkan conflict.
The only thing she’s contributing is a public view of how delusional she is and that her famewh@ring has reached a level where she needs an intervention.
Unfortunately for us, she lives with a man affected by the same condition and it’s quite obvious that the two of them cultivate each others delusions. Sad case.
@Strawberry – I just tried to make a pointless point to combat a pointless complaint that people make the same movie in different languages. I know they will be made by two different people and for two different audiences but still…there is already a film with the same story and same title. The ORIGINAL director of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo isn’t pleased with the American remake at all.
@Mia135 This movie isn’t part of her humanitarian efforts it’s part of her main job so I don’t see how you can argue that she’d better set up a film school for Bosnian women instead of directing it.
And honestly somehow I doubt film school is what they really need to feel better. Besides there are quite a few movies and documetaries about mass rapes during that war already, don’t think the world needs Angelina’s financied version that much.
I know it seems to us that she has a bit of an ego, but remember she has seen more than you and I will ever dream in the way of refugees and war torn countries. I believe she is just really passionate and almost obsessed with telling what is really going on around us. But because we have not been to theses areas and seen these people we will NEVER be able to appreciate this information like she can. She really is trying to help.
@Sakyiwaa, and I suggest you familiarize yourself with the difference between the meaning of the words “criticism” and “critique”.
As I said before, this is my first-time commenting on an AJ thread of this nature; I am not a first-time poster to this board.
And I never said it was AJ who referred to concerned people as “jealous haters”. My comment clearly was directed at those persons who dismiss any critique of her efforts made by people as jealous haters. My comment wasn’t even directed towards anyone on this thread, but more the general public.
Ultimately though, I think it should be remembered that this isn’t actually about Angelina Jolie (or at least it shouldn’t be), but about the Bosnian people(s).
@Mia135, i suggest you go to Bosnia and interview Angelina yourself so as not to lose any sleep over this. 🙂
@Mia135; Critiscism: 1. disapproval: spoken or written opinions that point out one or more faults of somebody or something
2. assessment of creative work: considered judgment of or discussion about the qualities of something, especially a creative work
Critique: a review of somebody’s work: a written or broadcast assessment of something, usually a creative work, with comments on its good and bad qualities
so…when is my next English class, Mia135? 😀
@N.D. Thanks for clearing that up. I thought the movie was being made to highlight and address past injustices that took place during the Bosnian conflict. I didn’t realize it was just a movie project on her part.
I stand corrected.
Kaiser I think you should go back and reread the interview again and really read it because she did not say she was the voice of the people but wanted the movie to not be about the voice of one group or side but of everyone voices and their side. For the people saying she has a big ego or that she thinks she better then the conmen person did not read this interview or read it with blinders on and only saw what they wanted to see and not what was actually said. That usually happens when people don’t like someone they only what to see that person as doing bad or wrong and as nothing else.
Angelina Jolie is a brand created by Jolie herself, publicists and audience.
Nowhere within this persona there is a room for taking a step back and letting others into the spotlight.
Anything she has done and will ever do is design to keep her on the front pages of news outlets. That’s how money is money and victims of natural disasters, wars and political conflicts are being used to generate hefty paycheck for Miss Jolie.
Sure, on some level there is an awareness but that’s not the priority.
As long as we talk about her, as long as she invents story after story of how she was moved and touched by targedy of others we wallow in the great fantasy that one is as good as media say she is.
I cannot believe people are actually serious when saying ” Can’t wait to hear her Oscar speech when she wins the best director Oscar” Are you kidding me? The movie isn’t even done yet, and yet you think, based on seeing NOTHING, Jolie is going to win the best director Oscar? Amazing.
But who’s the one really losing sleep Sakyiwaa? I merely outlined suggestions in my first comment and YOU are the one who came on replying to ME, claiming that I was criticizing her and saying that I claimed to know what she was up to 24/7. When nowhere in my comments did I ever say such a thing.
Yes, I’m glad you recognize the difference between criticism and critique now. The words “disapproval” and “judgement” of course being what places criticism apart from critique.
And like I said before, I stand corrected. My understanding of the reason for the project she is involved in (as N.D. pointed out) was obviously flawed and in need of more research of on my part. Humanitarian project versus movie-making are obviously two very different things.
I read this over several times, and I am still puzzled over how “We’re trying to make a film about not one particular person or group because that’s not the voice of the people.” can be misconstrued by anyone to mean she is saying that SHE is the voice of the people. It seems to me she is saying that there is no one particular person or group in Bosnia that represents all Bosnians. She never said her POV is representative of everyone in the country.
