Betty's interview with Angelina

Betty: Hey baby. How the hell are you?

Angelina: [flashing a devilishly content grin] Great.

Betty: Happy birthday to you.

Angelina: How sweet. Thanks. I had the greatest birthday of my life. I came home and I took a nap after doing press all day and I spent time with Billy and spent time with my family for a bit and we all listened to music. It was just a night where everybody I loved was together and laughing with each other, telling me how much they cared about me. It was just great.

Betty: That's right - you went and got married!

Angelina: I know. I'm so fuckin' happy.

Betty: Did you hear the hearts of millions of little boys (and girls) breaking?

Angelina: Well somehow ... he gets me. You know? He's a great guy and I think everybody kinda digs him too. So were very happy.

Betty: Well, I've interviewed him before for "A Simple Plan" and that night before the Oscars I saw you two in the same bar, I thought it was such a great idea to hook you two up. Little did I know...

Angelina: That's cool! That's really cool.

Betty: In a town where people are always baggin' on Hollywood couples, it's so nice to see you two so much in love. Do you know that you're both making everybody so happy for you?

Angelina: That's so nice. You know you always expect a certain amount of criticism and we've had that too, but we are very much in love and we are going to share our lives with people. We don't mind. And we hope people are rooting for us rather than being against us.

Betty: In the midst of winning awards and working on all these movies, that was a big life-changing decision you made.

Angelina: Well, that’s the biggest one. I never thought I’d be settled or calm or ever satisfied. I always carried this crazy thing around, I thought I only lived like 5% alive and I can’t do this anymore and I’ll never stay in one place and nobody will ever really get inside me and I felt kinda empty. And now I’m completely calm and I feel I have so much meaning in life and I’m so clear. He’s just made me complete. I just admire him and have so much fun with him.

Betty: Now, about "Gone In 60 Seconds", how was it working with Nicolas Cage?

Angelina: Nic's amazing. He's a really great team leader and he supports all of the other actors. He lets them do their thing. He seems very serious but he's also completely nuts and free. He's a great guy and he deserves everything that's happening for him.

Betty: You looked real enough. Can you actually steal a car now?

Angelina: See, that’s dangerous for me to admit to, isn’t ? Like, cars will be missing and they’ll go, ‘Oh, ah...Angelina?’ Yeah, I think I wanna like check my notes, but yeah, I could. But I haven’t done it in a while, you know? [laughs.] They really did teach us, which is great. That’s one of the greatest things about my job is that you get to learn all these different skills you never thought you would.

Betty: Do you still have your truck?

Angelina: My truck yeah, it’s a pretty sturdy – it’s not a racing car, which is good for me, because I shouldn’t have one. But yeah, it’s a good car. It’s been through a lot and it’s survived. I maybe got it when I was 17 or something.

Betty: You were with all these guys in a big action blockbuster - what was it like working on such a high energy movie?

Angelina: People ask me what it was like - but you have to remember, I just came out of the mental institution with a bunch of women. Now that was high energy and raw and tough. This was playful. It was fun being part of a team.

Betty: Has the media put you through hell in the past few months, with the constant speculation about everything?

Angelina: I just try to keep you all busy! [laughs] I go to sleep at night looking over a pillow at the love of my life and just stare at him...

Betty: What's so great about you is that you always feel so open to talk to us [the media].

Angelina: And I always will be. I like being able to be really honest. I’ll share everything always because it’s what I want. It helps me continue to do my work that way. And I’ve got nothing to hide and I like sharing with people and I like it when people come up to me and tell me things about themselves. So I’ll never change. And of course there are always going to be things that sound weird or aren’t explained so it’ll probably just get worse, but that’s okay.

Betty: How did you manage to keep your relationship secret?

Angelina: With Billy? I don’t think anybody was looking for it! [laughs]

Betty: What do you remember from Oscar night?

Angelina: It was a beautiful day. I spent that morning with my friends who helped me get ready and my family came over. They told me that it didn't matter one way or another, and that they loved me and were proud of me. It was the greatest day of my life already. Then I got a call from Billy Bob who said the same thing. Then that night - with winning...I still feel that it's strange that I get led into these things...

This was a film that meant a lot to me. It was a huge night. Beyond that, back home with Billy and putting his two beautiful children to bed then he came out to say ‘hi’. Then I got back on a plane at 4 in the morning and went back to work in Mexico.

Betty: Can you tell me about the Lara Croft role?

Angelina: It's not going to be campy and stupid. We're making her a little more human. My dad looked at the script and was moved by it. I've never done anything for kids and this is going to be great for them. She's tough and real and a warrior, so it's not going to be a cartoon or cute..but it has a lot to do about our planet.

I’ve been in England for three weeks and we will be there for over a month more just doing training. I’m training throughout the film but it’s been great for me. I get up and do yoga at 7 in the morning, which is insane! I’m on protein shakes and they’ve taken my cigarettes and alcohol and sugar away from me - and Billy - because I’m far away.

Betty: What other kind of training?

Angelina: I’m doing bungee ballet and I’m doing diving, weapons training with the Special Forces. I’m doing kickboxing - everything from soccer to rowing. One British thing is to learn manners - they’re sending me to manners school! [laughs] I’m glad that’s so funny!

