Angelina Jolie covers the latest issue of the Hollywood Reporter, in what is probably her first major trade paper interview in like seven or eight years. By the end of this, her social battery is going to be empty, even if she insists she loves being around people. I’m just saying, it’s been a while since she’s done anything like simultaneous promotional tours. She’s currently promoting Pablo Larrain’s Maria, which will likely get her another Oscar nomination, and her latest directorial effort, Without Blood. According to this THR piece, she’s also doing a great job refusing to answer questions about Brad Pitt and their divorce. THR asks her point-blank: “May I ask what the status of your divorce is?” Her answer: “No.” Some highlights from THR:
She doesn’t know how to do things halfway: “I think my failure is, I don’t know how to do the other. I really don’t. And many times I wish I did. I wish I knew how to be still and calm. I’m propelled forward constantly, and it’s not always the best feeling. For better or for worse, I’m a very deeply feeling person and kind of a raw nerve. So when I feel something deeply, I jump. I feel alive or I connect to something true inside myself.”
Someone was unkind about her singing voice: “[Being at La Scala] was an out-of-body experience because I don’t sing. I had somebody in my life who was not kind to me about singing. It was a relationship I was in. And so I just assumed I couldn’t really sing. I’d been to theater school, so it was weird that it even had an effect on me. I just kind of adapted to this person’s opinion. So it took me getting past a lot of things to start singing. And discovering also that I was a soprano. I thought I had a low voice my whole life. I was explaining [to the singing instructor] that my voice is deeper, and he said, “No, you’re actually a soprano.” And probably something happened. Your voice changes when you go through different things in your life. So that was a shock. That was very strange.”
Shaking off an intense day at work: “I’ve been a parent for 23 years. The most beautiful thing about being a parent is that you are not the center of your life. So you are leaving set, focused on something for someone. That’s your real life. Your real world. And that always is the majority of who you are. I have never had a set where my family is not allowed to be there because I’m focusing — I’m not that person. You can climb all over me or visit. It really meant a lot that my boys were with me on Maria. When I would have really heavy times, they would come over and just give me a hug or a cup of tea. That was probably one of the more intense things was that —usually when I’m expressing that much pain, it’s not in front of my children. You really try to hide from your children how much pain and sadness you carry. And so for them to be with you when you’re expressing it at such a level, I think it was the first time they ever heard me cry like that. That’s usually for the shower.
Maddox and Pax worked on the crew of ‘Maria’: “Mad and Pax were on this one. Doing AD [assistant directing] work. They’ve done that quite a few times, and I think that’s good for them. Pax tends to do stills and he gets brought in, and Pablo was wonderful and recognized that he was good at it.
Why she waited so long to go back to work like this: “I needed to be home more with my kids. [Now] they’re a bit older, getting more independent. I’m less needed and so able to go away for different periods of time. And they’re old enough to join me at work. It’s a new season in our lives. I’m very excited for them to be coming into their own more and more every day.
Whether she’ll live in LA after her kids grow up: “I grew up in this town. I am here because I have to be here from a divorce, but as soon as they’re 18, I’ll be able to leave. When you have a big family, you want them to have privacy, peace, safety. I have a house now to raise my children, but sometimes this place can be … that humanity that I found across the world is not what I grew up with here. [After Los Angeles,] I’ll spend a lot of time in Cambodia. I’ll spend time visiting my family members wherever they may be in the world.
Her close friends & betrayals: “I don’t really have those kinds of relationships. Maybe it’s losing your parent young. Maybe it’s working. Maybe it’s being somebody who’s been betrayed a lot. I don’t have a lot of those warm, close relationships as much that I lean on. But I have a few, and a few is enough. Loung [Ung, the Cambodian American human rights activist who is the subject of First They Killed My Father] is one of my closest friends. My mother was very close to me. I lost her. I’ve had a few friends over the years not be there for my family in their hour of need. I have a couple of people that I trust. What did Maria Callas die with? Two trusted people.”
I know all about the betrayals in her life, and I would assume that Brad Pitt betrayed her the most, probably alongside her father. But who the f–k told her she couldn’t sing? Was that Brad too, or was that someone from when she was younger? Billy Bob?? Jonny? As for her kids and being in LA… the absolute craziest part of it is that Angelina specifically bought a house which was close to Brad’s Los Feliz compound, with the idea being that she would be close-by in case she needed to rush over to Brad’s house and pick up the kids if something happened during visitation. But the kids rarely wanted to see Brad. And then Brad sold HIS home and moved to Carmel last year. So Angelina is still stuck in LA for a few more years while Knox and Vivienne are still teenagers.
