16 Things Fans Never Knew About Angelina Jolie's Disastrous Tomb Raider Movies (2023)

If plans for a stage adaptation ofTomb Raider Announced in the late 90s, everyone who was connected to the role of Lara Croft.

Sandra Bullock, Diane Lane, Demi Moore, Denise Richards, Ashley Judd and Jennifer Lopez were some of the most prominent names in the PlayStation heroine.

Several non-actresses, including glamor models Linsey Dawn McKenzie and Katie Price, were even promoted for the role, mostly by British tabloids, as teens everywhere waited with bated breath for casting news.

Angelina Jolie's reveal drew mixed reactions from fans. Some were not happy with the casting of an American in the role of a British character. Others felt that Jolie lacked the "dimensions" necessary to play the role.

Then there were those who raised concerns that Jolie's controversial personal life would affect her work on the film. However, you shouldn't have worried.

"That troublesome and dangerous aspect of his reputation actually helped the character," director Simon West later explained inLead Actress: Sherry Lansing and the Making of a Hollywood Pioneer.

Jolie certainly impressed in the role and helpedLara Croft Grabräuberset records for the highest opening for a video game adaptation and for a film with a female lead. Still, they are both Jolies.Tomb RaiderCritics and fans don't particularly like to remember excursions. So what gives?

Here are the16 Things You Never Knew About The Angelina Jolie DisasterTomb RaiderMovie.

16. The Tomb Raider Script: Lara Croft Could Have Been So Much Worse

Tomb Raider: Lara Croftit earned a 20% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, thanks in no small part to the film's lackluster script. The film underwent multiple rewrites during pre-production, causing significant delays. When filming was complete, the final draft was credited to six different writers.

It could have been worse, though: When pre-production began, Brent V. Friedman, the co-writer of Notoriously Horrible, wroteMortal Kombat: Annihilation, as well as Steven E. de Souza, the film's writer-director, submitted a script for the film.Street FighterMovie.

Both films were rejected, although De Souza ended up co-writing the script for the sequel.Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life.

15. Jennifer Love-Hewitt campaigned for the role of Lara Croft

I know what you did last summerStar Jennifer Love-Hewitt was one of the first candidates to play Lara Croft and made no secret of her desire to play the role. Unfortunately, director Simon West already had his heart set on Jolie.

That didn't stop Hewitt from championing the role long after Jolie's second role.Tomb Raidereven though it was out.

En 2009, Hewitt reportmtv newsShe thought playing Lara Croft would be "really fun" and admitted that she really wanted to star in an action movie of her own.

Unfortunately for Love-Hewitt, the producers missed the hint and decided to wait another seven years before casting the relatively unknown Alicia Vikander in the role as part of a franchise reboot.

14. The Tomb Raider movies used huge tax loopholes.

Lara Croft Grabräuberit had a budget of $94 million, but actually cost Paramount less than $7 million. To accomplish this, Paramount used German tax laws to sell the film to an investment group for $94 million before repurchasing the film for $83.8 million in lease and option payments. The cash windfall of $10.2 million paid the cast's salaries.

They then ensured that some of the filming took place in the UK to take advantage of tax break laws there. That deal included another complicated sale-leaseback deal that netted the studio another $12 million in profit. This paid off for the writers and the director.

Paramount earned an additional $65 million from overseas syndication rights and $6.7 million from premium cable rights. They did the same for the sequel.

13. Jolie's first attempt at bungee ballet went wrong.

Jolie put herself to the test before filming began. “I had to train for more than two months before filming and then we trained all the time. But I learned all these different skills," she said.New York Rock.

"They kept a punching bag and some energy bars in my living room for about eight months. There was also bungee ballet and scuba diving and weapons training and kickboxing and everything from yoga to soccer and rowing. And I learned sword fighting." .

Despite her best efforts, Jolie struggled with the scene where Croft enjoys some ballet bungee. Jolie managed to damage her ankle ligaments after landing awkwardly on a chandelier. It was also her first attempt and her injury ultimately delayed the end of filming.

