Angelina Jolie covers the new issue of People Magazine – this is their year-in-review, and I guess Angelina is their person of the year. Makes sense. For the honor, Angelina gave People an interview – go here to read. There’s nothing really new there, just the acknowledgement by Jolie that she’s now the mother of a teenager (Maddox). There are also some bits and bobs of Angelina Jolie news, mostly video clips from Angelina’s press junket. The thing about Angelina is that she’s good about giving “different” quotes to different outlets, but once you skim the surface of the quotes, it’s all pretty much the same thing (and none of it is about Scott Rudin!). So, basically, only Brangeloonies need apply here, because some of this stuff we’ve heard before in other interviews. Some various stories:
*Did you know the Evangelical community (in America) is very interested in this film? Many Evangelicals loved Laura Hillenbrand’s book because she detailed Louis Zamperini’s conversion as a born-again Christian. Very early on in the filmmaking process, the studio (and Angelina) decided to jettison Louis’s conversion from the story though, and the film apparently ends pretty quickly after WWII. I always assumed that was purely a storytelling decision: the story of Zamperini is more interesting and film-friendly without his post-war PTSD and conversion. Still, the Evangelicals are already bitching.
*Interestingly enough, Angelina became very close to Louis’s (now adult) children. Louis’s daughter Cynthia Garris has been telling people that Angelina became very comfortable with talking about God and heaven and prayer during her friendship with Louis. Cynthia even says that Angelina prayed for good weather during filming!
*Angelina has an interview with Extra, which you can see here. She was asked about her career as a director and she says: “I love telling stories. I’m not motivated to have a big career as a director. I’m motivated to get the chance to tell these kinds of stories. So, if they come and I get the opportunity, I would love to.” She also talks about the nature of war and how she didn’t want to make a film that RAH RAH AMERICA because “There is nothing clean like that in war ever. There are casualties on both sides and suffering on both sides, so it wasn’t to judge history, it was to look at these men and their experiences. In the end, Louis’ relationship with Japan was actually quite a beautiful one.”
*Jolie did an interview with Entertainment Tonight a few nights ago – go here to see. She talks about working on Unbroken while Brad worked on Fury and how that was new for them, working apart. She comes close to crying when she talks about Louis Zamperini and then Jack O’Connell and Miyavi joke about how she is as a boss.
*Here’s a clip of Angelina with Tom Brokaw, talking about whether she would really run for political office. Her answer is much the same as her Vanity Fair interview: “It’s not something I’m actively seeking at this moment… if I found that I could be useful, I would consider it.”
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Don’t they bitch about pretty much everything? You can’t cater to their whims, that’s for sure.
great minds. 🙂
Yes to both of your great minds. I think the need for everything to be presented in a certain way, to have an answer to all of life’s uncertainties is what appeals to them about that type of rigid religion in the first place, and anything outside of their comfort zone makes them uncomfortable, and therefore, angry.
@GOODNAMESALLTAKEN, as a Christian, you could NOT be further from the truth! Speak of something you know, please.
Dallas you’re not Christian. Your comments on Angelina in many places on this site show you are the exact OPPOSITE of a Christian. Please learn what Christianity is, before disrespecting it.
@Granger, you, like me, are certainly entitled to your opinion. But perhaps, since you claim to KNOW what a Christian/Christianity is, you can define it for us. Once again, speak of what you know, please.
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Never said I was perfect…
If you were a Christian you would not slam a good person doing God’s work. Plain and simple.
you never said you were perfect?
in that case, perhaps you should actually follow what Jesus said…”let he who is without sin cast the first stone” and all that.
Dallas, I replied to you, but it was deleted. I’m not sure why. I am a Christian. My experience of Evangelicals has been extensive, and as I described. I didn’t mean to offend you, but that is my opinion.
Seriously, nearly everything pisses them off.
and i support anything that pisses them off
it’s exhausting
Actually, everything pisses off a vocal minority of evangelicals. Don’t generalize. Most of us don’t care about how a movie treats this guy’s story. I just hope the movie is decent.
+ ten million bazillion times this over and over until the end of days!
I find this comment (and the subsequent ones) pretty offensive. It’s disgusting for you to categorize an entire group of people based on a few “squeaky wheels”. I grew up in this faith with some of the kindest, most giving people you’ll ever meet. I’m proud to say that I genuinely love ALL people & never judge others lives, it’s not my place at all.