But as I’ve noticed on these threads before, and as Jamie just observed above, haters gon’ hate.
for me, as long as she keeps putting her $ where her mouth is, she has a little more leeway to sound grandiose at times.
@Sakyiwaa: comment 39, 🙂
@anti: “for me, as long as she keeps putting her $ where her mouth is, she has a little more leeway to sound grandiose at times.” yep 🙂
Kaiser – I agree, it reads as if she’s saying her film is trying to be the voice of the people. Its good to see see AJ has one objective fan:)
Mia135 – Great idea. You obviously put some thought in to your post…kudos to you.
jolie is no longer in bosnia, try the south of france
@Mia135. i don’t mean to sound mean. you have the right to your opinion. you sound gracious. and i don’t take any of this seriously. but i really like AJ. and i hope to hear more about her humanitarian work and i hope to see her movie. hope to see more of you on here too.
@no.50(whosenameismuddled) AJ has a lot of objective fans, Kaiser isn’t the only one. however, the way she put the headline and what Angie’s actually said are two completely different things.
@biteme; South of France? yay! great. she needs to lay low.
@saywhat…as long as Oprah lives, i would never call Angie condescending. plus, i would never call Angie a “brand creator” and not “taking a step back and allowing others to have the spotlight”. are you 60 years old? 🙂 i’ve a few phrases for you; Jersey Shore, DWTS, Teen Moms, Keeping Up With the Kardashians… now that’s “branding”.
@wonderful: How does Jolie sound “condescending” in interviews? Do you think she would sound better if she threw in a lot of um’s, yeah’s, and yanno’s, and twirled her hair while trying to put together a coherent response to a simple question? Just asking.
say what: That can be said about every celebrity out there who ever had anything written about them and if you really feel that way then don’t talk about her don’t comment on her post.
Zzzzzz…..
“had to keep some distance for a few days from my kids”
“So I was sitting in another part of the house…”
man! ain’t that the life.
if i had a set up like that, i would agree to having more kids in a *finger snap* NY minute!
lol 🙂
Cheyenne – seriously? That’s your response? Oh yes, that’s what I want, more idiots on the screen. You completely missed the point, on purpose I might add. I dont want her to be STUPID, i want her to stop assuming the rest of us ARE. It’s a bit like the cleanest kid in the mud pit assuming they must then be the cleanest in the world as well.
I have no idea how she “sounds,” I loathe celebrity interviews. I do know how she appears in print, however, and she is actually quite condescending to those of us with brains. I must not be her target audience.
Angelina could have said ” I love puppies” and the negative comments would be the same.
Isn’t she just brilliant. Others work on a script for years. She gets sick one day and voila! goes into say, west wing of her house and script is ready.
Dear famous and accomplished directors, be ashamed!!! Be very ashamed for working on a script for months or years.
Angelina does in a few days!! Shame on you people!
Who cares what Angelina says, she can say what she wants. She is happy, Brad is happy and the family is doing great.
She is still rich and getting richer. For Angelina, life is good and that is the problem for the haters.
Angelina is unstoppable, lord knows the haters have tried.
Rock/hard place. Despite the experience Angelina has with international human rights-she blew this one. She needs to hire a real diplomat-I think Colin Powell might be free, and he is a very respectable and non-threatening male-if she wants to just blow things off and continue filming.
I’m on Team Angelina, too, but I feel some bad ju-ju comin’ on.
I think I have to agree with Kaiser. She effectively states in the fourth paragraph, first and second sentences: “Well, there isn’t an intended political statement. My goal was try to talk to people from all sides of the situation and allow them to have a voice.”
That pretty much says it.
I respectfully but vehemently disagree Kaiser. No where in that entire interview did she claim that she was the voice of the people, nor is she trying to purport that her film is – just that she got as much input from the people whose lives were affected by the war so that THEIR voices aka the voice of the people could be heard. Yeah I think there are times when Angelina (more so Brad) are kinda up their own arses but this imho is not one of those times.
Uhm I have to say considering the reaction of actual Bosnians that read her script especially some who stated they would never participate in a movie about this subject matter I am willing to give her a chance. Here is a quote from the respected actor Rade Serbedzija
“For almost two months already I have been in contact with Angelina Jolie. She tried to contact me via my agents and they told her that I am not acting in movies on war in former Yugoslavia.
I rejected all offers because scenarios were mainly poor and onesided. When she was told why I had rejected her offer, Angelina contacted me by phone and asked me to read the scenario. The text is fantastic,” Serbedzija said.
http://www.filmofilia.com/2010/08/26/rade-serbedzija-on-angelina-jolies-war-love-story/
Serbo-Croatian ceased to exist in 1991. I’m Croatian and the majority of Croats identify themselves solely as Croats, not as born Yugoslavians. Thus the war, you know? Angelina surely cannot be the voice of Bosnian people and Rade Šerbedžija is not a completely sane person, in my personal opinion.