12. Jolie's Fear Of Jungle Wildlife delayed filming

Despite ligament damage in her ankle and a series of scars and rope burns in the role, Jolie seemed taken aback by the physical exertion of playing Croft. "You just have all these bruises here and there," Jolie admitted.New York Rock. "I think it's like being a boxer for a while." She wasn't as relaxed about some of the other challenges that the role presented to her.

The story goes that during the scene where Lara drives her Land Rover through some intense jungle terrain, the scene had to be reshot repeatedly.

The reason for the delay? Snakes and other wild animals kept falling into the car through the open roof, making Jolie nervous. She was eventually able to overcome her fears to complete the scene.

11. Tomb Raider was not a satisfying experience for Daniel Craig

Craig was five years away from landing the role of James Bond when he was cast as Alex West, Lara Croft's love interest in the first film.Tomb Raidermovie and it hasn't been a role I've treasured since.

"I don't regret for a second doing it, but it just wasn't as satisfying an experience," Craig said.film critic, years later. "There are a limited number of ways you can look surprised when shit blows up."

Craig told it later.Phase 9who assumed the role of paycheck. "I also like to go to the movies and eat a lot of popcorn and nachos and hot dogs while watching a big Hollywood movie, so it was a chance to be a part of it and it was a good movie for what it was, but that's kind of movie doesn't turn me on".

10. The trailer for Lara Croft: Tomb Raider was misleading

Tomb RaiderFans were super excited when the first trailer for the first movie dropped, but it ended up being a bit misleading. In the movie's preview clip, Lara enjoys a memorable exchange with the film's main villain, Manfred Powell, played byGame of Thronesvery like Iain Glen.

During the exchange, Lara jokes with Powell, "You could try to kill me." Powell replies that he would "never kill a woman," before Jolie's Croft responds with lightning speed, "I said you'd try."

It's one of the more memorable exchanges in an otherwise heavy script, and a moment that stands out in the very first trailer. That makes the fact that the conversation was cut from the finished movie all the more bizarre.

9. Angelina had problems with tattoos

Jolie has never hidden her love for body art. Unfortunately, back in the '90s and before the actress rose to stardom, her love for her tattoos was cited as an example of the kind of "wild" behavior that some fans felt made her unsuitable for the role of her. .

To counter these concerns, Jolie covered up her tattoos.Lara Croft Grabräuberwearing makeup Unfortunately, some of those tattoos, including a sizable design on her left upper arm, were still visible in various scenes, such as the film's memorable shower sequence.

By the time the sequel came out, the production team had found a solution: they made Jolie wear more clothes than Lara Croft. Of course, fans weren't too happy with the move.

8. They wanted to build the Great Wall of China... in Scotland

Lara Croft GrabräuberDirector Simon West originally intended to film several action sequences on the Great Wall of China himself. Unfortunately, this was not possible due to tight schedules and deadlines.

The production initially planned to recreate a version of the Great Wall of China for a sequence shot in Scotland, but even those plans fell through when the Great Wall sequence was scrapped entirely.

Instead, West and the film crew traveled to Cambodia to film various alternate sequences at the Ta Prohm temple at Angkor Wat, Siem was Riep. In doing so, they created a moment in history and were the first American film crew to visit the region in 30 years.

The Great Wall of China sequence was brought back for the sequel, although the sequence was not filmed on location, instead being created via green screen.

7. Jolie underwent a drug test during filming

Based on the book by Stephen Gallowayleading actress, producer Sherry Lansing was concerned about Jolie's suitability after Jon Voight and Jane Fonda warned the young actress was "fragile". Things were little improved by her unusual relationships with her brother and then-partner Billy Bob Thornton.

Simon West was sent to meet Jolie on the set of Original Sin, where, according to the director, the actress proposed: "She said, 'Look, I want to do it, but I know my reputation and I'll do anything.' To prove that I'm worth it I'll be reliable and I'll show up and work hard," West recalled.

