EMPIRE UK ON TOMB RAIDER
Copyright 2001 www.tombraiderchronicles.com Source: IGN

[ January 7th 2001 ]

IGN reports the upcoming February issue of UK Empire sports some previously unpublished photographs of Angelina Jolie as Paramount Pictures Lara Croft, and features an interview with the Oscar winning actress as well as comments from director Simon West.

Sitting on the steps of the vast tomb that has been erected on Pinewood's 007 soundstage, Jolie in costume, Empire is delighted to report looks she every inch the action hero. 'It's all about getting in shape,' she says of her six-month training programme. 'And now I'm stronger physically,' she winks, 'which has been fun... if you know what I mean.' The subject of adolescent musings when just a computer graphic ('I've never understood male fantasy,' admits Jolie), the casting of Lara Croft was paramount. And although the likes of Nell McAndrew and Rhona Mitra had previously provided cartoon proportions for publicity purposes, Angelina Jolie was a resounding first choice. 'She had to be someone that every man wants to have and, I think, every woman is going to want to be,' says director Simon West (Con Air, 1997) who considers the project very much of the chance-of-a-lifetime variety. 'It had been around Hollywood for two years and I realised it was a great chance to create a character. And a franchise.'

"With Jolie's confirmation that 'quite a few of us are signed up for two more,' said franchise bodes well. 'Lara's like James Bond and a dirty Indiana Jones. Oh, and absolutely a woman,' she smiles, glancing down at her impossibly tight top. 'I doubt you'll forget that.' Pressures so far on the Oscar-winner include dealing with legions of obsessive fans ('They know so much more than me, like how long I can hold my breath underwater') and industry opinion: 'People thought this was a strange choice for me. And, yeah, in some ways it'll become like an alter ego, a split personality.' She pauses. 'But I think everybody already assumes that I have that anyway.' Summer can't come too soon."