Angelina Jolie on herself: "I wish I knew how to be still and calm. I’m propelled forward constantly…For better or for worse, I’m a very deeply feeling person and kind of a raw nerve. So when I feel something deeply, I jump" https://t.co/5SNbHoqhBB pic.twitter.com/qTxDIxqBvQ
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) August 30, 2024
Cover courtesy of THR, additional photos courtesy of Cover Images.
-
- Celebrities attend the ‘Maria’ premeire during the 81st Venice International Film Festival in Venice, Italy Featuring: Angelina Jolie Where: Venice, Italy When: 29 Aug 2024 Credit: IPA/INSTARimages **UK, USA AND AUSTRALIA RIGHTS ONLY**
-
- Celebrities attend the ‘Maria’ premiere during the 81st Venice International Film Festival Featuring: Angelina Jolie Where: Venice, Italy When: 29 Aug 2024 Credit: Cover Images
-
- Celebrities attend the ‘Maria’ premiere during the 81st Venice International Film Festival Featuring: Angelina Jolie Where: Venice, Italy When: 29 Aug 2024 Credit: Cover Images
-
- Celebrities attend the ‘Maria’ premiere during the 81st Venice International Film Festival Featuring: Angelina Jolie Where: Venice, Italy When: 29 Aug 2024 Credit: Cover Images
That cover picture – is it me, or does she look like Vanessa Paradis there? Weird how an angle makes you look not quite yourself.
She’s always made me jealous of her looks. Stuuuuuunnnning….
She is an extraordinary woman.
Kind of wild that she is expected to live in LA, but Brad appears to be living wherever he likes.
I understood it to be that she is providing a home base (for now) for her kids bc their father isn’t present. But when she has an empty nest, she can live wherever she wants. Maybe I got it wrong?
Yes thats what I read as well. At this age, it would be hard on her kids to move, I think, so she’s begrudgingly staying until they’re out of the house.
I took it as even though none of the kids want or have anything to do with Brad. Due to the twins still minors at 16. She would need permission from him to move out of state with the kids. Which of course he won’t do, to be a jerk.
Similar to what Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis. She wanted to move the kids to London. And the Judge denied the request.
I adore her and feel for her. In regards to friendships and betrayal, I can recognize the pain. I been also betrayed by a husband, now ex. Friends who were just envious and I failed to see it until it cost me lots of pain , family members who are narcissistic and only reach out when they need money. It’s hard to trust and I don’t try anymore to make friends. I keep the 3 I have plus my 2 sisters and mom very close to my heart.
Angelina is my ultimate crush and I will continue to wish her the best and lots of success.
Maybe the twins like staying in one place. Pax and Shiloh seem to like LA just fine. LA is massive and multi ethnic. It’s not a bad place to live when you are wealthy.
*I responded to the wrong person. Meant to respond to Equality
I think LA is a great place to live if there’s a great family/friend support and I love the diversity of the city both people and landscapes. And the weather is always amazing.
❤️Thank you Cel2495.
I’m a fan, always have been.
I get the dislike of LA but remaining in one place for more than a couple years is probably healthy for the children.
Yes I think so too. Kids do well with stability and structure. I understand she doesnt like it, but luckily she has the resources for a big nice house and all the vacations she could want.
As soon as my 16yo goes off to college, I’m selling my house in this small, nice (but Trump-loving town) and moving to the nearest big city into a downtown condo where I don’t have to worry about mowing my grass, weeding my flower beds, or hiring a guy to plow my driveway.
I bought this place for my kids because in an excellent location in an excellent school district and close to the grandparents. But I’m OUTTA HERE as soon as I can be.
My mom told me I couldn’t sing when I was about 5 and again many times over the years. She still does it. She’ll even make jokes about it. She’s a singer who performed a lot during my childhood. I can’t tell you how much that damaged my confidence. Especially because I LOVE to sing. Like it brings me so much joy. I sing in the house when my kid is at school. I do karaoke and people compliment me so I can’t be that bad. Like why would they lie? They could just not say anything.
I’m sorry that you experienced such negativity from your mom. I love music and singing and if you love to sing, then sing! Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. I love to encourage people to pursue their creative side. If it makes you happy, go for it.
I hate the idea that you have to be good at something to do it.
Do it because you like it. Do it because it gives you joy! Honestly – a person who loves to sing, their love for it shines through in their voice and human beings resonate with THAT.
sing. Sing sing sing. And don’t ever stop. No one gets to decide if you are good enough but you.
