“I’ve never felt more exposed. My whole career, I’ve hidden
behind other people’s words,” Jolie said. “Now it’s me talking. You feel
ridiculous when you get something wrong.” The actress, who penned the script
during a two-day quarantine period when she had the flu, said she had Pitt read
it over first. “He called and said, ‘You know, honey, it’s not that bad,’“
Jolie told the magazine.
The story follows a couple’s love affair during the Bosnian
war, and Jolie made sure to get the script as accurate as possible by sending
it to reporters and writers of Serbian and Bosnian nationalities who had
experienced the war.
“I was gauging the accuracy...If they said no, I wouldn’t
have done it,” she said.
But the movie did cause controversy last year when the
leader of a woman’s group in Sarajevo urged city officials to ban shooting the
film in Bosnia. She complained that the love story was offensive because it was
between a Bosnian woman and Serbian man.
At the time, Jolie said she hoped people would withhold any
judgment until that had seen the film, which is expected to hit theaters in
December of this year.
The “Salt” actress told Vanity Fair that she took the helm
as director because the script “was something I didn’t trust out of my hands.”
And she revealed how directing the film changed the way she perceived acting.
“Brad thinks I’m going to be a nightmare,” joked Jolie, who
won her Oscar for supporting actress in “Girl, Interrupted.” “I had such a good
experience he thinks I’m going to be impatient with directors, which I already
am. I get impatient with people working on a film that have their head in their
hands like it’s the most complicated thing in the world.” She said Pitt was
very supportive of the film and offered suggestions, but she wasn’t sure he was
the best person from whom to take advice.
“He’d come in and say what he liked or what he didn’t
understand. Like any woman, I would listen to most of it and fight a few
things. He’s been so supportive. But it’s hard to separate the person that
loves you from the critic, so I don’t think he’s a fair judge.” Jolie cast many
unknown actors in the film, which she felt was important for authenticity.
“It couldn’t be anyone else. It’s their story. It was
important that they were willing to do it. If none of them were willing, I
wouldn’t have made it,” said the actress.
And as for its ultimate success or failure, Jolie leaves it
up to the audience to decide, hopefully in a good debate.
“People will judge for themselves. I think if you make a
good movie people will walk away arguing,” she said.
