Scores of lucky fans among the crowds filling Hollywood Boulevard during the premiere of Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life walked away with a precious artifact that even a relic hunting video game vixen would envy: a prized autograph from the film’s star, Angelina Jolie.
Long known for her devotion and courtesy to the people who watch her movies, the Oscar-winning actress–clad in a glamorous, airy black Emanuel Ungaro gown, Manolo Blahnik shoes, vintage black diamonds and a cascading raven ponytail–broke with Hollywood tradition and actually arrived early at her own premiere (!) to spend much of her time dashing away from the red carpet to sign mementos for the screaming admirers who happened across the scene outside Grauman’s Chinese Theater.
When Hollywood.com asked Angelina, who had also arranged for the premiere to benefit the American Red Cross, which artifact of hers she’d like to see people fighting over–we fancied either her knife collection or the vial of her blood ex Billy Bob Thornton used to wear at all times–she simply laughed and admitted “I don’t want to think about that!”
In returning to play the vision of every gamer’s fantasy, Jolie proved once again she was, well, game. “I did two and a half months of intense physical training,” she said, “with all different kinds of skills training: jet skiing or horse riding or rifle drills, every crazy thing you could think of. It was a lot of fun.”
What does she have in common with her buxom, sunglasses loving alter ego? “Her sense of adventure and her love of other countries and cultures,” says Jolie, who–perhaps due to a lengthy stay in England with her recently adopted baby son Maddox–was speaking with a hint of her character’s British inflection. Or was that Madonna‘s?
The superstar was joined by her film’s co-star, including Gerard Butler and Djimon Hounsou, as well as a contingent of celebrity guests including her loving, look-alike brother James Haven (clad as yin to Angie‘s yang in head-to-toe white), director Oliver Stone (who helms her upcoming film Beyond Borders), David Spade, Dennis Haysbert, Rosario Dawson, Bill Paxton and Nona Gaye.
Hollywood bad boy Colin Farrell–who was perhaps lured by the knowledge that Jolie is newly single and admits to being celibate for about a year–even made an appearance, almost slipping by the media unnoticed in a beige knit cap pulled down low.
Director Jan De Bont (Speed, Twister) joined Jolie on this outing, which many have already proclaimed superior to the original, and said he was really looking forward to putting his stamp on the sequel. “Lara Croft is an amazing character for a franchise, especially when you have an actress like Angelina Jolie,” he said, praising the actress for her “amazing dedication and professionalism–the way she totally dedicates herself to a movie.”
True–Jolie admitted she gave a more than a little bit of herself to the role of Lara Croft thanks to a minor stunt mishap: “I have a piece of my elbow missing.”
Now that’s an Angelina artifact even we’ll pass on.
