Close encounter with Angelina Jolie

The following is an excerpt of my conversation with Angelina Jolie:

Maleficent, what is her concept of family?

“Family is earned. Family is built through loyalty and shared values.”

Ms. Jolie, why does love always come with pain?

“I think when love is right, it’s a good kind of pain.

“It’s a growing — it’s a pain where your heart is stretching, your feelings are stretching.

“The loss… ‘the greater the love, the greater the loss’ is true.”

Is there anything more powerful than love?

“Family.”

“Love doesn’t always end well,” why?

“I need a minute for that one (laughs).

“It doesn’t always end well because maybe one kind of love is mistaken for the other.”

Ms. Jolie, your most important lesson from this sequel of Maleficent?

“Trust in your true nature.”

She is stunning. And what a presence! You don’t take your eyes away from her. You are mesmerized.

Angelina filled the entire room with her magic the moment she (together with co-actor Sam Riley) walked and entered the venue at the Grand Hyatt, Tokyo, Japan for our exclusive interview which was part of the Maleficent: Mistress of Evil press junket. I have interviewed several famous international personalities in the past but meeting Angelina for the first time has left me in blissful catatonia.

I had no second thoughts when I received the invitation to be part of the press junket in Tokyo (Thank you to Pam Mariano and Ailene dela Rosa of Disney Philippines). Who am I to say “no” to Angelina Jolie? How could I ignore the Academy Award and three-time Golden Globe Award winner who returns to the big screen with her latest Disney movie? She is an accomplished actor, director, producer and screenwriter. A humanitarian, Angelina is the special envoy to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). She is beautiful inside out. Fascinatingly, her colorful life story does not fall distant from the fascinating characters she portrays onscreen.

From the sit-down interview, we met again at the red carpet event at Roppongi Hills Arena. Everybody went wild when Angelina arrived. She was divinely glamorous in her sparkling metallic fringe gown by Ralph & Russo Couture, wore earrings and ring by Robert Procop. The award-winning actress was seen holding cameras to do selfies with fans. What a remarkable woman!

Angelina called me “Boy” at the red carpet. It was a thrill to have her call me by my name. Maybe it was because of my outlandish outfits, maybe because “Boy” is easy to remember, maybe because she saw the Maleficent horns on my head. One of the most important learnings I got from Angelina comes from her active participation in her various advocacies. She shared, “You do good for this world but don’t lose the inside.” That is one of the best lines I heard from a public figure.

Angelina topbills Disney’s Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. She plays the horned dark fairy Maleficent who safeguards the enchanted creatures of the Moors. The notorious villain has grown to love the princess she cursed to sleep forever. The child, Aurora (portrayed by Elle Fanning), grows up to become the Queen of the Moors and is set to marry Prince Phillip (Harris Dickinson), the crown prince of Ulstead. The relationship between Maleficent and Aurora blossoms from heartbreak and revenge into love. They form new alliances and face new adversaries who test their loyalties and make them question if they can truly be a family. Sam is the raven Diaval, the loyal companion of Maleficent.

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is the sequel to the 2014 global box-office hit. The movie also stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Ed Skrein, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Lesley Manville and Michelle Pfeiffer. It is directed by Joachim Rønning. Here’s a part of the red carpet chat with Ms. Jolie:

Is Maleficent ever afraid?

“Yes, she’s afraid that somebody she loves would be hurt. She’s not really afraid for herself. She’s afraid for others.”

Do you know if she’s going to heaven?

“I don’t think she thinks so.”

And If she goes — hypothetically — what is she wearing?

“This. (Refers to her red carpet dress)”

And if God is there in the pearly gates and he asks, “Why should I let you in to heaven?” What will Maleficent say?

“I never meant ill will and I fought for what I thought was right.”

My interview aired on Tonight with Boy Abunda (TWBA) while our red carpet encounter is posted on the Boy Abunda official FB fan page.

In the movie, Maleficent granted Aurora’s request to cover her horns with a scarf when she was invited to an intimate dinner at Castle Ulstead and I asked her why. “Because I understood that that was what she needed at that time. And hope that she would grow up to understand why that was wrong.”

Maleficent is iconic just as Angelina is to her millions of followers. She is one of the world’s most beautiful women. But behind the fame and glamor, Angelina takes pleasure playing the most important role in her life — being mom to Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Vivienne and Knox.

I saw Angelina Jolie in Tokyo, Japan. I spoke to her. She called me “Boy.” I’m still in a trance!