I legitimately have a bad singing voice. I have a thing – it’s a comorbid adhd thing – where when I sing I can’t really control the tone, volume and I don’t even know – of my voice. What comes out comes out. I sing my heart out, esp in the car. Windows down? Still singing. Because it’s for me and makes me happy, in that moment to sing. That’s it. That’s all of it.
@Delphine: I’m sorry that happened to you. Really sorry. It’s very odd behavior, to try to deflate someone. I know it well, because I’ve experienced it from loved ones as well. Sometimes they do it because they’ve kind of made you their competition. If that makes sense. It’s weird. Idk if you read Harry Potter, but in the later books, Harry realizes that Voldemort is hunting him because *Voldemort* believes/decides that Harry is a threat. So Harry has to fight him in order to stay alive. When someone sees something in you and decides that the best way to make sure that you don’t surpass them is to poke holes in your confidence or self-belief or self-exploration… it is really rough. I hope you keep singing, lady. In fact, I think you should sign up for some vocal lessons for the fourth quarter of this year, and end 2024 on a high note! (see what I did there? high note/music note??! ok I’ll see myself out :-))
I related to this statement. I grew up thinking I couldn’t sing–turns out I’m just an alto. One of my exes told me not to sing Evanescence and I had enough people thinking I was terrible all my life.
I do musical theater now and take singing lessons, albeit I am not a natural at all and I have a long way to go.
Anyone else read this and think, “It was Brad?”
How sad Delphine. Mr. Jaded’s ex-wife was quite a well-known singer in the LA music world back in the day. She was semi-famous for a New York minute and did have a lovely voice but lorded it all over everyone and thought she was all that. Well her career faded along with her voice and the last time she did a public performance about 12 years ago she bombed. The older I get the more I believe that what does around comes around and we reap what we sew.
And I do think this was Brad — that’s how emotional abuse and controlling behaviour starts, innocently gaslighting and undermining you until it finally escalates into physical violence. He’s been jealous of her since day one — I’ve known men like that who worship you at first, then start picking you apart until your self-esteem is destroyed.
I thought I had a low voice my whole life. I was explaining [to the singing instructor] that my voice is deeper, and he said, “No, you’re actually a soprano.”
–I’m laughing at this because I can relate. I have a low speaking voice and assumed I was a mezzo. I could sing in mezzo and contralto range. Nope, vocal coaches told me, soprano. Stop fighting against your natural tessitura. I love reading about Angie’s experience in learning to sing opera. Takes me back to my singing days. I look forward to hearing her sing in the movie. I don’t expect a full-blown opera star out of her, but she has a lovely natural speaking voice that should translate well into song.
She really does have those old movie star vibes.
I thought I was a soprano instead, as my mum was one. Turns out I was a mezzo-soprano and soprano, some of my notes even extending to contralto’s range.
Pity I just didn’t like singing operas and ended up stopping to study after 8 years.
Yup, same here. I just didn’t like singing opera. It was the opera storylines that bothered me. People getting raped, murdered, kidnapped, war, battles, fights, chasing after some guy, dying of tuberculosis and here you are singing bel canto about these things. I love singing but not all the songs.
She’s gonna be a legend. Altho some might say Angie is already a legend. She will be one those rare creatures: “a true Hollywood legend.” The kind that we wd read about when we were much younger and never saw those women in real life bcos they had their heyday in the 50s/60s even 70s.
The Katherine Hepburn, Lauren Bacall, Bette Davis, Audrey Hepburn, Ingrid Bergman, Greta Garbo, Elizabeth Taylor kind of Hollywood legend (I googled HW Legend 🙂
Srsly tho, Angie is gonna be talked about and researched and vilified and deified by those coming behind us who want to know what the old folks mean by the phrase “stars of the silver screen.”
I was alive for all those legends except Garbo. She was legit before my time. The thing is we never knew so much about them during the time they were active stars. We know SO much about Angie and all movie stars now that it may not be possible for any of them to become legends. In those days, there were movie stars. Now we have celebrities. It’s hard to become a legend when the public has TMI. I guess Liz Taylor may be the exception. AJ probably will be too.
I’d bet it was Billy Bob. He has a band and probably saw himself as a singer.
Yeah I think it was Billy Bob too.
I’m guessing it was her shitty father. Or the turd ex-husband.
The “shitty father” thing likely explains why she took it to heart, substituted that critic’s comment on her singing for her own thoughts, even though it contradicted her real world experience.
When you’ve got a parent undermining you, treating you poorly or cruelly or dismissively, you can be the most amazing person but still be very vulnerable to “negging” by jerks.
