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Angelina Jolie's Unconventional Method for Casting Her Latest Movie

ItIsOkBro

Member
“Every measure was taken to ensure the safety, comfort and well-being of the children on the film starting from the auditions through production to the present,” Angelina said. “I am upset that a pretend exercise in an improvisation, from an actual scene in the film, has been written about as if it was a real scenario. The suggestion that real money was taken from a child during an audition is false and upsetting. I would be outraged myself if this had happened.”

Statement by the Producer Rithy Panh:

"I want to comment on recent reports about the casting process for Angelina Jolie’s First They Killed My Father, which grossly mischaracterize how child actors were selected for the film, and I want to clear up the misunderstandings.

Because so many children were involved in the production,
Angelina and I took the greatest care to ensure their welfare was protected. Our goal was to respect the realities of war, while nurturing everyone who helped us to recreate it for the film.

The casting was done in the most sensitive way possible. The children were from different backgrounds. Some were underprivileged; others were not. Some were orphans. All of the children were tended to at all times by relatives or carers from the NGOs responsible for them. The production team followed the families’ preferences and the NGO organizations’ guidelines. Some of the auditions took place on the NGOs’ premises.

Ahead of the screen tests, the casting crew showed the
children the camera and the sound recording material. It explained to them that they were going to be asked to act out a part: to pretend to steal petty cash or a piece of food left unattended and then get caught in the act. It relates to a real episode from the life of Loung Ung, and a scene in the movie, when she and her siblings were caught by the Khmer Rouge and accused of stealing.

The purpose of the audition was to improvise with the children and explore how a child feels when caught doing something he or she is not supposed to be doing.

We wanted to see how they would improvise when their character is found ‘stealing’ and how they would justify their action. The children were not tricked or entrapped, as some have suggested. They understood very well that this was acting, and make believe. What made Srey Moch, who was chosen for the lead role of Loung Ung, so special was that she said that she would want the money not for herself, but for her grandfather. Great care was taken with the children not only during auditions, but throughout the entirety of the film’s making. They were accompanied on set by their parents, other relatives or tutors. Time was set aside for them to study and play. The children’s well-being was monitored by a special team each day, including at home, and contact continues to the present. Because the memories of the genocide are so raw, and many Cambodians still have difficulty speaking about their experiences, a team of doctors and therapists worked with us on set every day so that anyone from the cast or crew who wanted to talk could do so. The children gave their all in their performances and have made all of us in the production, and, I believe, in Cambodia, very proud."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...profile-auditions_us_597cf41ae4b02a8434b6d1e4

well then
 

Funky Papa

FUNK-Y-PPA-4
Where are all the outraged crowd above now?
It's a Vanity Fair cover story. Those kind of pieces are usually reliable if not well calibrated to come out as puff pieces in disguise. We aren't talking about a Perez Hilton post complete with some crass Paint doodles.

Based on what is publicly known about Jolie, people actually thought this article could be true?
Jolie has earned a rep for being troublesome if not hard to work with. It's not exactly a secret that her behaviour can be baffling and abrasive.

The way things are looking, Vanity Fair didn't get the full picture and either by ignorance of malice surmised things that painted her as the villain. But again, we are talking about Vanity Fair. You really can't blame people for trusting the mag, but if Jolie's camp is right, she should sue.

They always seem to whenever the name Angelina Jolie comes about.

I wonder why that is?
If you have something to say, go and say it.
 
Where are all the outraged crowd above now?

Based on what is publicly known about Jolie, people actually thought this article could be true?

It's literally a cover story from one of the most popular and reputable Hollywood magazines. Couple that with the fact that Hollywood actors often have one or more skeletons in their closet and the fact that minorities and indigenous people, as well as other cultures, are often exploited by Hollywood for profit then, of course, it becomes believable.
 
Strange events. So they didn't run the Vanity Fair piece by Jolie's management? I'd expect that to be a demand from her team with things like this.
 

Monocle

Member
Man. People really jumped on that outrage train.
Welcome to NeoGAF, where everything sucks unless it's the best thing ever.

People just love to hate.

P.S. Angelina Jolie has long struck me as a woefully misunderstood person. Her Inside the Actors Studio interview was revealing.
 

