When Angelina Jolie prophecised one of her worst movies: “I hope it’s not a nightmare”
Through a combination of her unique looks, action heroine persona, and undeniable acting talent, Angelina Jolie was one of the most famous people in the world from the 2000s, and her name still carries a lot of weight now, even as she transitions away from the limelight.
Being the daughter of the legendary Jon Voight, you’d have thought Jolie would have no trouble landing whatever roles she wanted early in her career, but that wasn’t the case. She might have used her father’s connections to get a foot through the door, but she appeared in just as many shoddy stinkers as any other actor climbing the ranks, with the only difference being that her pedigree kept her from being decimated by them.
In 2006, as Jolie was firmly establishing herself as a mainstream megastar, Today published a series of interviews from before she had found such grounding. These ‘lost’ transcripts mainly centred a movie she did in 1997 called Playing God, and was a record of how very candid she was in her fears about the project, saying, “I just hope it’s not a nightmare for me, and I’m awful and everybody hates it.”
Directed by Andy Wilson, Playing God is a crime thriller starring walking pop song David Duchovny, at the height of his X-Files fame. It finds him playing Eugene Sands, a disgraced surgeon who, after saving a gangster, played by Timothy Hutton, ends up working as a private doctor for him and his notorious mob boss, and a young Jolie appears as Hutton’s love interest. The movie had a decent little budget and starred one of TV’s biggest names, so it should have done alright; sadly, not even Fox Mulder could save the day this time.
The movie was absolutely picked apart by critics, who cited numerous issues with the plot, tone, and performances, while the behind-the-scenes weren’t very pretty either. Initial test screenings came back very negative, so large swathes of footage were moved around or cut entirely, including sex scenes between Duchovny and Jolie that were filmed but never used. In an interview with The New York Times, the leading man called the film “a mistake” because of its incomplete script, suggesting he should have “bailed out” before getting in too deep, making Jolie’s premonition come horribly true.
A movie this dramatically terrible could have really sunk the fledgling actor’s career before it had even begun, but, luckily for her, better things were just around the corner. She appeared at the premiere for Playing God with a shaved head, not as a fashion statement or a mental breakdown indicator, but rather a necessity for her upcoming movie, Gia. Her performance as the tragic supermodel Gia Carangi put her on the map in a big way and quickly put all talk about her previous flop to bed; bet she’s glad she didn’t pass on the role like she initially wanted to.
Playing God remains a curious footnote in the career of an unbridled success, and while Jolie probably isn’t keen to revisit it any time soon, at least it didn’t do as much damage as it could have.