If you’ve read this book you’ll know that his faith was the MAJOR factor in his overcoming of obstacles, PTSD, alcoholism, etc. It just was. This movie barely touched that part which is strange because it was so big in his life. It doesn’t anger me, I was just kinda disappointed, TBH. I’ll still see it though. But there are a few jerks who will turn it into a huge deal, but they have the right to complain & not go see it, as well.
I seriously doubt any one of you would say anything similarly derogatory/stereotypical about a Jewish or Muslim person. It be considered rude, and non-PC because it’s exactly that.
People are talking about a subset of Christians (the fundamentalists), not Christians/Christianity generally.
I agree DTX. It was such a huge part of his story, and I am quite dissappointed that they took it out. It’s a TRUE story! Why take it out? So quite frankly, this is one time where I’ll day that some evangelicals deserve to be pissed. This would be like taking the story of Eric Liddels faith out of Chariots of Fire. I’m sorry, but this really really dissapointed me.
Sorry about your cult’s well-earned reputation!
DTX – So you don’t believe in criticizing ISIS, a fundamentalist subset of Islam? You must be quite amazing not to judge ANYONE, including sociopaths who decapitate innocents. Good for you.
@Belle nice reach, but I never mentioned ISIS, you did. In case you need clarification by example… I wouldn’t judge Muslims as whole (the way Evangelical Christians as a whole are being on this thread) by the actions of ISIS. Does that make sense?
DTX-I find your obsession with Muslims disconcerting.
But you being offended by the comments only makes the OP’s comment more true.
I’m sure all of us are aware not *all* Christians get upset by various things, but some are very loud about it and it reflects upon the silent ones. That’s the case with any group, religious or other.
This thread set to self dectruct in 3…2…1….
They will come, and it will be very personal.
it appears that most things piss of hardcore religious people.
More like 25 most annoying, egomaniacal losers.
Absolutely!!!
I think that if she had included Louis’s struggles with PTSD and alchol,etc—it would’ve been way too much (as I’ve already heard the film described as torture p0rn) in one film OR she wouldn’t have been able to give that period in his life justice. I’d be interested in a sequel..haha.
And eh–even if she didn’t put any sort of Christianity in the film (which I’ve heard is contrary), I think that as long as she doesn’t ‘pervert’ it, then she’ll be fine. My dad is STILL pissed off at “Noah”–where like the rocks were talking or some shit (I didn’t watch it)…he was so mad when I asked him how it was.
i actually thought whether basing the movie post-war (struggle with PTSD) with flashbacks to his childhood, sea, camp thing would be better?
in terms of subject matter post-war PTSD is something that is less explored. there are probably 20 brutal physical-toll of war films vs even 1 proper post-war exploration of the psychological effect of war.
i became really interested in seeing a PTSD movie after watching Patrick Stewart’s episode on Who Do You Think You Are. there he expressed his wish to explore his father’s psychological trauma (shell-shock) which even now is still under-addressed.
however, it might go well Until the point when Louie suddenly flipped a switch from trauma to healing (you could almost accuse it to be literally a Deus Ex Machina, if it weren’t actually a true story), wasn’t the whole conversion story a mere 5-7% of the whole book, i read. so maybe not the best second or third act without taking some liberties.
lcd, that Stewart one was an interesting episode (so many of them aren’t). It helped him come to some understanding of the violence he’d been subjected to as a child while pointing out we have a long way to go in helping members of our military.
I know a lot of people with PTSD ( because of the war on the early 90s) and I would love to to see it more explored in film. There were a few domestic movies dealing with the subject, but I would love to see more of them.
I can see why it would have just made the movie too long, but I thought one of the most interesting questions brought up by the book was how in the world someone can experience all of these horrors and just go back to a normal life? How do you forgive and keep yourself from being consumed by hatred and a need for revenge? I was disappointed that she left that out, although, as I said, it would have made for a very long movie.
@notasugarhere, yes, it’s one of the episodes that really made me think and reflect. i think there’s a certain earnestness in Stewart’s search for understanding that tugs at the heartstrings.
like you, Charlie, and GNAT, i’d be more interested to see that part of Louie’s life too, and i suspect it will also start valuable discussions re: how we treat the veterans after they return. as noted below, often times military funding increase for “field engagements” but funding for returning soldiers and veterans are usually cut (and not enough care is shown). in my country at least, sometimes there’s this cavalier attitude about returnees, like they should just pull themselves up by the boot strings and rejoin normal civilian life like nothing happened during the past many years they were on tour (as though their tour of duty was actually a long extended vacation in an exotic land). i think more films about PTSD will help open up conversations.
speaking of WDYTYA, the other episodes i really like: the one with Julia Sawalha and Gurinder Chanda.