The harder Angelina works to serve the unheard and abused women of the world… the angrier people seem to get that she is bringing up the issue. It is not that the issue is an issue (Bosnia, Darfur, Afghanistan, etc.). It is the FACT that ANGELINA thinks it is worthy of her time to focus on it and employs her international influence, which has proved highly effective over the years, to influence others to become aware and act.
For those of you who are…ahem…”already enlightened” about the daily atrocities Third World women face and other horrid crimes against their human rights, how can you can tire of another voice trying to help? Do you know how to love your neighbor… or not? Angelina does. She does not limit herself to just loving Brad and their kids.
Like it or not, Angelina’s passion for the suffrage of women and children is real. She is a very selfless woman…and her evident, consistent acts of charity and grace, documented over the years, grate the nerves of bloggers post after post.
Remember this: to those who have much received, much is expected.
Isn’t it amazing how nobody is upset that George Clooney is not doing a movie about Darfur? I mean, yes, he has fundraisers and he goes to Darfur but he hasn’t put his own money behind a movie (or even a docu) about the troubles in Darfur. But, that is apparently okay because he’s George Clooney and not Angelina Jolie.
And then there is Clint Eastwood, a man I love, but his movie about South Africa during their darkest period was very much one-sided but nobody complained about that. Of course, nobody bothered to see it but still, only Angelina Jolie gets complaints when she does a movie about something she cares deeply about. When she gives an intelligent interview talking about the movie, she is call “condecending.” Why is that? She is obviously an intelligent woman who speaks well and knows her subject. She isn’t talking down to anybody, she is just answering questions from a reporter. If any of you think she is talking to you as if you were an idiot then, maybe you are!!!
I will always admire this woman for standing up and being confident and doing what she wants to do even though there are people in the world who hate her for just being herself. She’s tough and I love her and if that makes me a “loonie” then, so be it.
Serbo-Croatian ceased to exist in 1991. I’m Croatian and the majority of Croats identify themselves solely as Croats, not as born Yugoslavians.
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Have you spoken to the “majority of Croats”?? I doubt it. Stop with the hyperbole.
Angelina said that the “actors in this movie” identified themselves as Yugoslavian because they were “born Yugoslavian.” I repeat: the PEOPLE IN THIS MOVIE said that, not Angelina. So, I don’t see your point. And to disrespect this actor shows what an immature little Croat you are.
@wonderful: If you think she is assuming that everyone is “stupid”, then I think that says a lot more about you than it does about her.
Actually, she’s quite good in live interviews, makes sure she is prepared to discuss intelligently whatever the topic is, and is able to think on her feet, without interspersing her comments with “uh”, “yeah”, “um”, “yanno”, gawping, hair-twirling, etc. Perhaps to you that signifies condescension on her part.
@sasa I didn’t mean to offend you my point in quoting him was to state that actors of Serbian and Croation descent who read the script agreed to participate in the movie so she must be doing something right.
@ Devilgirl I completely agree that people who think she is going to win a Best Director Oscar are out of control. Even brilliant directors like Scorsese, Eastwood, etc took decades to win an Oscar and there are other famous directors who never won . It doesn’t just happen I doubt she will even be nominated even if it is good and I am a crazed fan.
Read Olive’s post again and you will see what I truly meant about condescension.
@wonderful, you sure have a “charming personality” who told you were wonderful? yourself? how “condescending”. to think of yourself as “wonderful” all by yourself. i’ve met a no. of people and only the condescending ones referred themselves “wonderful” 🙂 oh, and you have a brain too. nice of you to inform us.
@sasa, way to go. you think an actor from your own country is a nutcase. way to promote Croatia. how enlightening. 🙂
@mslewis, love both posts!funny! lol! especially like the ending of the second one.
@RHONYC, Thank you! You seem to be the only one, besides myself, that noticed those lines out of the interview!
“But at the same time I had to remember that we’re not making a documentary, and I couldn’t possibly cover this war.”
If she couldn’t possibly make a documentary, then why is she making this Love Story?
I haven’t seen any documentaries about this war. (And I do watch quite a few.) I would think that “telling stories with dignity following war” would first be done factually, through documentaries, and then…..later…..as art.
@wonderful: Condescension indeed, but not in the way you meant it.
