In her latest role, Angelina Jolie revives a villainous Disney icon. She talks to Michele Manelis
She might seem ubiquitous but, Angelina Jolie has not had a starring role in a movie since 2010's The Tourist.
She has been photographed frequently, recently directed her second feature film and has continued working on her many charitable endeavours, often away from the cameras.
She has also talked lately of wanting to act less, perhaps even not much at all, so she can concentrate on directing.
Whether or not that turns out to be true, one thing is certain: Hollywood and the world will be talking Angelina Jolie, Movie Star this summer thanks to Maleficent.
Taking Sleeping Beauty as its origin tale, Maleficent takes that classic 1959 animated movie, slams it on its head, and gives Jolie a gift of a role as the fairy-turned-villain who avenges her betrayal by the man who would be king by putting a curse on his newborn infant.
Jolie enters the hotel room in a black lace dress and heels. She smiles easily and often. There is nothing showy in her movement or manner but she exudes a magnetic presence "Nice to see you again," she smiles, in a way that says she means it, before getting right down to business. She knows our time is limited and makes the most of it.
"Maleficent makes choices that are horrible and evil, particularly what she does to an innocent child," is her take on her evil fairy royal. "But the script wasn't written to absolve her, it was to understand how she became the way she is."
"We've all gone through things where we felt abused, marginalised or bullied and many children will identify with that. We often put up a wall because we feel our heart goes cold and we grow darker. In Maleficent's case, she goes to an extreme. The story is really about understanding that it's a mistake to allow evil to overtake you."
Robert Stromberg makes an impressive directorial debut. The movie was shot in the UK, in London and Buckinghamshire and with a reported budget of US$200 million it's a long way from the cartoon Sleeping Beauty.
"We wanted to be respectful to the fanbase who know who Maleficent is, and you could argue that the original presented a one-dimensional character but we weren't interested in making her evil 24/7," he explains. "It's different than 1959 when that film was made. We have to adjust to the culture and the mindset of how people think today."
Stromberg won an Oscar for best art direction for Avatar, and served as production designer for Oz The Great and Powerful.
Was directing the actress-turned-director daunting?
"I had to let go of that immediately or it would have been impossible to work with her. And the production element wasn't frightening because I've worked on huge sets as a designer. The only elephant in the room was, 'Can this guy talk to actors?'" he smiles. "But if you have a heart you can understand heart and I've always wanted to be a director. I just had to prove it to other people."
Maleficent's look was conceived with special effects veteran Rick Baker whose team came up with different-sized cheekbones and horns and contact lenses for the star to trial.
Jolie is clearly pleased with her transformation.
"I haven't seen a lot of the movies I've made. I've never seen Wanted, never seen The Tourist, but I will watch Maleficent with my kids when we go to the premiere because she is so far removed from me that it's not really like watching myself."
Elle Fanning (Super 8, We Bought a Zoo), is also perfectly cast as the sweet and innocent Princess Aurora who contrasts so deliciously with Maleficent's dark humour and sardonic wit.
One of Jolie's own brood, Vivienne, 5, was cast as the young Princess Aurora.
"There was no other child who could have done that scene with Maleficent, who is basically Frankenstein," says Stromberg, "and Aurora needed to react with love towards her which wasn't coached in any way and couldn't really be done with a child actor. It was completely natural when she grabbed Maleficent's horns and that's why it worked."
Says Jolie of that scene:, "It was a little hard to hold up your own child, and say right in her face, 'I don't like children,' and hope that it doesn't leave a lasting impression. But I made it a game with Vivi. We practiced it and I explained that I was going to be as mean as possible."
Of course, Jolie has plenty of other potential supporting cast for any future roles requiring child cameos among the six children -- three adopted and three biological -- she is raising with partner, Brad Pitt, 50.
But what of those rumours she'll be nixing movie star from her multi-hyphenated career?
"Brad has known for a while that I love my humanitarian work and I love directing and writing and so he's seen this coming. But I am not retiring, I will do one or two movies, if the right ones come along," she says. "But I have been in front of the camera for so long in my life and it's nice to step back."
Her next movie, Unbroken, which she directed and shot in Australia, will be released later this year. Based on the book by Laura Hillenbrand, and scripted by the Coen Brothers it's about the life of Olympic athlete Louis Zamperini.
"Directing is a different kind of work, and also I think a more fulfilling kind of work because you are more involved in the story in such a deep way. Plus the kids are getting into their teens so they are going to need me to be ready to do less work and be there for them, which directing affords. The reason I picked Unbroken to direct is because I think Louis (Zamperini) is one of the best role models you'll ever find. His story is inspiring."
Unbroken is her second film as director after her 2011 Bosnian war story In the Land of Blood and Honey which won her mixed reviews.
She headed to Australia for the Unbroken shoot last year after electing to undergo a preventive double mastectomy after she discovered she was predisposed to cancer due to the faulty BRCA1 gene. Her mother died of ovarian cancer at age 56 in 2007.
"I'm doing well health-wise and I'm very happy about the decisions I've made. If my mother had made that choice when she was younger, she might still be alive."
Who: Angelina Jolie
What: Maleficent
When: At cinemas from Thursday
- TimeOut
REVIEW: The concert was so popular, it was scheduled for two consecutive nights.