Betty: Well, I wish you all the best of luck Angelina. Keep up the great job and stay happy!

IGN Movies Interview

Angelina: [Smiles] That's dangerous for me to admit to, isn't it? Cars will be missing and they'll go [looking for me]. [But] yeah. I'd want to check my notes, but … yeah. I haven't done it in a while.

They really did teach us, which is great. That's one of the great things about my job is that you get to learn all these skills. I suddenly got to play with cars and learn to drive properly and really fast, break into cars. There is an art to [boosting cars], and [cars are] all different. Each character, we all thought we'd do it differently. It was fun.

IGN Movies: Were you into cars before that?

Angelina: A bit. I've always liked cars. When I had to drive a Ferrari, I'd never been in a car like that.

IGN Movies: What was the one car in the flick you wish you could have stolen for yourself?

Angelina: The Lamborghini Diablo. [But] I didn't get to drive [it].

IGN Movies: What do you drive now?

Angelina: My truck. It's not a racing car, which is good for me, because [laughs] I shouldn't have one. I got it when I was 17. It's a good car, it's been through a lot.

IGN Movies: What did you learn from growing up watching your dad [John Voight]?

Angelina: My memory of my father is seeing him sitting at a table with books on [philosophy and religion] trying to figure out things about life, trying to make notes and incorporate them into films, trying to fix a script and trying to say something with it. He's always learning and always searching and always wanting to be a better person and understand things. Him being an actor never changed his life. We were exactly the same as everybody [else].

IGN Movies: When you and Billy Bob Thornton were married in Vegas, did Elvis perform the ceremony?

Angelina: No, no [smiles]. It would have been [an Elvis wedding], if it was an option.

IGN Movies: You didn't have many action scenes in Gone in Sixty Seconds. What's up with that?

Angelina: You know what's great about that, is that everybody's upset about that, which is lovely. It's a group movie. It was never going to be me and Nic, it was always Nic's movie and an ensemble. I was part of that, so we all had our things. You always want to get in there and do more, have more fun. We did what we thought was right for the story. I agree with you. I would have loved to have had one of those scenes.

Nic's a great guy. Are there any rumors about him I need to clear up? [laughs]

[The great thing was,] I was surrounded by real actors. Nic is a really great team leader, and wants everybody to do things and surprise him. He is definitely a leading man, but he's also wild and free and will be spontaneous. So it was a fun environment.

IGN Movies: Everybody says the script was constantly rewritten. Were there a lot of changed pages?

Angelina: Yeah, you know, the script wasn't that thick [laughs]. We changed a line or two here or there, but it's not like we were rewriting the big monologues [laughs].

IGN Movies: And now you're doing Tomb Raider and you're Lara Croft. Are you into it?

Angelina: Oh, yeah [smiles].[Billy Bob's] kids should really like that one. And Billy's playing a barber. [Laughs] He's cutting hair, and I'm shooting guns.

I've been in England for three weeks, and we're there over a month more -- just doing training. I'll train through the whole film. It's been great for me at this time in my life. I get up and do yoga at 7:30 [a.m.], which is insane. And I'm on protein shakes. They've taken my cigarettes and alcohol and sugar away from me -- and Billy [he's still in the States].

IGN Movies: What kind of training are you doing to get Crofty?

Angelina: Bungee ballet, diving, weapons training with Special Forces, kickboxing. Everything from soccer to rowing, to things that are British. They're going to send me to manners school [laughs]. [Smiles; in response to the onlookers' laughter] I'm glad that that's funny to everybody.

IGN Movies: You're playing Lara as English?

Angelina: Oh yeah, absolutely. She's very British. But she was raised a certain way, she was raised really proper. She has a very proper voice, but it's been broken down, and she has very proper manners, but they've been broken down.

IGN Movies: Do you have a lot of action in this flick?

Angelina: [Lights up] Yeah. I'm doing so much in this film. There's a part of me that just thinks, "God, that's insane, I can't believe I'm doing this." And there's another part of me -- when I'm in full army gear, and some guy's going, "Advance! Advance! Duck! Roll!" -- and I'm like, "Maybe this is me" [laughs]. And it kinda is.

It's fun to learn about [weapons], to be trained to take them apart and put them back together. And also just to understand. It is like driving -- it's that thing that yeah, you learn how to do it really fast, you learn how to shoot really well. But you also really do learn how to use the equipment properly. We shot a blank into styrofoam. I've seen actors put [a gun] this close [puts her finger gun three inches from her head] to somebody's head. They had me shoot [a blank] into styrofoam with two guns. It blew a whole this big [two feet in diameter] and the second [blank] set it on fire. And that's what we all have right at each other's [heads].

IGN Movies: What's Tomb Raider's shooting schedule?

Angelina: It's going to be six months. And we're going to Cambodia and Iceland and mostly in England.

IGN Movies: When does shooting kick off?

Angelina: End of July.

IGN Movies: Any other big names in the cast?

Not as far as I know. [Billy Bob] actually nearly was. Which is really insane. If I can get him to England, then that will be amazing.

IGN Movies: What's your favorite stunt in the film?

Angelina: There's skydiving and there's motorcycle riding. It's all going to be good. There's some kind of swimming with a hundred eels, [smiles] which I'm looking forward to for some weird reason.