40TH ANNUAL SBIFF MALTIN MODERN MASTER AWARD

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.”