I think both reasons you gave have something to do with why it was left out!
I wonder if Mr. Zamperini’s daughter’s statement was proactive or the result of a little phone call from Angelina.
@Virgilia Coriolanus, who wrote: “My dad is STILL pissed off at “Noah”–where like the rocks were talking or some shit (I didn’t watch it)…he was so mad when I asked him how it was.”
LOL! The ‘Rocks’ were punished Angels who had disobeyed God’s will in connection with The Garden of Eden and Adam and Eve (they had come to love Adam and Eve and tried to help them). The Rock Angels were pretty bitter about being forsaken by God and not being able to go HOME. Noah convinced a few of them to help with the Arc. When the rain started the Rock Angels protected the Arc and Noah’s family as they tried to finish loading and sealing the Arc. As the Rock Angels were destroyed, they became pure bright light and soared up through the sky back to God. When the Rock Angels who refused to help saw this, they rushed over to help Noah as well and were all returned to God. One of the last ones to go was the first to offer help to Noah. He had come to love Noah as they all had come to love (too well) Adam and Eve. At least, that’s what I got from it.
I’m still smiling over your Dad being pissed off by talking rocks. 🙂
Seriously this media hunt is getting annoying- everytime Brad or Angelina have a movie out – the media goes all out to attack them and their movies.
And every single time Brad & Angelina proves them wrong. First it was WWZ, then Maleficient, followed by Fury and now Unbroken.
I am just glad the JPs don’t play the game with the media and instead uses trustworthy publication houses to promote their movies.
And everytime – the JPs wins as their movies are blockbusters and the normal people who don’t really care about the tabloids – love and respects the JPs.
PS: a well known Christian publication already wrote a brilliant review about Unbroken and how happy they are with how Angelina portrayed Christianity in the movie.
I watched WWZ a couple weeks ago and I thought it was really entertaining and I am NOT a fan of action flicks.
Brad was solid in it, but I almost always enjoy his performances.
God I hope So! For no other reason than their whining and whinging after spending their “good Christian Money” on pandering ass movies .. or when those movies don’t pan out the way they expect (Noah)
omg wish I had written this comment QQ! Pure gold.
I’m sure they full supported that pile of crap of a movie from Kirk Cameron
@QQ, what exactly is “good Christian money”? I had no idea money had a religion.
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The reason there was so much negativity over Noah, was due to the movie not following the Bible. If you are going to take a page or, two, from the Bible, and make a movie, at least have the cajones to follow the story. Especially if you are naming the movie after them!
The Bible, and Christianity, did not invent the Flood Myth. The Bible took liberties with an ancient tale to create the story of Noah, so what is the problem with a movie taking liberties with it?
Your comment makes no sense to me. This is a TRYE story, and they’re taking out a vital part of it. His faith in Christ and conversion is what helped him survive and recover from everything. I’m not judging until I see the movie, but I do agree with some people being dissapointed as to why they took out this part of a true story.
Sadly, sometimes the story cannot deal with some issues due to the storytelling line or time constrictions.
Remember how quite a bit of the movie was already cut from angelina’s original version.
Also, to be green lighted, the film must have passed a lot of filters. She is a newer director, and I guess the producers wee very involved, and the script (written by the Coens) had to be approved beforehand.
Of course, Angelina will bear the brunt of the “casting out” of the religious part by herself. It has become a regular thing, to blame her for everything.
I expect his spirituality/religiousness to play a role in the film, even if they do not play it specifically lie in the book, as it was years later of the war time.
I’m glad to hear this film isn’t going to be RAH RAH AMERICA because as a non-American, i’m tired of being constantly bombarded by RAH RAH AMERICA when – given everything that has happened over the years, including the recently released CIA torture report – it’s not always true.
Looking forward to watching the film. I love AJolie, not even gonna lie.
I’m sick of rah rah Ameruka, and I’m American.
cosigning on this
That makes me happy to hear because I study in America and i’ve met quite a few people who branded me as ANTI-AMERICAN HYPOCRITE whenever we talk politics. It’s really frustrating.
Edit: Happy as in thank you for not instantly brushing me off as some radical anti-American loon. Not happy for like, you know, happy jolly happy.
Me too Kiddo.
who isn’t sick of it?
I’m just sick of everything having to be either rah rah or down with [x], instead of acknowledging that nearly everything is some shade of gray.
I totally agree with this!
This exactly.
Agree. You can love your country and still see its flaws.
Couldn’t agree more.
