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WHAT:
40th Annual Santa Barbara
International Film Festival - Maltin
Modern Master Award - Honoree Angelina
Jolie
WHO:
Angelina Jolie,
moderator Leonard
Maltin,
and presenter
Ava DuVernay
WHEN:
Wednesday, February 5,
2025
WHERE:
ARLINGTON THEATER
(1317
State St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101)
Quotes From the Awards
Presentation:
-
Looking back on her
career, Angelina shared, “I think
back on my life and all the things I
almost didn’t do, I almost missed. I
said no to Tomb Raider the first
time. And then they said you can
travel the world and train with the
British military. And I said I will
wear the shorts for the first five
minutes of the movie and that’s it.
And that’s what happened.”
-
Angelina also talked
about what brought her to acting,
explaining that “I didn’t start
acting because I wanted to be an
actor, I started because I wanted to
help my mom, so I needed to work. It
was like ‘we got a job, I can get a
part or be in debt.’ So it was just
about work and security, and
creativity.”
-
Talking about her
initial feelings around fame,
Angelina noted “Having success and
being recognized and being put on
one side of a line to another person
really made me very uncomfortable -
I went very dark in that time.”
-
Angelina also went
into her connection to her
characters, saying “I probably
related to characters more than I’m
conscious of. I think I’m close to
almost everyone I’ve played. I
almost think of it as removing a
part of yourself.
-
Angelina also spoke
to the experience of being directed
by Robert De Niro on The Good
Shepard, sharing that “He was really
lovely, really tough. I remember I
was pregnant, I became pregnant, he
didn’t know. Because we had reshoots,
and my prosthetics were falling off.
And I got a bit sick in a scene
where everybody was smoking, and
then I had to say to my very tough,
cool director who was just focused
on what he wants, I said ‘I’m so
sorry, but I’m pregnant.’ And then I
saw a very different Robert De Niro.
Who went from being this very tough
strong director to being a man who’s
saying ‘get her a banana. Help her.’
And he was the sweetest.
-
Angelina also called
De Niro “A little intimidating, but
for all the right reasons when
you’re actor. And it’s fun to
explore character with him, and to
ask him questions, and to see what
he’s thinking.”
-
Speaking to another
of her collaborations, Angelina
shared an interesting detail, saying
“Clint Eastwood, who really only
does one take most of the time. It’s
true. It’s a rumor about him, but
it’s true.”
-
Angelina also
explained about Clint Eastwood that
“He writes the music. He wrote the
theme in Changeling early. And his
musical compositions are so
beautiful and so soulful.”
-
For Maleficent,
Angelina talked a bit about the
prosthetics work, stating “We wanted
to try to find something that was
not so distracting that she could
really have emotional scenes, but
also still have that look of that
creature.”
-
Talking more
generally about the process of
finding the character of Maleficent,
Angelina explained “It was a
beautiful script and it was a fun
process. But we were trying to
figure out - so she has horns like a
goat, but then she has wings like a
bird. Does she have hair, or does
she have feathers? Does she have
feet, or does she have hooves? We
had tried goat contacts, I actually
loved those, but nobody would buy
it.”
-
Angelina also offered
some insights into her directing
work, sharing “It’s the best. I love
directing. I prefer directing. It’s
like, if you have the right family,
you trust your heads of department,
you love your actors, you love your
work, and you’re all there together.
Your job is to make the space and
bring the best in everybody and come
with a strong plan and take
responsibility. But I really love
it, because I love seeing the best
in other people.”
-
For her most recent
role in Pablo Larraín’s Maria,
Angelina explained that “He called
me and asked me about Maria. He
didn’t have a script, he just told
me about his childhood, and his
relationship to Maria Callas, and
music and opera, and who she was.”
-
Addressing her
singing in Maria, Angelina noted
“You can’t fake sing opera. Because
you can see, it’s like fake
screaming. Your body does something
very specific. Your mouth, your
throat... It’s not something you
can kind
of do.
-
Ava DuVerney was in
attendance to present Angelina with
the award, praising her work and
sharing that “AJ’s career is a
testament to the power of cinema
that centers risk, reinvention, and
reflection.”
About The Event:
The Santa Barbara
International Film Festival is honored
to announce that cinema icon Angelina
Jolie will receive the Maltin Modern
Master Award at the 40th annual Santa
Barbara International Film Festival.
Jolie will receive the prestigious award
on February 5, 2025. Angelina Jolie's
career as an actress has been marked by
versatility and critical acclaim, with
significant impact globally. Angelina
Jolie's latest film, “Maria” marks a
significant turn in her career, as she
portrays the iconic opera singer Maria
Callas. Critics have praised Jolie for
her transformative performance,
particularly her ability to embody
Callas’ intensity and grace. Her
performance evokes the emotional depth
and fragility behind the operatic
legend’s public persona.
“Angelina Jolie makes
bold choices, both as an actress and as
a director. She sets the bar high in
both disciplines and always comes
through. I look forward to reviewing her
career with her in Santa Barbara!”
remarked Leonard Maltin.
Angelina Jolie is an
Academy Award-winning actress, director,
and producer, with film credits
including Walt Disney Pictures’ Maleficent series, Salt,
and Girl,
Interrupted. Jolie
directed, produced and co-wrote the
critically acclaimed feature First
They Killed My Father and
the upcoming Without
Blood;
additionally, she directed the
Oscar®-nominated drama Unbroken. She
is a Tony Award-winning producer on the
acclaimed new Broadway musical The
Outsiders.
About the Santa Barbara
International Film Festival
The Santa Barbara
International Film Festival (SBIFF) is a
501(c)(3) non-profit arts and
educational organization dedicated to
discovering and showcasing the best in
independent and international cinema.
Over the past 39 years, SBIFF has become
one of the top 10 film festivals in the
United States – attracting 100,000
attendees and offering 11 days of 200+
films, tributes and symposiums,
fulfilling their mission to
engage, enrich, and inspire the Santa
Barbara community through film.
Barbara.
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