Jolie: Press pact was ‘excessive’

Angelina Jolie says she had no idea that the press was being asked to give up some of its freedom in order to interview her at a junket in New York about her new film, “A Mighty Heart,” in which she plays the wife of slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

Jolie and her lawyer say that the lawyer blindsided her by asking reporters earlier this week to sign an onerous contract forbidding any questions about her personal life at Friday’s press junket at the Waldorf Hotel.

“There was a memo that went out to ask people ... that said, focus, don’t get into personal questions, focus on the movie,” Jolie said on Thursday during an appearance on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.” “But it was not mandatory.... I didn’t put it out there. It was from my representatives trying to be protective of me. But it was excessive and I wouldn’t have put it out there.”

Geyer Kosinski, Jolie’s manager, also insisted that Jolie had not reviewed the document, which he said was meant as “a kind of deterrent for journalists and way to protect her” from the relentless tabloid coverage that dogs the star and activist wherever she goes. The brouhaha erupted Thursday when Foxnews.com reporter Roger Friedman broke the news about the contracts as he blasted the actress on his website for banning his outlet from the red carpet at Wednesday night’s premiere at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York. Paramount Vantage President John Lesher said the entire episode was all an unfortunate misunderstanding.

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Claudia Eller