Maleficent Trailer: Angelina Jolie (Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider) had a moment with Fairfax NZ News to talk about her upcoming role as one of Disney's scariest villains, Maleficent.
She was asked about how her costume is working out for her, she said:
"The horns have taken getting used to," gesturing upward at the massive horns attached to a turban-like headpiece, which tightly conceals her chestnut hair. "At first I was banging into everything."
Currently, Disney's animated 1959 Sleeping Beauty is being remade, and will be viewed on a different perspective; grimmer this time as Maleficent will be the emphasis of the film. It will tackle the history of Maleficent, from being a fairy and how she lost her wings. Despite being voted as Disney's frightening villain, Jolie insisted that she is her "favourite character" as a child.
But rebooting the classic Charles Perrault / Brothers Grimm tale for a modern audience required screenwriter Linda Woolverton (The Lion King, Alice in Wonderland) to come up with a story "that could rationalise cursing an innocent baby," she says, a plot point that similarly puzzled Jolie, a committed mother of six.
The answer, both say, lay in a deep wound that occurs in Maleficent's past. "She isn't the pretty princess," says Jolie, whose character's wings are stolen at a point in the film. "She isn't a beautiful queen. She's a very awkward, pointy, slightly scary-looking horned creature who goes through a lot in her life, as we discover."
Says Woolverton: "Bringing Maleficent to screen as a main character, I felt really great about being able to depict a strong woman that isn't always perfect. She has her moods, just like we all do. And I'm happy to be able to put that kind of female character in the world."
As a sneak peek, the scene begins on the medieval drawbridge, currently draped dramatically in CGI-friendly saturated blue curtains. Jolie, staff in hand, walks menacingly forward, her gaze locked on (what will be) an iron-shielded castle, where teenage Aurora - "an extremely woodsy, very outdoorsy and very free" girl, says Fanning - lies under her spell.
Watch the full trailer here:
Maleficent is set for a May 29 release in New Zealand.
