angelina jolie 
lara croft: tomb raider
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Lara Croft: Tomb Raider 2 - A Dream Come True
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tomb raider special
4 Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003)
4 Tomb Raider: Lara Croft (2001)
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It was at the start of the new millennium when Angelina Jolie first threw herself wholeheartedly into preparing for her lead role as the adventurous tomb raider Lara Croft. Embarking on a strenuous routine of gymnastics, weight lifting, bungie jumping, motorcycling, kick boxing, martial arts, weaponry and general fitness training, the dedicated actress stuck to the strong exercise regimen, and for a bit of light relief, she studied yoga.
"Playing Lara Croft is one of the most challenging roles I've ever undertaken,' admits Jolie. "I thought at some point, with all the working out, I'd eventually get to where I felt every inch the action hero. But the truth is, it's hard to snap into `Lara' mode every day, ready to take on the world."
Still, Jolie says she enjoys the challenge of playing such an atypical heroine, and when the "Cradle of Life" came along, she was eager to play Croft again to take the character to greater heights.
"Lara is not a stereotype in any way, shape or form," observes Jolie. "She has some mystery about her, and she's not all wrapped up in herself like a lot of heroines."
Once again throwing herself into the physicality of the role, Jolie was more confident in herself, absolutely focused and working harder than ever on the new skills her character displays in the film. As in the first "Tomb Raider," the Lara Croft Jolie has now created is a female action hero that fans of all ages can look up to.
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Since Lara Croft was also the first female model of the electronics boom, the creators of the "Tomb Raider" game, from which the film franchise spawned, were understandably concerned about handing the character over to the movies. But with Angelina Jolie in the lead role, everyone was confident the character could successfully be transformed into a big screen heroine. And now, with "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life," the character has been developed and refined with cutting-edge excitement in her every exploit.
Brought to the screen by the original "Tomb Raider" producers, Lawrence Gordon ("Die Hard," "48 Hours") and Lloyd Levin ("Boogie Nights"), this new film adheres to the same high standards of the first.
"`Tomb Raider' is a tremendously interesting franchise," observes Levin. "It embraces both fantasy and reality-based adventure, and that's a huge palette from which to work. We wanted to emphasize and build on what makes Lara Croft and `Tomb Raider' special, and we found that what really worked in the first film was obviously Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft, so we set out to create a story that gave her more dimension and greater challenges to face."
Levin adds that other aspects from the first "Tomb Raider" were incorporated because they too worked well. "We found that the global elements were very strong as was the fact that Lara has one foot in ancient history and mythology, and the other foot in a very real world full of cutting edge technology. Therefore, we pushed those elements in the film as well."
Producers Gordon and Levin were delighted to attract director Jan De Bont, the established filmmaker who brought the action blockbusters "Speed" and "Twister" to the screen. As for De Bont, who had been interested in the film ever since he'd heard it was in the works, directing "Cradle of Life" was a dream come true.
"I have always been in love with the Lara Croft character, and to have such an exciting heroine is ideal for a director like me," says De Bont. "Add to that Angelina Jolie, who is both talented and daring enough to do her own stunts, and we have something really amazing."
"We zeroed in on Jan De Bont as soon as we knew he was interested," recalls Lloyd Levin. "There's twice as much action in this film and it had to be done with a certain intensity that's exactly his style. Jan's an action-savvy director, completely sure of how to achieve reality-based tension and suspense. With his `can do' attitude and his determination to film what's never been seen before, there's no doubt in my mind that there's no better director for this film."
Producer Lawrence Gordon agrees. "The combination of an action-oriented director like Jan De Bont and a superstar like Angelina Jolie is the perfect marriage. On top of that, we have an incredibly inventive story that audiences are going to love."
Writer Dean Georgaris, whose upcoming projects include "Paycheck," directed by John Woo, worked closely with De Bont from the moment he joined the project. "Our collaboration was the best I've ever encountered," says Georgaris. "Jan was the guiding force over the action sequences and really increased their visual impact. No one knows what works and what doesn't more than he does."
De Bont attributes his success to a great script as well as to his diverse cast. "1 was lucky enough to have a wonderful leading actress in Angelina and a brilliant ensemble cast surrounding her," says the director. "Their combined talents have helped to bring out the best in this project."
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