"She said, 'I don't care if the studio wants to drug test me every day,'" he said. Jolie underwent random blood and urine tests during production and passed them all.

6. Lara Croft's short shorts were controversial

One of the biggest setbacks for Jolie before signing up to play alongLara Croft Grabräuberit was the iconic pair of shorts for the character. Jolie really didn't want to wear them and she told Simon West, telling the director that she would make the movie, but she wouldn't wear the shorts. In the end, however, she relented.

"We knew we had to have the shorts at some point, which was very, very difficult and there were big discussions right up to the last minute." Jolie admittedscreen swipe.

"So it took a while and then we thought, for people who know them, we have to put on our shorts... It was very, very uncomfortable, but you know you feel like them and it's fun," he said.

5. The shower scene has been toned down

In a scene written solely to cheer up fans, Lara Croft enjoys a steamy shower in the first movie. It takes unnecessarily long for director Simon West to use every known trick and camera angle to make sure we never really see Jolie without her clothes on.

However, that was not always the plan. At one point, discussions arose about making the scene explicitly nude. However, those plans were ultimately dropped to ensure the film would still receive a PG-13 rating. As a compromise, Jolie's "side breasts" remained present in the film.

"We were aware of all the things that people are looking for, like there's a shower scene, so we didn't ignore that and we included a little bit of that," Jolie said.ana pugs. "But he didn't really show her body, he didn't really do anything too sexual."

4. Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life ha sido prohibido en China

Until the second movie.Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, came out, the tide seemed to have turned the franchise, with the film grossing $157 million compared to the previous film's record $275 million.

The fact that the film was eventually banned in China for fears it would tarnish the country's reputation didn't help much, giving the impression that China was a chaotic country, with no formal government and plenty of secret criminal societies.

"After watching the film, I feel that the Westerners made their presentation of China with malicious intent," an unnamed official said.BBC. “The movie doesn't understand Chinese culture. He does not understand China's security situation. There can be no secret societies in China."

3. Gerard Butler botched his audition

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life received negative reviews upon its release, but one of Jolie's co-stars, Gerard Butler, loved the film's storytelling.IGNhe "really enjoyed it."

This is the guy who made Olympus Has Fallen. Butler, told IGN that he was brought in to add a "strong male character" to the mix and also revealed how he nearly botched his audition for the role.

Eager to look "puffed up" for the audition, Butler spent the hours before putting on "every pressure imaginable." When he appeared to read for the role, director Jan De Bont asked him to climb a pole to show off his athleticism.

However, Butler was so tired that he couldn't do it. Fortunately, his screen test with Jolie went well.

2. There were plans for a third Tomb Raider movie

When Jolie first landed the role of Lara Croft, she seemed interested in discussing the idea of ​​reprising the role in multiple films. "Because there are so many things about Lara that are so hard to do and she's such an amazing character, I'd love to continue with her," she said.New York Rock.

However, over time this attitude changed. When she was asked about the possibility of a third Tomb Raider movie before the release of the second, Jolie toldfilm noir"I do not know."

A year later, Jolie confirmed that she was done with the franchise. "I just don't feel like I need to do another one. I was really happy with the last one," she said.AND. Plans for a third film in the trilogy were immediately scrapped.

1. Angelina Jolie wore a padded bra to play Lara Croft

Jolie not only went through extensive training for the role of Croft, but she also went through a pretty significant physical transformation. "We had to improve a bit," Jolie said.New York Rock.

"I'm a 36C. Lara, she's a 36D. And in the game, she's a double D, so we scaled her down a bit. But we did give her a little padding there," he said.

At the time of the film's release, Jolie had little problem wearing a padded bra. "Lara has these big breasts in the game," she said. "We didn't want to make her as big as in the game, but at the same time we didn't want to take away the things that are her trademark."

However, the filler was ultimately dropped for the sequel.

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