Jolie never said she is the first voice on the the Bosnian war or even the first authoritative voice. She simply felt that this was a movie that should be made. How many movies have been made on the Vietnam War? I’ve lost count. Does that mean there’s not room for one more?
I do think Kendra made a good point: Jolie could say “I love puppies” and you and the rest of the haters would accuse her of looking for a dog to kick.
Well I had strep and had to keep away from my kids for 3 days but I just watched reality tv
@Josephina, fantastic post!
@Anti-icon, lol! watch the Discovery Channel. i’m sure you’ll catch a documentary on the war one of these days. i wish AJ would give you 15 mil so you could go to Bosnia and shoot that documentary. i’m sure you’d do an amazing job!
I have to say I read the whole interview and I thought she answered very well and it was nice that she shot the movie in the “native” language once because she knew that to make money off of it in the US and probably part of Europe she’d have to have it in English because most people don’t want to read when they got to the movies and dubbing sounds fucking awfull so I’m glad she shot two movies. That shows an incredible amount of passion about a project. Sorry I can never get on the bandwagon about hating her … she seems genuine to me any time I’ve seen her in interviews
The one thing I love about Angelina is that she is NEVER derailed by negativity. It’s one thing to have an educated dialogue but it’s another to completely misinterpret what she is trying to say. Angelina is not an air head, you best believe she has done her homework now she can’t control the reaction but you can’t say she woke up one morning and said “awww let me direct a movie in Bosnia” Offcourse haters think that but her fans know that she just doesn’t do things and she is especially careful when dealing with other cultures. All this propaganda is to hit her on the head before she even has the chance to stand up. However Angelina is no weeping willow.
WOW!! She does it all folks & much better than you.
Cheyenne: “How does Jolie sound “condescending” in interviews? Do you think she would sound better if she threw in a lot of um’s, yeah’s, and yanno’s, and twirled her hair while trying to put together a coherent response to a simple question? Just asking.”
Some people never learn. Let’s quit with the third grade debate tactics.
And chances are, no one would say anything if she said she loved puppies. Y’all are just making stuff up now to play the victim. Oh wait, don’t you demonize someone else for doing that?
Haha, my name is not in reference to myself, but good one.
Olive’s point WAS what I meant, actually.
O. M. G. for all the good she tries to do she certainly inspires a lot of anger on here.
Creative people are just out there trying to make their art. Sometimes they take risks and sometimes they fall in love with the idea and sound grandiose. To me that’s just Hollywood.
skibunny: O. M. G. for all the good she tries to do she certainly inspires a lot of anger on here.
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Ipso facto.
@Hamm: That comment went beyond ingenuousness into the realm of just plain silly. Like you said, some people never learn. But like I said upthread, haters gon’ hate. Knock yourself out.
She sounds ok to me. Pretty intelligent…maybe a little arrogant.
I’m just surmising here, but probably even though the main characters’ love story would be idealised and not involve rape, there will definitely be other characters who will be portrayed as Bosnian Muslim women having been raped by Serbs. That was the historical context in which this fictional love story is to have taken place. Perhaps even that was too painful for the Bosnian women to see onscreen; and the fictional idea that a Bosnian Muslim woman could fall in love with a Serbian man notwithstanding all the terrible things happening around them might be too horrific for them to bear. To compare, I bet if someone wrote a WWII movie in which a Jewish woman falls in love with a German man (Nazi or otherwise), Jewish groups wouldn’t be too pleased about that either.
Of course I haven’t talked to the majority of Croatians in person, but I have lived here all my life. You can or can not trust me on this one, but as far as public opinion and polls go it’s the way I said it. Croats identify solely as Croats. To the person who thought I was offended by the R. Šerbedžija quote- I wasn’t in the slightest. I’m just sharing my opinion on him. I don’t understand why I should like someone just because they are from my country. There are a lot of Croats I dislike. I’m not trying to promote anything to you (why should I do that?), I’m just stating my opinion.
@wonderful, lol!
@sasa, i hear ya.
I’ve been to Croatia and had several expat friends from Bosnia when I lived in the Czech Republic. In my experience, none of them have ever wanted to be known as “Yugoslavian”.
Yugoslavia was a cobbled together nation composed of people with the very different beliefs and even different languages. Different alphabets even! As Sasa says, hence the war. So, I do question AJ’s research tactics and understanding of the area. It seems we have come away with different pictures during the same travels. Although, in fairness to AJ, I suspect people will tend to give a different picture to someone with millions of dollars and worldwide influence than to some random traveler.
I really do applaud AJ for all her humanitarian efforts. I also think she’s trying to do something good. However, I don’t think she justifies the sheer amount of insanity present here in the comments section. I think AJ is doing her best. But, I don’t think she’s suddenly an expert on all the pain and suffering in the world, and she’s not above a few critical questions from commenters.
