[HD] Angelina Jolie Interview On Today Show 12/07/2010

Back at 8.09, Hollywood descended on New York City last night for the premiere of the new film, The Tourist, which stars Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp. He plays an American tourist who falls for the glamorous Jolie and gets involved in a deadly game of cat and mouse through the canals of Venice. We caught up with Angelina recently and discovered she didn't even know her co-star before the movie started shooting. Never met him. I've always wanted to and I've always loved his movies, but I never... I think we're both actually homebodies at the end of the day. We both kind of stay inside our little, you know, with our families. So when you commit to do a movie with someone and you have that first meeting, you have to be keeping your fingers crossed. Is it a little bit like the first minutes of a first date? Well, I suppose, but we had friends in common. I'd heard from Brad, you're going to love him. He's a great guy. And I think also as an actor, I'd seen his films, so I knew... You knew the guy who does all Alice in Wonderland and Edward Scissorhands. You know that that person can't be somebody who takes themselves too seriously or doesn't have a good sense of humor or doesn't have... So you have some, you know, you hope you're not wrong, but you have... But he is. He's as lovely and as interesting as you could hope for. He likes, apparently, to do a lot of ad-libbing and to be spontaneous on the set. I know a lot of actors love that. A lot of actors don't like that. How does that fit with your style? I loved it. Did you really? I loved it, with the exception of there were a few times I couldn't stop laughing and then I screwed up the tapes for hours on end. It was so important we didn't take ourselves too seriously. Especially because I was playing such a lady and he was playing a math teacher, so that in itself is funny. I'm Elise. I'm Frank. That's a terrible name. It's the only one I've got. Maybe we can find you another. Sometimes when we're about to do an interview, they give us this information. And some of it you know is just put in there by publicists to make things interesting. And other things, you stop and it catches your attention. This idea that you took manners classes for this role, was that made up by the movie company or did you really do that? In a fashion, yes. There wasn't somebody you can call and say, come over and give me a class. There was a way of studying certain things, reading about certain things, learning about the dance class. But it all added up to the same thing, which is she needs to speak more elegantly, she needs to sit with more poise. That didn't come naturally for you? I'm not completely clumsy or gross, but I'm not... There's something about this type of woman that doesn't come naturally to me, that she's extremely... She takes her time with everything. I'm an American. I do ten things before breakfast. You're in Venice, here's one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and yet you're hounded there. I mean, it's not as if you can just go with the kids and the family and say, let's do Venice. You had boatloads of paparazzi following you. How does that impact the experience? It bothers you, but we got around them. We're very good at... It sounds like we were trapped, but in fact we were having Sunday breakfast in our favorite place every morning. And we were sneaking out and had decoy boats and... But it takes a village. It takes a lot of prep. It takes a little prep and a little bit of... But we do maneuver through all that stuff. At this stage, have you figured out why? I mean, you must sit home sometimes in your pajamas with curlers in your hair and say, what is it about me that they find so fascinating? I don't find myself that interesting in that way. I'd like to think I've become a better woman as I've gotten older and I have a full life. But I do the same thing every day in my natural life. I wear the same thing every day. I don't go out. But I feel like it happens to everybody. Do you really? Well, it's a weird time right now where there's just so much of all of that for everybody. And people even put... It's just a new world. Is it a phase, though? Do you think we'll get over it? Can you put the genie back in the bottle? I don't know. I mean, I just assume the older I get, the more it'll go away. The more private I'll become. Now you're doing your first directing project. And I'm wondering if that's what you're eyeing. Are you looking down at a time when it's not going to be as important for you to be in front of the camera and behind the camera might be a nice little kind of hidden place for you? I much preferred being behind the camera. Do you really? I loved it. I loved it. What personality traits do you need to be a good director? I hope I know. I hope I am a good one. What do you like? I mean, what do you think works with your strengths and weaknesses? I had a happy crew, and I was a part of that crew. We were a team. We were a family by the end. And I think that comes from... I genuinely... I happen to be with very talented people, but I genuinely respect... I respect people, and I'm curious about what they do, and I want to give them the power to do what they do best without getting in their way. In the holiday season, we tend to stop and think about what we're thankful for. So when you look at the life that you have created for yourself and that you and Brad have created together, what are you most thankful for? We are all healthy right now because I know the value of that. And that we have this time, that we have this life together, that we get to explore and laugh and learn and have that warm love that is what makes life worth living. They're young now, but they're going to get to an age, they're going to be 30 one day, and someone's going to ask them that question that we've all been asked. They're going to say, what was your childhood like? What do you want them to remember about their childhood? Hopefully they're happy and they know that they were loved and that they were encouraged to be who they are and not pushed into something that they're not or discouraged from something that was important to them. So hopefully they'll be the strong, beautiful individuals that they are today and be happy in their lives, be fulfilled in their lives, and be living their lives honestly.