JLM and BBT speak highly of her and she is on good terms with them. She describes being “in a relationship” with this person. My guess is Pittiful. He fancies himself a musician and hangs out with Flea and Nick Cave. If he’ll shake her by the head in a plane, insulting her singing seems like some place he could easily go.
I would guess Pitt too. She alluded in interviews how small this relationship made her feel
Brad has a new place in Los Feliz (Aileen Getty’s former home), so I don’t think he’s in Carmel full time. It only has three bedrooms, so I guess the twins (aren’t they the only ones who still have to see Brad?) don’t spend a ton of time there.
Under the terms of my divorce agreement, I cannot live further than 40 minutes away from my child’s school. It sounds like she’s on a similar leash, and it sucks.
That’s what it sounds like to me as well. She’s stuck in LA which is rich since even Brad has said he doesn’t spent much time there anymore because there’s a heaviness to it. I think everyone would have been much happier if they could have relocated
Part of me doesn’t understand people who don’t have interest in friendship and part of me gets it. It’s your friends who can really break your heart, and adult friendship is tricky, to say the least.
Pitt could easily deal with Stoli/Sheffler, and negotiate a buyout for Jolie’s shares/company that she sold. But then he couldn’t torment Angie. So he’s doing it the hard way by trying to unwind the entire sale of her Nouvel LLC. It’s about the control for him. For the next 2 years, he controls where she lives because of the minor kids. But I don’t see the lawsuit resolved once the twins turn 18. It’s moving at a snail’s pace. So the abuse will continue even after she can legally move away from him. He’s an obsessed, sick fck. I wish her peace wherever she can find it.
Angelina seems to have done a good job of raising her children, keeping them together, and keeping them close. All the children seem very supportive of her, and the older ones seem to be constructively finding their way in life. It must be very challenging and take a lot of energy to raise six children. Speaking of her children, hope Pax is going to be all right and is making a good recovery. Hope he didn’t have some serious head injury.
This interview was full raw pain.
It’s sad to read some Friends abandoned her certainly siding with Pitt. I can’t imagine the level of trauma Angie endured. I really want for her to find some peace and happiness
This interview is really sad. I know someone who has been betrayed by friends in their hour of need and has only a couple of close friends now as well. Also, having to live in a city she doesn’t want be in to because of a divorce just for the guy to pick up and move… I pray she heals from the betrayals in her life and finds happiness if she hasn’t already found it. Also, screw those so-called friends who turned their backs on her when she needed them.
Curious how AJ, even after she has supposedly made up with her father, doesn’t say she is close to her father.
On a tangent, I’m not feeling her blondness. I think it washes her out.
She’s a natural blonde. Her mother dyed her hair when she was young, and she kept dying it to be a brunette. I think she’s doing it now because, as I said last week, BP is trying to find her among other women. @Side Eye, if I had known you, I would have helped! I am sorry that you had to go through that.
I really wish her the best. I understand her pain.
When you divorce, you lose a lot of “friends”. It was a rude awakening for me. Most people side with the person who has the power and the money – which at the time was Pitt and for me, it was my ex (who did a masterful job of hiding all the assets and cleared the bank accounts when I stated I was filing – and a forensic accountant would have cost close to 100k so it wasn’t an option).
Despite knowing I wasn’t in the wrong (and one party was clearly wrong just like Angelina’s case but mine did not involve abuse other than financial abuse), they still sided with him. Now that we are a decade out of all the drama, and now that they themselves are going through a divorce, they want free legal advice, they want to hang out like old times, they want to “reconnect”, they want my genetics to cause the drinks to be sent over from the gentlemen at the bar while they are at my table. I can’t say Eff you loud enough – that they left me stranded without a dime with a 3 year old, never once asking could they babysit while I walk the dog or get my hair done or calling to see do I need anything. Mind you I was always there for them through their breakups and bullshit, I’ve babysat their kids when they were small and difficult (multiple kids), and I loaned money and given it away. The church women were the absolute worst. They can fuck off forever.
When you go through something like that it hardens you. I have 2 close friends and my sister. The rest can fuck off and die. I’m careful with people now and real quick to pump the brakes the second someone says anything even remotely alarming.
So I can relate to Angelina in a lot of ways, mind you her ex was far more powerful than mine, so I can imagine what I experienced, she did so on a much grander scale and publicly at that – which much sting even more.
Very interesting comment SIDE EYE Thank you for sharing your story.
Echoing other comments, she seems to be carrying alot of emotional pain. I’m glad she’s getting some positive professional feedback again and she’s built a loving family with the kids . Who knew that wild child of the 90s would end up such a great mom and overall a good role model? AJ is a rare breed.