Some of you really need to calm down. If you were half as passionate about AJ’s causes as you are about AJ herself, the energy you expend tearing people down for showing a genuinely caring critical interest in AJ’s work could be used to instead bolster those causes and possibly even be of constructive use to society.
I am in no way against the wonderful charity work that this woman does, and I am in no way against AJ making this movie. I just hope she gets it right.
Completely agree with Bina and Sasa – and
– Cheyenne who exactly are you constantly referring to with the um’s and hairtwirling?
– Carol just because Kaiser said AJ wasn’t Jesus in ONE POST doesn’t mean she’s a “phoney”, psycho
– mslewis: calm down
– Kendra: get over it
– Kaiser: I’ve been coming to Celebitchy for years and I think you’re still a brangeloonie 🙂
she actually did admit to abusing a dog….
There was no native language in Yugoslavia nor a native culture nor a native anything. It was a try to get together people with completely different roots,history,nationality,language,culture and call them one name and give them one major language,one nationality,one history,even one root.That’s like telling Maddox,Pax and Zahara that their mother tongue and their culture and their ancestors and their history is all Jolie Pitt.They should eventually learn the truth and choose themselves how they’d live.They may wish to forever be a Jolie Pitt but it will be their decision rather than the parents.After all,Maddox’s first male parent left this complicated step relationship exactly because of the fact that you cannot ASSERT of FORCE an artificial nationality/country and relations.
Her intent is clear. How dare anyone question her. (Yes, I’m mocking her.)
I’m a fan of the young Angelina, pre nose jobs, but her transcendence into sainthood curls my stomach.
Kudos to Kaiser for her ability on fomenting her reader’ opposite views on Jolie. I’m not being sarcastic.
Regarding THAT phrase, I think it is ambivalent. Of course she is stating that she is the voice of the people, but in a way that every artist, director, writer would say: that is trying to represent the whole situation from different points of view, bringing the story to the public through her own voice.
I didn’t read the interview because I found her pretty annoying, I just read the comments, because it’s pure fun. At least is fun as long as the posters don’t start insulting each others assuming that saying something against AJ means to be a hater and so on with these childish and demented accusations.
Ps: do yourself a favour and watch Kusturica’s Undergroung.
“poi” says it all:
“b*tch please.” LOLOLOLOL. THANK YOU!
@CA Cheyenne is referring to the dreaded, JA.
That is Cheyenne’s M.O.
Someone criticises her
deityfavourite actress and she refers it back to the Bermuda Triangle and how pathetic JA compared the AJ (when no one brought JA up in the first place….O_o). THEN she scolds people for bringing the same thing up later on and says they need to move onThe same thing happened on the last AJ post. Someone said they didn’t think AJ was that great of an actress and she said something along the lines of “at least she doesn’t ice her nipples and flip her hair through her lines!!11!!”
I guess not caring for the Brange = Being a member of the JA fan club…..? #criticalthinkingisdead
Thank you guys! I know this may sound condescending, but some people here should at least first google Yugoslavia and then talk. There’s also a fairly good article on Wikipedia about Croatia. This part of the world always had a turbulent history because there was no other way to survive but to make alliances. There are only about 4 million Croats and the territory we occupy was much wanted by a lot of our neighbors at different points in history. The only reason we have independent Croatia today is precisely the one that is being disputed here- identifying as Croats not as artificially created Yugoslavians. A lot of this can also be translated to Bosnian people, but matters are also much more complex there because the people who lived in Bosnia were more diverse among themselves in comparison to people living in Croatia or Serbia.
As far as Jolie’s movie goes, I won’t judge before seeing it but I do think she hurried a little with this love story between people whose nations are at war. I don’t know how long would be advisable to wait but I feel 15 years is a fairly short period. War leaves a lot of wounds which heel only with time.
@ sasa thanks for the info and thanks for not prejudging would love to hear your thought after you see the movie.
@sunnysunday you just proved the ignorance of the hens out there thanks.
@ Masala: Thanks! I really didn’t know what the hell she was talking about lol
– The more I think about this project the more worried I become. She wrote a controversial war story that still evokes strong emotions in people today in a few sick days?? I’m going to try to hold judgment but it’s not looking too good…
If the haters bothered to read the interview you would know that nowhere does Angelina say she and the movie are the voice of the people. What she said was she’s trying to give everybody a voice in her movie, not just one person/group point of view. These are two different things. I’m baffled as to why the haters are saying Angelina is lying about the actors calling themselves Yugoslavian. Why would Angelina lie about that? What would the point be? I also don’t get the high expectations. This is a small independent film that will be lucky to get back its budget. Yet the haters can’t wait to call it a bomb because it won’t make $500 million and a ton of award nominations.