This film seems so good and I can’t wait to watch it. And having AJ behind the scenes is even better because sometimes i find her beauty to be really distracting on screen.
I love the USA. I’m proud to be a dual citizen. But please… every country has its issues and the US is no different. To pretend any different isn’t going to make things better or true.
@Kiddo – You could leave America then if you don’t like it? Apply to another country to be a resident.
@Maya – all famous people get attacked it is part of the job. Take a deep breath.
As for the movie – the critics are stating that although the movie is visually stunning, the parts are played well, etc. the movie is empty and does not bring forth emotion. I think this is because the very reason he lived through this was and was able to recover was because of his faith. It would be the same as telling the story of MLK and not talking about his Christian faith. His faith was a big part of what brought him to fight for civil rights. If you just show the torture and not the reason why he was able to live through this and be whole again, then a large part of the story is missing. I think this is what the critics are picking up on. Unfortunately. I think is aspect, although faith is not mentioned by the critics right now, will be what ultimately makes it so this movie my not get a best picture or director nod.
Why should she leave? It’s a democratic society and she’s allowed to have issues with the country she lives in.
“Apply to another country to be a resident.”
Yeah no. You must not travel a lot because it’s just not that simple.
Bluejay, that was an asshole response. I don’t have to like every policy and cheer every war and soldier. A democracy is supposed to allow for opposition to the official brainwashing propaganda.
So Kiddo is not allowed to say anything about the country she lives in?
As for me taking a deep breath – again I am perfectly calm. It’s you who constantly seems aggrievated whenever there is a Angelina thread. Wonder why?
Hmm… he did not become a christian until long after he returned home. I am a Christian and love his story, but his faith did not have anything to do with him pulling through his ordeal. I do believe God had a plan for Louis, etc, but I honestly think leaving that element out doesn’t detract from his story.
I think that’s a really good point. For me, while his conversion was touched on in the book, it felt sort of tacked on to me and the tone seemed different from the rest of the story. To me it feels like a logical place to cut the story for the film.
@BlueeJay – thankfully, we live in a (technical) democracy, and not a regime where you can’t say anything negative about the government. if that system does not suit you, and you don’t like to see dissent or differing opinions, YOU are the one who needs to “Apply to another country to be a resident.”
ps. i work with veterans and see on a daily basis what our $hitty, $hitty foreign policy does, both physically and psychologically, to regular, hardworking people who usually just want to pull themselves up by their bootstraps out of bad socioeconomic circumstances by serving the country they love and believe in. only to be later used and punted by politicians who scream “support our troops!” while cutting funding for veterans and starting more wars in which they, or their children, don’t ever fight. questioning and opposing our foreign policy and wars is THE most patriotic thing one can do.
AG – amen and applause!
“only to be later used and punted by politicians who scream “support our troops!” while cutting funding for veterans and starting more wars in which they, or their children, don’t ever fight.”
*standing ovation applause*
THANK YOU.
thanks for the support, guys.
willful arrogance and ignorance suck.
Excellent post. It’s not a democracy if you cannot question it.
We don’t live in a democracy, the United States is a constitutional republic.
Wow, Bluejay, I haven’t heard anyone say that since Archie Bunker. I thought most of us had learned that blind allegiance and never questioning any policy of your government was a very shallow, useless form of patriotism. Guess not.
There is nothing worse than blind patriottism. I love my country but I can’t stop counting all its flaws. Does it make me a bad citizen? Maybe. But at least I don’t lie to myself and I know that the sky is the limit and you can always try and make things better. Otherwise we should just live in neglect and ignore all the bad things happened in the past or in the near future.
Saying that if you don’t like your country you should then leave is not only offensive but also irresponsible and stupid.
Why are you so insecure about the US that you get upset about people not constantly praising it?
If I were American, I’d vote Kiddo for president.
To an outsider like me looking in, Blueejay, she is a fabulous ambassador for your country: open, clear-sighted, funny, bright. What more could you want in a compatriot?
Aww, you are MY COMET, love.
I only established a COMET COLONY because the misery guts among my fellow Brits told me to bog the bog off for such heresies as criticising foreign policy, dontchaknow. Plus ca change…
For some reason, I thought Louis was Catholic. Probably because of his surname.
Speaking of Evangelical Christians —
we just got a pamphlet type thing in the mail with ‘real stories of hope’ or something. I laughed so so hard at the first one, that I actually saved the pamphlet. It was the most melodramatic, cliched, piece of sexist crap from some church in Sasketchewan. Given that I’m in Nova Scotia – not sure why I received it, unless maybe the old home owners donated to them or something.