Kin5290

Member
Jolie has earned a rep for being troublesome if not hard to work with. It's not exactly a secret that her behaviour can be baffling and abrasive.
Isn't this, you know, most actresses who have achieved some semblance of power and influence?

Hollywood, being as sexist a place as it is, still has a big problem with actresses who speak out for themselves.
 

Tagg9

Member
Here's an update to this story. They posted a transcript of the interview and the Vanity Fair report seems like a reasonable interpretation of what AJ said.
http://variety.com/2017/film/news/vanity-fair-defends-angelina-jolie-story-1202515401/

AJ: But it was very hard to find a little Loung. And so it was what they call a slum school. I don't think that's a very nice word for it, but a school for kids in very poor areas.

And I think, I mean they didn't know. We just went in and—you just go in and do some auditions with the kids. And it's not really an audition with children. We had this game where it would be—and I wasn't there and they didn't know what they were really doing. They kind of said, ”Oh, a camera's coming up and we want to play a game with you." And the game for that character was ”We're going to put some money on the table. Think of something that you need that money for." Sometimes it was money, sometimes it was a cookie. [Laughter] ”And then take it." And then we would catch them. ”We're going to catch you, and we'd like you to try to lie that you didn't have it."
 
How do you interpret "they didn't know"?

That they didn't know that they were auditioning for an actual movie, that it was presented as just a game, because everything else in that explanation is in line with their clarification after the outrage, that the kids knew there was a camera, that they were told ahead of time about taking the money and that they were going to be caught.
 
How do you interpret "they didn't know"?

I keep reading and find these parts:

They kind of said, “Oh, a camera’s coming up and we want to play a game with you.”

So it was very interesting seeing the kids and how they would—some were very conscious of the camera.

So they tell the kids beforehand that they're playing a game, and the kids are aware enough that there's a camera there for some to be conscious of it. That, to me, easily makes it look more like an acting exercise than anything else.
 
Vanity Fair isn't just some tabloid. They do some serious journalism, including revealing the identity of Deep Throat.

The entertainment editorial team seriously dropped the ball, however.

I believe that person was joking. I would think people know VF isn't a tabloid.
 
I keep reading and find these parts:





So they tell the kids beforehand that they're playing a game, and the kids are aware enough that there's a camera there for some to be conscious of it. That, to me, easily makes it look more like an acting exercise than anything else.
It's been pretty clear all along that they were playing a game.

But playing a game involving catching poor Cambodian kids taking money and asking them to justify it is fucked up. I couldn't give a shit that they showed them a camera.

It's actually quite stunning to me that some people think these updates somehow vindicate her.
 
It's been pretty clear all along that they were playing a game.

But playing a game involving catching poor Cambodian kids taking money and asking them to justify it is fucked up. I couldn't give a shit that they showed them a camera.

It's actually quite stunning to me that some people think these updates somehow vindicate her.

The kids know the money isn't supposed to stay theirs. They know they're going to get caught. There is no deception of the children involving the money here.
 
You could have told that people earlier, they evidently lacked your smartness

?

Read the first sentence of the OP.

The kids know the money isn't supposed to stay theirs. They know they're going to get caught. There is no deception of the children involving the money here.
Hey Jonny, I know you're starving and your family need money for vital medicines so we're going to play a game where I put real money in front of you - that could help solve those problems - so I can see how you react.

But the money isn't yours ok, it's just a game.

Also, I'm a millionaire and could give you 10 times this if I wanted to but I'm only going to hire the one who gives me the best reaction on tape.

Funsies!!
 
?

Hey Jonny, I know you're starving and your family need money for vital medicines so we're going to play a game where I put real money in front of you - that could help solve those problems - so I can see how you react.

But the money isn't yours ok, it's just a game.

Also, I'm a millionaire and could give you 10 times this if I wanted to but I'm only going to hire the one who gives me the best reaction on tape.

Funsies!!

It's an audition asking the kids to act out what seems to be one of the pivotal scenes in the film. And you're basically saying that that isn't okay, even though they tell the kids that it's a game and that they're just pretending, because there's money involved in said scene.

Edit: And as far as the OP, the problem is that the original quote makes it seems like the kids aren't in on it and are being tricked into their reactions, where as the clarifications make it clear that they were aware of what was going on.
 