@CA: It’s been 20 years (more or less) since the civil war in Bosnia.
Less than 15 years after 1945 the Hollywood studios were already making films about World War 2, with some rather graphic references to the Holocaust. (Check out Marlon Brando in The Young Lions, around 1959).
So I guess the question is, how long is long enough before you can make a movie that won’t call up painful memories for somebody? There are still Holocaust survivors living with devastating memories of losing all their loved ones in the concentration camps more than 60 years after the end of the war. But without the movies that detailed their suffering, millions of people born after the war would have no idea of what they went through.
Some movies need to be made.
Louise: This is a small independent film that will be lucky to get back its budget. Yet the haters can’t wait to call it a bomb because it won’t make $500 million and a ton of award nominations.
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Then I guess Salt qualifies as a bomb too. It only made $294 million. 🙄
I’m from Croatia and of course we don’t identify ourselves as Yugoslavians. That’s just ridiculous. And I agree with sasa that Rade Šerbedžija is a bit crazy 🙂
Cheyenne, it has been 15 years.
Angelina is not making a war movie, she is not making a movie that shows how cruel this world can be sometimes, how everyone suffers in war, she is not making a movie that has to be made… She is making a love story. And while I don’t have anything against love stories per se it is somewhat questionable setting it in a recently traumatized area. But as I said, I’ll wait and see what she does.
she is narcissistic on a grand scale. other issues aside.
Lots of nastiness in this thread. Wow.
I’m failing to understand why the AJ fans on this page are attacking the posters who have personal knowledge of the area that AJ is portraying. I’m seriously concerned about the sanity levels of some of the people who comment on this site.
I would like to, once again, point out that “Yugoslavia” was a completely made up country composed of ethnic groups that have been fighting practically since the beginning of civilization. I completely agree with everything that Sasa has said. If this movie is simply a love story, it does not “need to be told” simply because it came from the mind of La Joile.
Besides, has anyone else here ever suffered through “beyond borders”? That was the movie that turned me off of Angelina for good. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not personal. She’s just not the greatest actress I’ve ever seen, and her presence in a film does not mean the movie will have a good script. I fear another disaster like “beyond borders” will happen again here. That movie is almost unwatchable. It’s so predictable with the worn out “humanitarian saint martyrs herself in the name of love” that I actually saw the ending coming from a mile away.
I’m not going to give away the ending for those of you that want to see the movie, but let’s just say it was not an ending that a good writer should have allowed me to see coming. I acknowledge that she didn’t write that one. But, that was also Angelina doing a love story through war torn countries. So, I feel I have a bit of a precedent to worry that this project will turn out much the same way.
Also, just to give people a little more perspective on that part of the world, I’d like to share a story my grandmother passed down to me. My grandmother is Czech, and she has a rather large book of “Bohemian folk tales” (Czech Republic is made of of two regions called Bohemia and Moravia). In that book there is a story about how the Czechs came to be where they are today. Paraphrasing, it goes something like this:
“Long, long ago Czech people were actually Croatian. They lived in Croatia and put up with constant fighting with their neighbors, the Serbs, and the Bosnians. One day a small group of people grew tired of the fighting and made a long journey over the mountains in Austria to claim a new land and make a new peaceful country to call their own. They called this land Bohemia.”
That’s just a story, of course. But, it says something that even in children’s stories you can trace the fighting back for thousands of years. It is a very complex situation. Again, I just hope that Angelina truly does honor the people and respect the terrible nature of what happened there. I just don’t want to see “Beyond Borders 2: This time they’re Bosnian”.
Must be a full moon.
@detriotgirl . . . So, you hate Angelina Jolie because she starred in “Beyond Borders” and you didn’t like that it was a war love story? You do know, don’t you, that Angelina Jolie had nothing whatsoever to do with the writing of that movie, right? Also, she said that the ACTORS in her movie describe themselves as Yugoslavian not every Croat or Serbian or Bosnian. Are you having trouble comprehending or is it just that you are blinded by your hatred of this woman? GEESH people!! And you tell me to calm down. At least I can read and comprehend.
@alady . . .The Jolie-Pitt children already know who they are and where they came from because their parents tell them. Maddox speaks Khmer and Pax speaks Vietnamese because their parents want them to. According to her mother, Zahara will soon get a tutor in her native tongue so she can speak that language. Nobody is holding them back from being who they are. I don’t understand the rest of your post so I won’t comment on it.
