Angelina Jolie, who is currently promoting her suddenly-very-timely spy thriller Salt, spoke to Ruben Nepales of The Philippine Inquirer about her most recent project, The Tourist, which finished shooting in Venice in May. Jolie said that the beautiful location attracted her to the role: “The reason I wanted to do the movie was Venice. I actually said, ‘I would like to find a nice film with a nice character but something that would be nice for my family.’ They said that there’s a film that shoots in Venice. I said, ‘Great, I’d like to read (the script of) that one.'”

Another selling point for Jolie was the chance to work with director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. “[W]e said that we have to find a great European director because we don’t want an American’s version of this European-style film. [The Tourist is based on the French thriller Anthony Zimmer.] Florian, who is one of my favorite directors, came on. I loved his The Lives of Others,” Jolie told Nepales. “I couldn’t believe that he would accept this film because it’s a lighter one. It’s a love letter to Venice in many ways.”

And what about working with her co-star, Johnny Depp, who plays the American tourist? “Johnny was just extraordinary,” Jolie replied. “He’s a sweetheart and a great actor.”

The Zone thanks Emma for breaking the news; you can read much more about The Tourist on the Zone’s News & Views forum. To read the entire Ruben Nepales interview with Angelina Jolie (which deals mostly with Salt), CLICK HERE. To see a larger version of the photo of Johnny Depp from The Tourist, CLICK HERE, and for a photo of Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie at work, CLICK HERE.