MALEFICENT MISTRESS of EVIL Press Junket!
Thank you, Disney, for inviting me to pre-screening and press-junket for MALEFICENT MISTRESS of EVIL. We had the opportunity to interview Angelina Jolie (“Maleficent”), Michelle Pfeiffer (“Queen Ingrith”), Elle Fanning (“Princess Aurora”) , Chiwetel Ejiofor (“Conall”), Sam Riley ("Diaval"), Harris Dickinson (“Prince Phillip”), Ed Skrein (“Borra”) and Director Joachim Ronning.
Here are some fun facts we learned at the press junket, I hope you find this just as cool as I did. Chiwetel Ejiofor, who plays Conall, one of the dark fae said that he wished he could have kept the Cheekbones that he wore. “I miss them!” Jolie revealed that she had kept the iconic staff that Maleficent used after the filming of the original film, but it “ended up in the children’s room, and I’m not quite sure where it is now.” Michelle Pfeiffer kept her magnificent pearl earrings, truth be told, I'm in LOVE with those earrings, they are absolutely stunning. Sam Riley is by far the best, he's kept his feathers and likes to include one in response to fan letters, now that's EPIC.
Our newest cast member in this magical trio of Ella, Angelina, is Michelle. Michelle Pfeiffer, who plays the film’s villain and mother of Prince Phillip, Queen Ingrith. Pfeiffer said she was drawn to the film thanks to the “grey area” that the film plays in with regards to Good vs. Evil. I can truly say, she is deliciously Evil, however, some circumstances have made her like this, she's complicated, I like to call her, multifaceted, a lot to absorb.
Pfeiffer, went on to say, "It’s a very unusual fairy tale... and I loved that it played in this grey area and it talked about Good vs. Evil, and all of us have a little bit of everything in us, and in terms of strength, it manifests differently in all of us. I mean, my character is brilliant and diabolical, but I wouldn’t consider her terribly wise, and I like the way it plays out.”
Pfeiffer continued to talk about the vulnerability that comes with wisdom and how she worked that into her performance of the evil queen. “Well, everybody has a vulnerability, she just doesn’t wear it on her sleeve. And at the end of the day, what she resorts to is really, truly, at the end of the day, out of deep fear.”
Angelina discussed Maleifcents' relationship with Aurora, “Aurora and Maleficent were first brought together and became a family, and Maleficent was hurt in her life and lost herself and lost her ability to be soft and to feel loved and you know it certainly happened in my life, the love of a child, being a mother brought out something in me that transformed me.”
Jolie went on, "there are metaphors in the film, not to be heavy about it, people tell us because we’re not the same, we’re not family, because you’re not exactly like her, you’re not her mother, and that certainly strikes a chord with me. We go through this period in the film where everyone is focused on their differences, but then there’s a real push to say this is not how it should be, and this is not how to live, and diversity makes us stronger, and there must be a better way forward. And so we come together and we fight against this separation and we unite, and we say "this is the world we choose to live in."
There's a scene when MALEFICENT was asked, " "Will you give me away?" her immediate response, "NEVER" This is exactly what every parent would say to their child. I cried UGLY TEARS during this mother and daughter interaction. Angelina shared that when her older son was getting ready to leave for college she ran around to get everything perfect for his departure and when they were at the airport her son asked, "Mom are you ready?" This is when Angelina realized ... "It's nice to know that he knows how much he's loved," she added. "But yeah, I miss him. I miss him." We give our children wings to fly, allow them to soar!
"MALEFICENT MISTRESS of EVIL" hits theaters Oct. 18.