@DetRiotgirl: nobody at this point, including Sasa, knows if this movie is simply a love story. There has been a lot of trashing the film based on unsubstantiated rumors and whatnot. Some people on here are going to hate whatever Jolie does just because she does it.
BTW that is an interesting screen name. Anything behind it?
American ignorance.
ALady: Maddox’s first male parent left this complicated step relationship exactly because of the fact that you cannot ASSERT of FORCE an artificial nationality/country and relations.
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What in the world are you talking about?
An adopted child is not a “step” relationship, he is legally YOUR CHILD, just as if he was born to you.
And why in the world would you bring the J-P children into this anyway? Of course they were born in and were adopted from three different countries, but their parents are Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, whether or not you like or accept that fact.
@Mslewis I never said I hate Angelina. I said I don’t care for her acting abilities or choices in scripts. That has nothing to do with her as a person. She does great charity work and, as I said in a previous post, I applaud her for that. I also enjoy her earlier movies like Gia and Girl, Interrupted. Although, I still don’t think those movies say much about her as an actress since she played almost the same character in both movies. Comments like your sweeping accusations that I am “blinded by my hatred for this women” are why I said I question the sanity of some of the posters on this site. I in no way care about Angelina one way or the other! But, I do care about the area of the world she is covering and I want her to do it justice. That is all. There is no need for you to assume that I hate this woman.
@Cheyenne You are right that we don’t completely know what the movie is about yet. If she does it right, it could be wonderful. I just feel concerned about her covering a subject matter like this. I have personal knowledge of the area she’s covering and I have never once heard anyone there describe themselves as Yugoslavian. I just don’t get the impression that she fully grasps what she’s covering.
In some ways, I am almost more bothered by the idea of Angelina doing this half cocked than of the idea of some average Hollywood hack writer doing this half cocked because I believe Angelina truly does care about these people and truly does want to bring awareness and help. That is all the more reason to get things right!
As I’ve said before, I am not a fan of Angelina’s acting. I also could not care less about her and Brad. That gossip is five years old, and they have become boring to me as tabloid fodder. However, I am a big fan of Angelina’s passion for the downtrodden. However many jokes people may make about “Saint Angie”, no one can deny that she does good work. As someone who has done a lot of traveling, I also really appreciate that she actually goes to these places.
But, again, that is all the more reason why I really want her to do this right. People listen to here, obviously. Just look at the number of comments this page has! So, I hope that this “voice” that she gives is a genuine one and not an excuse for a lame love story.
Btw, I say that without an ounce of hate. I am merely stating my opinion and, if anything, I am just encouraging people to take her example and educate yourselves on the matter.
As for my name, it’s a play on Detroit Girl. I was born there. I took on DetRiot a long time ago as kind of joke about how I’m from Detroit and I like to starts fights. My mother has always had the good grace not to point out that my nick name might be slightly offensive to people who lived through the 67 riots in the city (my parents were both there). Just in case there are any other Detroiters on this board, it’s not meant to say anything about that. I like debates, not actual riots!
I like the pic of AJ with her two fingers up. Kinda makes me think that she’s either using the force or telling others “Shush, you DON’T talk to me that way. You DO as I say”.
Remember when AJ was hot and fun? Like 10 years ago? She was stupid then too, but at least she was interesting.
mslewis,
within Yugoslavia nations were taught/brainwashed they all had the same descendants.The major language chosen to be “THE NATIVE” was Serbo-Croatian ( now it is either Serbian or Croatian) and the capital of the country was Belgrade which belongs to Serbia and Belgrade along with the Serbs had the ultimate power within the country. Hence,many people still feel Yugoslavian and most of those Yugoslavians are of course the once who “ENJOYED” the power within the ‘created federation’ and those who felt close to them (mixed families as AJ reports in her interview).
As I said,Zahara and Mad and Pax would probably notice they have different backgrounds as soon as they become aware of those issues and they are already taught that they are not natural Jolie Pitts which means that Angelina is not brainwashing them but rather tries to tell them the truth.
mslewis,
Billy Bob was originally the (step or adopted or nonbiological)father of Maddox and that role seemed to be too difficult for him to handle. I wonder whether he’d have left,if this had been his biological kid.
It concerns me that she doesn’t seem to have an editing suite onboard. Like, in her head. To stop her saying weirdly grandiose yet incredibly vague stuff that puts me right off her arse for the 44875664th time.
She probably does have genuine feelings of concern for the people she claims to represent, but then comes across like we would never have known of their various plights if it weren’t for her endless photo ops. I just don’t think there’s too many people in her life with the guts or inclination to say no, or, ‘stop being a conceited hoe, Angelina.’