?

Read the first sentence of the OP.


Hey Jonny, I know you're starving and your family need money for vital medicines so we're going to play a game where I put real money in front of you - that could help solve those problems - so I can see how you react.

But the money isn't yours ok, it's just a game.

Also, I'm a millionaire and could give you 10 times this if I wanted to but I'm only going to hire the one who gives me the best reaction on tape.

Funsies!!
1. Jolie wasn't there (that was clear in her statement), so the "I'm a millionaire and could give you..." stuff is wrong.
2. It's not clear that it was real money or not -- Jolie said, "the suggestion that real money was taken from a child during an audition is false and upsetting."
 

NervousXtian

Thought Emoji Movie was good. Take that as you will.
This thread is pretty embarrassing... A few people got what happened on the first page because even before clarification it was clear the kids knew they were playing a game.

The rest couldn't wait to tear down another celebrity.
 

Keri

Member
I think it was reasonable to have concern about the children, based on the phrasing in the article. They initially said the lead actress was selected because she broke into tears when "forced" to return the money. That doesn't paint a picture of a child who knows she's playing a game.
 
This thread is pretty embarrassing... A few people got what happened on the first page because even before clarification it was clear the kids knew they were playing a game.

The rest couldn't wait to tear down another celebrity.
The fact it was a game doesn't matter.

The game was fucked up.
 

Kin5290

Member
I think it was reasonable to have concern about the children, based on the phrasing in the article. They initially said the lead actress was selected because she broke into tears when "forced" to return the money. That doesn't paint a picture of a child who knows she's playing a game.

No, the lead actress was selected because she was able to provide the best motivation for the character she was asked to play, which was in turn based off a scene in the film similar to the actual events that occurred in the real life of the woman being portrayed by the child actors.

Once you look at the actual context of the auditions, it becomes abundantly clear that the child actresses were fully aware that they were playing a role.
 

Rootbeer

Banned
I'm glad they came out with a statement. The original wording is concerning, a little more care in writing the piece could have gone a long way.

Was originally brought to my attention by a film reviewer I trust on twitter who is not known for hyperbole. I think a lot of people had an alarmed reaction at first. That said, I don't think I went straight to condemnation personally, as my original post is kind of up in the air as to what to make of it.
 

Dalek

Member
Hey guys what's this thread about?

1324359129980.gif
 
WOW.... Vanity Fair fucked up HARD on this one!

How did they write a piece like that and not go back to at least clarify what they had interpreted. Their story is so royally fucked up that I just can't see how they wouldn't have thought to themselves... "hey, something isn't right here".

I would straight up sue VF for that story.
 

TrutaS

Member
Vanity Fair did wrong on this one. The movie was supposed to bring awareness to a problem, and by jumping the gun to create a headline they have put millions off from going to see it, and most will now dismiss it completely. Most won't see this clarification and judge the movie without being fully informed, which is sad.
 

NervousXtian

Thought Emoji Movie was good. Take that as you will.
The fact it was a game doesn't matter.

The game was fucked up.

Umm, it was to see there chops for certain scenes of the movie. They didn't actually take money from them.. they knew what was going on.

They are kids, they aren't worried about all the problems of the world yet. There's nothing sinister at all here.
 

Keri

Member
No, the lead actress was selected because she was able to provide the best motivation for the character she was asked to play, which was in turn based off a scene in the film similar to the actual events that occurred in the real life of the woman being portrayed by the child actors.

Once you look at the actual context of the auditions, it becomes abundantly clear that the child actresses were fully aware that they were playing a role.

I disagree. Here's how Jolie described it:

Srey Moch [the girl ultimately chosen for the part] was the only child that stared at the money for a very, very long time,” Jolie says. “When she was forced to give it back, she became overwhelmed with emotion. All these different things came flooding back.” Jolie then tears up. “When she was asked later what the money was for, she said her grandfather had died, and they didn’t have enough money for a nice funeral.”

Using the word "forced" makes it sound like the child didn't understand she'd have to return it, in the beginning. Maybe that wasn't actually the case, but Jolie could have chosen her words better if she didn't want to give such a negative impression.
 
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