Some great snippets:
A while after her partner left her, she met Jay in a bar in 1991. Jay was six years younger, but that did not hinder their physical passion for one another. Their goal was simply sexual gratification. Without moral moorings or standards to restrain him, Jay began to drift away from Glenda about five years later. One day Jay announced to his wife that he was leaving. His job offered him a transfer to North Battleford, where he gave full rein to his passions and lust for women
Glenda then spent 8 years pining away for the man who had left her, turned to Jesus and began praying for them to reunite. And if they couldn’t reunite she wanted his soul to be saved. He came back in the seventh year, and they were ‘fixed’ by the 8th. No real contact for those 7 years. Never saw him. Just sitting around waiting for him to come back.
In fact their roles – now corrected – are reversed from before. Glenda, who liked to be in charge, now lets Jay lead in the marriage, after letting the Lord be her Husband for seven years.
There you have it – let your dude spend 7 years chasing skirt in another province while you pine away for him, and then correct any ideas you have about equal partnership and let said man come in and take the reins on your life.
Does it surprise me that these people are pissed off? No. Not all – but man – A LOT of Evangelists seem to be so much more ‘eccentric’. Two years ago the evangelist church here refused to marry someone who was super involved with the church because she lived with her boyfriend before marriage. Husbands extended family was active in that church as well, and some of them go on regular rants about how Obama is the anti-christ, and this and that. Share all kinds of ridiculous propaganda/hate on facebook that has no leg to stand on truth wise.
At the end of the day nobody is ever perfectly happy with ‘real life’ movies. Families see a different side of a person than even their friends see. Sometimes we gloss over the truth about our loved ones as well, and when you see it, you don’t like it. Basically, you can’t please everyone.
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry…
I was enraged, and amused at the same time. There was another one that kept talking about a kid trying to be the ‘funny guy’ and immediately jumped to ‘peer pressure and alcohol killed him!’ and yet another story where I saw the words ‘I took my first drug, LSD, at 14’. It’s largely a scare brochure.
The best part is – and I just discovered this- that I can order people. It has a check box “yes please send a christian to my home to pray for/with me” and I really want to fill it out with the information of someone I don’t like.
LOL!
I guess I better stay on your good side, Erinn! 😉
There are so many facets of truth that comprise a human being.
Exactly. We watched Lawless the other day. I was reading about how the family wasn’t happy. Mostly they were older people – daughters/sons and grand kids of the family involved. And the old ladies just kept saying “well that’s not what my daddy was like! He didn’t curse like that! He wasn’t violent like that!” but it had explicitly said that they retired and had kids AFTER retirement. You’re not going to be a man in the 30s/40’s with a little girl telling her all about daddies murders and bootlegging’. It’s just not what you do. And the only time they really were cursing in the movie was when people were legit trying to kill them or whatever – a completely valid time to let whatever expression you want fly, I think.
I gloss over aspects of my family too – but I’m not going to assume that my grandfather would exclaim ‘golly gee whiz’ when almost being shot down in war.
It’s almost like some people don’t keep in mind that their loved ones are humans, I guess. Because I know my grandmother sees quite a different side to me than my friends see.
yeah that sounds like a recipe for happiness.
Right? There were so many more amazing quotes, but I didn’t want to flood the thing. It was just so startlingly bad. Have a dude leave you, sleep with whoever he wants for years without keeping in touch with you, or even seeing you in the community – he comes back ‘finds god’ and you let him completely just waltz back in. Not only that – HE becomes the one who gets to make the decisions. The woman had two or three daughters from a previous relationship when she met this dude in the first place – so I mean, I’m sure she HAD to make the decisions to begin with, because it wasn’t just her and the guy. The daughters lived with her solely.
He’s clearly the man of every woman’s dream.. but why she puts up with all this crap?
I just don’t get it.
Well, thankfully the good lord delivered him from the heathen city of North Battleford!
Ugh, Erinn–I saw this shit SO MUCH when I went to church, that it ultimately turned me off of everything for a looong time. So many horror stories. Let’s see (because I wanna bitch and I never get to do that 😉 )
We have the PASTOR who admitted that he completely ran over his wife in the raising of their children—and they had ELEVEN children, and how he’s had many moments in the _______ Hall of Shame, but men should be in charge anyway. And you can see this attitude carried on to one of his youngest sons–who went out and bought a fucking Xbox 360 while his wife was HAND WASHING 2-3 loads of laundry a day (with two babies and pregnant with her third) because they couldn’t afford to fix their washer/dryer when it broke. And he found nothing wrong with that–and his MOTHER was too uninvolved to say anything to him. God, if my so-called husband did that to me, I’d have to stop my mom from stomping him.