It really concerns me when people pick up pens, decide they’re going to be a writer now, choose a really vexed subject beyond their own personal experience, vanity-fund it, decide to direct in self-professed ignorance, and then expect you to abandon your precious eyeballs to fate and watch without prejudice. That’s just not going to happen, love, for the aforementioned reasons. Not because AJ is horrible or demented or whatever, but because she obviously can’t see why someone would have qualms about such a project, which = vanity and arrogance.
When this shit comes out to indifferent reviews, she’ll blame people’s personal antipathy toward her, rather than her own (palpable, from this distance) lack of ability.
@ALady: That’s in incredibly ignorant statement. An adoptive father is not a stepfather. He is the legal father of the child, just as if the child had been born to him in a marital relationship.
As to whether or not Thornton would have bailed if it had been his biological child is anyone’s guess. He has four children by three different women. He’s not the most stable candidate for parenthood.
@detriotgirl: don’t even bother honey. if you were to disagree with Jolie committing a CRIME, they would still attack you. thats what is sooo great about the Jolie-Pitt threads. the INSANITY! have fun with it.
Jolie: “It’s so perfect! Both these nationalities hate each other so I’ll do a movie where two of them fall in love and I’ll single-handedly heal them all. It’s up to me to show them that they can all get along. Really. I know best.”
Cheyenne: Look, you’ve been caught, twice, bringing up JA on an AJ thread when JA wasn’t even a part of the discussion. Just admit you’re using diversionary tactics to distract from the fact that you did NOT, in fact, defend how good of an actress AJ is or how great her public speaking is.
Or that you love bringing JA up so that you can tear her down at any opportunity that you give yourself. Tear her down on her own threads, for pete’s sake. Leave these threads to the AJ “haters” (that word is so high school).
…they’ve been fighting till the break of dawn… and Kaiser got the much-anticipated hits. Bingo!
I f@#king can’t stand this phony ass bitch. I wish she’d just OD on all the heroin she’s been smokin.
Hamm, honey, why don’t you try getting a life instead of tracking all my posts? You must be a dreadful bore to be around.
@Whamo: Attagirl, hon, you keep thinking those happy thoughts. Not that it’s going to change anything, but I suppose it’s better than beating your kids.
There are some fools posting here today.
Cheyenne’s references about JA…are right-sized and appropriate. NO ONE here had this much interest in Angelina, her choices- good or bad, and her lifestyle UNTIL she and Brad merged, became a international, powerhouse Hollywood couple, and formed a (gasp!) multi-racial family. After all this time, it still stings that, for many, Brad hastily left Aniston to a more international appealling (and non-conformist) woman, whose beauty, sexiness, strength, character, spirit, accomplishments, intelligence and influence has a very strong impact in the U.S. and abroad.
Is she the only one that cares or gives their time? No, of course not.
Angelina almost always works with a team of dedicated people to produce a collaborated effort. Often enough, she is not the leader but a willing participant. These are well known facts, but the haters continue to call her “Saint,” or “holier than thou,” when it is abundantly obvious that there is no way that she can accomplish ANY of her humanitarian efforts with only the help of Brad. You should not think a surgeon performs surgery alone anynmore than Angelina is able to accomplish what she has on her own.
So…most of you are hating because I do not hear any criticisms of the team members, the filming crew, the United Nations High Commssions of Refugees, etc.
In her interview, she stated repeatedly that the word “Yugoslavia” is being used because the people said so. She is open to their experience, unlike the bloggers here today. There are people here today trying to deny the voices that she is going to represent. She is not interested in correcting them, her focus is to represent them.
Indeed, haters are going to hate because it is their nature.
Billy Bob was honest about not wanting children at that time (he had 2 small boys that are now teens and has since had another child).
Angelina deceided to ignore his wishes and adopt a child for them anyway. No ones’ feelings but hers matter.
Cheyenne,
legal parent or step parent, “legal” country or “step” country – whichever way you wanna call it, my point and analogy was that a native connection is a native connection. Know your roots.
@Jeri#131; are you actually DEFENDING Billy Bob? wow. i find Spongebob more attractive than him. like i read on a Lainey post the other day…i hate that my AJ’s gonna be “associated with him in perpetuity”. do u know how much selflessness it takes to have a kid? i guess you’re on the side of the ‘selfish-i-dont-want-a-kid-now’ side then.
When one looks long and hard enough, one can find fault in anything. The lessons one can learn always get missed, no?
🙄
Wow, this thread/comments are scary.