Angelina Jolie Denies Report Of Controversial Audition Process

Angelia Jolie‘s latest directorial effort, “First They Killed My Father,” is one that’s particularly close to her heart. The true story set against the backdrop of the horrors Cambodians faced under the Khmer Rouge resonates deeply for the actress and director, whose own son Maddox she adopted from the country. That element, along with Jolie’s work as a humanitarian, made the backlash her film received last week all the more acute, when a Vanity Fair profile detailed the troubling audition process to cast the young lead. Here’s what the magazine had to say:

To cast the children in the film, Jolie looked at orphanages, circuses, and slum schools, specifically seeking children who had experienced hardship. In order to find their lead, to play young Loung Ung, the casting directors set up a game, rather disturbing in its realism: they put money on the table and asked the child to think of something she needed the money for, and then to snatch it away. The director would pretend to catch the child, and the child would have to come up with a lie. “Srey Moch [the girl ultimately chosen for the part] was the only child that stared at the money for a very, very long time,” Jolie says. “When she was forced to give it back, she became overwhelmed with emotion. All these different things came flooding back.” Jolie then tears up. “When she was asked later what the money was for, she said her grandfather had died, and they didn’t have enough money for a nice funeral.”

READ MORE: New Featurette For Angelina Jolie’s ‘First They Killed My Father’

Many took issue with this method to find the lead, feeling it was manipulative or exploitative, but Jolie has responded. In a statement to Huffington Post, she clarified what the audition process entailed, and denied that those trying out for the part didn’t know the scenario was staged.

“I am upset that a pretend exercise in an improvisation, from an actual scene in the film, has been written about as if it was a real scenario. The suggestion that real money was taken from a child during an audition is false and upsetting. I would be outraged myself if this had happened.”

“….every measure was taken to ensure the safety, comfort and well-being of the children on the film starting from the auditions through production to the present.”

“First They Killed My Father” will debut on the fall festival circuit. Thoughts? Share them in the comments section.