The wife, had a worse story–where her father went downright abusive on them. She told me that he took the advice of some nutjob who was clearly not meant to have any kids–and brought all of the kids into separate rooms (she has like 10 siblings), and then brought them out one by one to ask them stuff that they had done wrong that their parents didn’t know about. You know, stuff like stealing cookies while your mom’s outside,etc. And she told me that she was so scared (she was young, under 10) that she just started making stuff up.
Or like her dad was someone who if he THOUGHT one of the kids stole a cookie off of a plate, he would line all of the kids up and ask who did it. If none of them said that they did it, she told me he would just start whipping them until someone confessed. And then when they did confess, they’d get another one, for making their siblings suffer. She said that she learned to just confess right away (she was the 2nd eldest) so they could get it over with.
Or when they were in church, if they came back, and couldn’t tell him what they had learned from the sermon and/or Sunday School, then they would get whipped.
And I just DO NOT UNDERSTAND the brainwashed, weak ass women who allow their husbands to do that shit, under the guise of “God says I’m the weaker vessel”. Don’t understand it. I mean, I got spanked when I was younger. I absolutely hated it, but I never felt like my parents were looking for reasons to spank me. In fact, I probably could’ve got a lot more, with some of the stuff I did (a story involving a garage and car oil is for another day). But I never feared my parents. Ever.
So I just can’t even imagine feeling that sort of fear, and then having your parents tell you it’s God’s will. And then OH! a few years later, it ISN’T God’s will anymore. Because guess what? The HEAD OF THE HOUSEHOLD isn’t fucking infallible. But WAIT! He is. Because we’re still doing it HIS way. God. I can’t stand that shit. When my friend was telling me all of this (because she was explaining to me, how her dad did a 180 and now her younger siblings get away with all kinds of shit), I wanted to tell her that if I’d been her, I would’ve ran like hell and never spoke to him again, but I didn’t want to be rude.
And ugh–Erinn, I originally commented to tell you about this crappy “Christian” movie about this druggie/crazy guy who rapes a good Christian girl (who lives at home at 23), gets her pregnant, and she has the baby and goes to visit him while he’s in prison. It’s called ‘Loving The Bad Man’, and its on Netflix.
Now I started it, thinking that it’d be semi-interesting take on what happens. NOPE. I could’ve forgiven the tropey “I forgive you for raping me, here’s a Bible”, if they’d have shown some sort of anger, rage, or even depression on the part of the girl who was raped. Because according to the movie, she lost a promotion at her job (she would’ve been a manager at a grocery store) if she hadn’t gotten raped/pregnant, and then stopped working there. But OH NO. She’s going to visit this dude who was high/crazy when he chased her down a dark high way and raped her , with a goddamn smile on her face. SERIOUSLY?
You really think I’d be visiting my rapist in prison with a smile on my face? No judgement, nothing? God. And then they completely absolved the rapist of what he did, by making him like high or mental–he couldn’t remember what he did, but he could change a tire, and chase her down pretty good.
And then, of course, prison rapist finds Jesus–just after his bestest buddy gets shanked, and then he beats up one of the Aryans that did it, so the group’s leader (Stephen Baldwin–whichever one’s the religious one–and calls everyone ‘Brother’ in the movie, with a lopsided double eight tattoos on his forehead) orders him to be shanked……and the rapist dies, looking into the face of God, totally at peace..or so they want you to think.
So the entire movie made me stabby–although they AT LEAST brought up the possibility of abortion (the parents wanted her to get one), and the dad hated that she had the baby (called it a little ‘bastard’) until the end. Or something.
I’ve taken the quiz and requested info from the ¢ult of $cientology in the name of people I don’t particularly care for. Phone numbers and all. But sending a real live prayer squad, that’s the dream!
why should they care? they’ve got their feel-good, “accurate” movie in Kirk Cameron’s masterpiece of cinema.
I’m up for Anything that pisses off the Evangelicals.
Some people say that about the Muslims, or African Americans, or the list goes on and on. How about showing tolerance to all?
I know what you mean, and I agree that universal tolerance and acceptance is the way to go (and the only way to rise above pettiness). However, intolerance is a cornerstone of evangelical Christianity. This isn’t just a general religion with a few extremists; this is a denomination that focuses on shame and judgment more than any other Christian sect I know. (And I say this as a proud agnostic who attended an Episcopal private school, belongs to a family of Irish Catholics, was baptized Presbyterian, and went to baptist and evangelical churches for years.)
