Vanity Fair stands by Angelina Jolie cover story
LOS ANGELES — Vanity Fair is standing by its description of the casting process used for Angelina Jolie’s forthcoming Netflix film, “First They Killed My Father.”
The magazine wrote in a statement Thursday that it has reviewed transcripts and audio recordings from interviews with Jolie that were used to produce its September cover story about the actress.
The article described a “game” used to find the child star of Jolie’s film about the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia. It said casting directors presented money to impoverished children only to take it away from them as an acting exercise.
Jolie said last week that the suggestion that real money was taken from children during the auditions is “false and upsetting.” She also said parents and guardians were present throughout the audition process.
Vanity Fair said Jolie’s attorney contacted the magazine earlier this week and asked it to remove the original paragraph from its story and publish a correction. The magazine said the attorney, whom it did not identify by name, also asked it to prominently publish a statement explaining that the children auditioning were “made aware of the fictional aspect of the exercise.”
Robert Offer, who has represented Jolie on other matters, did not immediately return email and telephone messages Thursday afternoon.
“First They Killed My Father” is set to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. Jolie co-wrote and directed the adaptation of Loung Ung’s 2000 memoir about growing up under the brutal reign of Pol Pot.
In this Jan. 16, 2016 file photo, Angelina Jolie arrives at the world premiere of “Kung Fu Panda 3,” in Los Angeles. Vanity Fair is standing by its description of the casting process used for Jolie’s forthcoming Netflix film, “First They Killed My Father.” The article described a “game” used to find the child star of Jolie’s film about the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia. It said casting directors presented money to impoverished children only to take it away from them as an acting exercise. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)