NEW YORK 鈥� Taylor Sheridan, initially brought on to rewrite the mountain thriller 鈥淭hose Who Wish Me Dead,鈥� gradually got more invested in the movie. When another filmmaker dropped out, he called the studio with an offer.
鈥淚 said if I can get Angie to do this with me, I鈥檒l direct it for you,鈥� Sheridan says. 鈥淭hey said, 鈥楪reat. You鈥檒l never get Angie.鈥欌��
The skepticism on the part of Warner Bros. executives was warranted. Angelina Jolie, whose priorities have
But Sheridan鈥檚 timing was right. Jolie, going through a painful and protracted divorce, was more interested in a quicker, simpler role on set. And the part of a Montanan smoke jumper haunted by trauma and guilt, was potentially cathartic.
鈥淲e all have times in our lives where we are broken. And we grieve and we鈥檙e not sure we have anything left in us,鈥� Jolie said in an interview by Zoom from Los Angeles. 鈥淚 identified more with a part of her that didn鈥檛 feel she could do a lot, and hadn鈥檛 done this in a long time. To be in this situation and have a director that is both sensitive and aware of the human experience, to go there and to feel it, but also to push you to find your strength and move forward.鈥�
鈥淚t was really what I needed at that time,鈥� says Jolie.
鈥淭hose Who Wish Me Dead,鈥� which will on May 14 open in
鈥淭o sound like a millennial, it鈥檚 very on-brand for me,鈥� says Sheridan, chuckling. 鈥淏ut what鈥檚 unique is we made this at a studio. This is a studio film and they trusted us to go do this. We made it like a 鈥�70s movie. They promoted it like a 鈥�70s movie. The biggest 21st century element is the fact that you鈥檒l be able to stream it or go to the
In 鈥淭hose Who Wish Me Dead,鈥� Jolie鈥檚 Hannah Faber encounters a 12-year-old boy (Finn Little) in the wilderness who鈥檚 fleeing two assassins. It was shot in New Mexico in May and June 2019 鈥� a month after Jolie and Pitt were ruled legally single by a court. (A custody battle over their six children is ongoing.)
Snow was still falling in the mountains. Aside from the natural environs, Sheridan erected a faux forest and set it aflame. Jolie, an action star in 鈥淢r. & Mrs. Smith,鈥� 鈥淪alt鈥� and 鈥淟ara Croft: Tomb Raider,鈥� performed many of her stunts. Sheridan, accustomed to making films close to the land, had little luxury to offer beyond space heaters in tents and lavish, overbudget craft services. He cheerfully recalls the experience as miserable.
鈥淵ou know, the character sort of drags Angie through emotional hell, and then I drug her through physical hell,鈥� Sheridan says from a remote lakeside quarantine in Ontario. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how we made the movie.鈥�
鈥淎nd I loved every minute of it,鈥� Jolie says, smiling.
Jolie will next be seen in Marvel's 鈥淓ternals,鈥� by 鈥淣omadland鈥� director Chlo茅 Zhao 鈥� another filmmaker drawn to fresh tales on old American frontiers. It's been an unexpected break from directing for Jolie, who last helmed 2017's Cambodian genocide drama 鈥淔irst They Killed My Father."
鈥淚 prefer directing but acting gives me more time at home,鈥� says Jolie. 鈥淚t's less of a commitment."
Yet, if anything, the chances of such performances are getting slimmer. The pandemic, says the 45-year-old Jolie, has been a time of reevaluation 鈥� and movies are a diminishing priority.
鈥淚 was kind of spending more time at home regardless because of different family reasons. But if I was before spending half my time on my international work, I think I鈥檒l now be spending 80% of my time on this other work. I鈥檒l be doing less film work. Not quitting anything but a lot less,鈥� says Jolie. 鈥淚鈥檝e mentally shifting into a different time in my life.鈥�
Jolie has been a special envoy to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees since 2012. She applauds President Joe Biden鈥檚 recent expansion of U.S. refugee admissions but sees a global crisis only worsening, especially as countries struggling from the pandemic pull back on foreign aid.
鈥淚n the last decade, we saw numbers double. We鈥檙e looking at 80 million displaced people. A lot of those people are displaced because of the climate and the way that鈥檚 changing, and that鈥檚 going to keep changing,鈥� says Jolie. 鈥淚f we don鈥檛 take it seriously, we鈥檙e going to see a complete breakdown of some many things for so many people. Or this can be the turning point where we all pull together.鈥�
In juggling global inequity and personal turmoil, it's easy to see how the straightforward, physical demands of 鈥淭hose Who Wish Me Dead鈥� would appeal to Jolie.
鈥淚 like characters whose physical journey parallels the emotional journey they鈥檙e going through," says Sheridan. "She was game. It was cold. I鈥檇 be like, 鈥楪et in the river鈥� and she鈥檇 be like, 鈥極K, I鈥檓 getting in the river.鈥欌��
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Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