Why should I or anyone else show tolerance towards a religious group that preaches intolerance and hatred of the LGBT community, other religions (or non-religions) and women?
NO.
Neither I nor anyone else has an obligation to tolerate ignorance, bigotry, misogyny and narrow-mindedness. I’m tired of that nonsense being trotted out as a way to chastise and silence anyone disagrees with a fundie.
I don’t negotiate with terrorists and respect is earned, not granted. Respect the rights of myself and other people, and I will grant you the same respect in turn.
This wasn’t even a discussion on tolerance. It was about whether a film was pissing off Christians because the narrative wasn’t as faith based as they would have liked…”The question is whether Hollywood can lure faith-based audiences with a story that’s based on faith but doesn’t pay much attention to it, especially against the blockbuster biblical epic “Exodus,” which opens Dec. 12.”
No where did Angie say that the film was specifically geared toward targeting this audience, so the article is much ado about nothing. They are assigning their interpretation of the story as the only valid way of viewing the film so if it detracts they might be angry. Again, Jolie didn’t say she made this film FOR THEM.
*SWOONS* for Kitten…
Bluejay you talk about tolerance? you just told Kiddo that she has to leave her country if she doesn’t like it. If that means tolerance to you than i need a new vocabulary.
@Kitten
Holy crap! When & where exactly have you negotiated with terrorists before? Are you in the military? Or are you speaking of the normal, regular citizens in your city that happen to be Muslim and who’s faith you refuse to respect? Because, they aren’t terrorists just because they are Muslim, you know.
Btw, I’m not Muslim but I don’t have to be in order to be respectful of their faith. I’ve been inside plenty of mosques and have appropriately covered my hair with a hijab out of respect. Just like Angelina Jolie does when visiting Islamic countries.
You are talking about tolerance to all? You? The person who constantly attacks the JPs on everything from their upbringing of children, wealth, career choices etc.
@ BlueeJay says: “How about showing tolerance to all?” Well if that’s not the pot calling the kettle black, I don’t know what is. Where is your tolerance? Did you forget what you just wrote to Kiddo upthread?
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BlueeJay says: December 10, 2014 at 11:14 am
@Kiddo – You could leave America then if you don’t like it? Apply to another country to be a resident.
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@DTX-Nowhere in my comment did I mention Muslims, so why you made that leap is rather odd to me. Although unintentional, you revealed your own deeply-held bias by reading “terrorist” as “Muslim”.
“I don’t negotiate with terrorists” is a common idiom and it simply means that I do not respond to threats, menace, or intimidation. I don’t make compromises or try to see eye-to-eye with people who promote extremism in any form.
I do not tolerate intolerance.
BritneyB
I agree with you!
I was born in a Catholic family and continue to be one (but I lack discipline)
Even after living in a Catholic country with some very staunch closed up people, I really only saw intolerance when I visited my born again Christian brother in the USA.
Maybe he was an as*h*le because he was a new convert? who knows. HE was so righteous it made me ill and homesick. He even made fun of the way black people worshipped (you now the singing and clapping in the church, I bet their church was nicer than his stuck up one).
I ran back to my country ASAP.
Fortunately, I have a very nice view of Americans, I know that not everyone is a crazy person.
I did not know African American was a religion (this was a faith based discussion, no?) Thank you. A knee jerk reaction to anything even impartial to a pro Christian discussion is exactly what this thread was discussing. It might be helpful to revise the argument rather than prove the other sides point.
Someone who had six kids before getting married probably doesn’t lose much sleep over what the fundies think.
Ditto. Evangelicals are tedious and pissed off at EVERYTHING.
Good.
I understand that religion can provide genuine stability and hope for some people, but it always irks me when someone’s story of redemption or survival is distilled down to their belief in a particular deity (or conversion to a particular denomination).
This man’s story is full of important (and universal) lessons about perseverance and forgiveness. Movies aren’t as lengthy as books, so if she squeezed in a few scenes about his newfound Christianity, it would detract from the focus on Louis himself. “Sure he defied incredible odds, but he ultimately led a good life because he had Jesus.” I’m sure evangelicals believe that, but the sentiment reminds me of the people who thank God for sending a miracle when it’s actually rescue workers or health care providers who saved their lives.
Her eyes are darkish hazel in this picture. Aren’t they blue usually? They were piercing blue in that shoot with Jack.
