- Title: GERMANY: Angelina Jolie promotes new action film in Berlin
- Date: 19th August 2010
- Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (AUGUST 18, 2010) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (German) AUGUST DIEHL WHO PLAYS THE HUSBAND OF EVELYN SALT, SAYING: "I can only say that it really was a lot of fun because of her open and friendly way. Already at the casting in Washington she put us at an equal level and she gave me the feeling that this character is extremely important in the film. That helped me so much and this continued through all of the work. The work that I did during the month in New York was really great and that was down to Angelina Jolie and Phillip Noyce."
- Embargoed: 3rd September 2010 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Germany
- Country: Germany
- Reuters ID: LVAD45NHY8PLMNGS659MDQECXELZ
- Story Text: Oscar-winning U.S. actress Angelina Jolie caused a stir among hundreds of fans in the German capital Berlin on Wednesday (August 18) at the premiere of her latest action movie "Salt".
Looking elegant in a floor-length gown she spent more than half an hour speaking to fans and signing autographs.
Evoking Hollywood from decades ago where movies often depicted Russians as evil villains and played on Cold War tensions, "Salt" stars Jolie as a CIA officer on the run after she is accused of being a Russian sleeper agent aiming to ultimately bring destruction to America.
The film, which stirs up old Cold War suspicions, enjoyed a stroke of luck with its timing, coming shortly after 10 arrested Russian spies in the United States were swapped for four imprisoned Russians suspected of working for the West.
The movie begins with Jolie playing CIA analyst Evelyn Salt working in Washington D.C. alongside her boss when a mysterious Russian defector names her as a double-agent.
From then Jolie performs death-defying leaps onto moving trucks, daredevil trapeze acts on building ledges and vicious martial arts moves in various guises as she becomes a fugitive before a visiting Russian diplomat is tipped to be assassinated.
German actor August Diehl plays opposite Jolie, as Evelyn's husband Mike. He told Reuters TV that he had a great time working with Jolie.
"I can only say that it really was a lot of fun because of her open and friendly way. Already at the casting in Washington she put us at an equal level and she gave me the feeling that this character is extremely important in the film. That helped me so much and this continued through all of the work," Diehl said.
The high-energy action spy role was originally envisaged for Tom Cruise, but rewritten for a woman. Yet at one part of the film, Jolie has to dress as a man, a scene she found "strangely empowering." Her partner Brad, however, didn't seem so enthusiastic.
"I asked Brad to come to set and see if he could spend lunch with me and hang out with me and I dared him to kiss me and he couldn't."
Jolie, who is a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations also told reporters in Berlin that not enough was being done for the people in Pakistan and that she would help as much as she could.
A few days ago only a quarter of the aid pledged had been received, prompting U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to urge donors to speed up funding.
So far food rations and access to clean water have only been provided to around 700,000 flood survivors, the U.N said.
The International Organisation for Migration said there were still about 700,000 households without shelter.
Hundreds of villages are isolated, highways and bridges have been cut in half by floods and hundreds of thousands of cattle -- the livelihoods of many villagers -- have drowned. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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