I think they’re more of a blueish-green color. I have a cousin with blue-green eyes, and they can change color. Sometimes it looks like he has blue eyes, sometimes he has green eyes, and sometimes they look hazel, all depending on the lighting and what he’s wearing.
Perhaps instead of whining, they could go find someone to produce their own version of the story that would comply with their demands.
I hear some of the Duggar boys want to get into movie production. Since they have all that experience recreating their siblings engagements, you know! 😉
She really needs to get some new “interview” material… Same old, same old.
Yeah she should start talking about beauty treatments, attack her friends passive aggressively, namedrop her showbusiness friends and how she wore no makeup to direct this movie and felt so empowered.
Whatever works!
Your comments on AJ threads Same old, same old.
At least we can agree that Jesus loves Angie. Oh yes he does.
I think it really would have been too much for the film. A miniseries could have done it but not a 2-2.5 hour movie. But that could have also delved into his Olympic career more as well. But I think it was wise to just focus on the bulk of the story. And as long as he and his family are happy with it, I don’t think anyone else should be complaining. No one would have had more invested in the telling than they would and their reactions go beyond the typical ‘oh yes we’re very pleased’ statements given in these cases.
I also don’t think Angelina is anti-faith, I think she’s just not a religious person. But I don’t think there’s an antipathy there–I think she is curious about many things and a questioning spirit, perhaps a general spirituality even. I think she sees a lot in the various refugee camps, etc…that can both add and subtract from a belief in a higher power. I imagine that she and Louis probably had a lot of interesting talks.
I think if LOUIS would have wanted more focus on the faith element throughout the film, she likely would have complied. I do think that she developed an emotional attachment to the man and did not want to betray his story.
I don’t recall Angelina ever mentioning either her religious or political views in an any interview?
I was going to link but lower-case-deb beat me. She comments in the following post.
A miniseries would be cool…..
Angelina’s thoughts on religion (from an article 4 years old, but i think still representative of her (public) views):
“I respect all religions. What I don’t respect is when people use religion to attack others. I’ve met people across the world, in the middle of nowhere, who are just trying to survive and all they have is religion. In some way it helps them, and I wouldn’t take it away from them. There are also people who use it to hate and kill. I don’t consider them religious people.”
http://parade.com/13513/dotsonrader/0709-angelina-jolie-on-life-with-brad/
she also talked about how her mother was a devout Catholic.
She’s awesome, end of story.
She and Brad have also said they keep multiple holy books in the house, so the kids can make up their own minds. Indoctrination is never a good idea, and she gets that. She also keeps talking about faith as a central theme of the movie. Not religion, and definitely not one particular religion. Just faith itself, which is a much more universal and powerful message.
Will “Unbroken” piss off Evangelical Christians? I devoutly hope so.
I note that a whole bunch of Christians are pissed off by the comments here. Apparently it doesn’t take much for some people.
I think it’s a shame that a story about a man who considered his life and soul saved by Christ, doesn’t show that part. The man said himself that he would have killed himself but for “the religious stuff”.
Showing him overcoming the WWII hardships is incomplete without showing the breakdown because of it.
I’m an agnostic, so have no need to make any group happy, but it sounds a bit liking making Moses and ignoring the whole “set my people free” stuff.
Who says it doesn’t show it? I’ve read faith is a strong theme throughout, from the raft scenes on. Good reviews from some Christian publications already and his kids and Louis himself were happy with it. So let’s see it and then judge.
You could pretty much make this comment in response to anything posted here. The movie has not opened so it’s pretty much all supposition at this point, but if you’ve read the book, you’d know that the religion aspect is huge, and I don’t mean religion in the general spiritual sense, but in the having your life changed by the preachings of a single man sense. Having read the book, I just hope that they haven’t left out the parts that made it inspirational in order to not alienate some movie goers.
This film presents a false idea that the power to overcome all of the struggles Mr.Zamperini endured in his life can simply “be found inside of each person”. That is false. Mr. Zamperini testified until the very end of his life that he overcame the struggles of his life through the power of Christ and Christ alone.
I am not sure about his children’s motives but from the interviews I read and videos I watched of Mr. Zamperini it was clear that although he knew that Mrs. Pitt’s intention was to remove Christ from the story in order to get the film made and open it to appeal to a wide audience, he was okay with that because he knew that anyone who was earnestly seeking to know the “real” story and “real truth” could find it through the book, not the movie. Angelina has never professed any knowledge of who Christ is so why would anyone expect that she would be able to creatively express Christ through a movie she is directing? The book is where the real story lies and if this movie directs anyone towards the book then it has served a purpose.