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CNN Larry King Live
Encore Presentation: Angelina Jolie, Matt Damon and Robert DeNiro Discuss "The Good Shepherd"
Aired December 25, 2006 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LARRY KING, HOST: Merry Christmas, everybody. Larry King here, with a welcome back to our holiday cavalcade of stars on "LARRY KING LIVE." We're looking back at our most special moments of the year, 2006, and you can't get more special than three Oscar winners on the set at the same time -- Robert De Niro, Angelina Jolie and Matt Damon. What an hour it was. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KING: Tonight, Hollywood beauty and leading lady Angelina Jolie. She and Brad Pitt together one of the most famous couples in the world.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANGELINA JOLIE, ACADEMY AWARD WINNING ACTRESS: Who's your daddy now?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: And a rare chance to talk with screen legend Robert DeNiro.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT DENIRO, ACADEMY AWARD WINNING ACTOR: Are you talking to me?
Then who the else are you talking to?
Are you talking to me?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Yes, Bob, I'm talking to you.
And I'm also talking with the talented Mr. Matt Damon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATT DAMON, ACADEMY AWARD WINNING ACTOR: It's Tom. Tom Ripley.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: A blockbuster night with three of Hollywood's biggest names now all together in a sensational new movie, next on LARRY KING LIVE.
Good evening.
This Friday wide, as they say, an extraordinary movie is going to open. It's titled "The Good Shepherd."
Three of its stars and its director are all with us here in New York. They are Angelina Jolie, who has earned an Academy Award for best supporting actress for "Girl Interrupted," and one of the stars of this film, as we said.
Robert DeNiro -- what can we say about Bobby? He's earned two Academy Awards, best actor for "Raging Bull," best supporting actor for "The Godfather: Part Two," and he's the director and co-star of this film.
And the incredible Matt Damon, who may be in every scene. He's earned an Academy Award for best original screenplay for "Good Will Hunting."
Bobby, how did this all come about?
DENIRO: Well, I have been working on for about, I guess, close to eight years. I was -- Eric Roth had -- I'd read this script and -- I guess about eight years ago -- and I went and met Eric and I asked him if he would -- I was working on something of the same subject, but it was not -- it was just -- I wasn't too happy the way it was going and I wasn't sure what I was doing. So I went to Eric and said would you like to work on this. And he wasn't interested, but we agreed that if I directed it...
KING: But for you he did it?
DENIRO: Yes, he did. Well, he -- if were ever so lucky, if I directed "The Good Shepherd," then he would write the next installment.
KING: Part two?
DENIRO: Yes, if we were ever so lucky.
KING: How did we get you in it, Angelina?
JOLIE: It's really not a hard sell. It's an amazing, a really complex, interesting script. And to work -- and I love Eric Roth; and to work with Mr. DeNiro, and to work with Matt. And it's a great character.
KING: But it's a different kind of role for you?
JOLIE: Yes. Yes.
KING: The good house wife.
JOLIE: The not-so good. But yes. Yes.
KING: She's loyal and she tries her best.
JOLIE: I don't know how perfect she is. I mean, she certainly trapped him into marriage. She's not quite perfect and she drinks too much and she's -- but, yes, certainly in comparison to me or the freedoms I have today, she's quite -- she is of a period in time married to the agency. And she is doing the best, I suppose, in my opinion, her way to just stay by her son.
KING: The film basically is all about the founding of the CIA. And Matt Damon is its -- you are it, right, running through? You are the CIA?
DAMON: Yes, well, yes. It's -- the character is in most -- in just about every frame of the movie. But, yes. Yes, so he kind of represents...
(LAUGHTER)
JOLIE: That's the CIA answer.
(CROSS TALK)
DAMON: It was everything I hoped it would be.
KING: Is he tough?
DAMON: No, demanding in the right way, you know. It's hard work to -- and there was a lot -- it was something that he was really passionate about. And so to work that closely with him on something that he was passionate about was really great. But we really did feel that every single day was -- it was like the last day we were going to get to do this scene or this moment or that. And so we try to leave no stone unturned so that when he went into post-production he had all the material he needed to cut.
KING: Why do you generally resist talking about things?
DENIRO: Well...
KING: Yes. It's like I've been trying 25 years or something? Why?
DENIRO: I think it's easier. Well, like even the movie, if I had my way, I would just say, well, hopefully you see the movie, and that will be it, you know?
KING: You don't like talking about your work?
DENIRO: Well, no, I don't mind. Maybe it's a little easier with the directing, only because there's more to talk about, with so many different aspects of it that you can talk about. And, yes.
KING: But generally it's difficult for you?
DENIRO: I'm uncomfortable with it most of the time.
KING: You're not, are you Angelina?
JOLIE: Me?
KING: Yes.
JOLIE: No, I talk. That's why they stick us together.
KING: What took you so long to be here?
DAMON: To be on your show?
KING: To be on this show.
DAMON: I don't know. It -- I don't know why, actually. I'm, you know -- it's not like I've been hiding. They, you know, they get me on the treadmill for these things and I'm a pretty good soldier about it. So I'm surprised I haven't been here before. So it's...
KING: Does, though, Angelina as -- you're a spokesperson. You like coming out, right?
JOLIE: No. I mean, I don't actually love talking about my -- the process of work or out there explaining a project. But I personally was just somebody who -- I wanted to be an artist because I needed to communicate more and I needed to understand life more. And I'm just that type of person.
So when I've talked about my public life, my private life, it's never been to sell a movie. It's just been I'm a public person and I feel I've made a lot of mistakes. I've learned a lot of lessons, and I'm OK to share those things. And maybe it's more of a woman thing, that I feel that it's, you know, my experiences and I can share with other women, or whatever that may be. But it's not to sell a movie.
KING: It's the first time you worked with each other.
What was that like, Matt, working with Angelina?
DAMON: It was -- it was great. It was strange. And if we work together again, it would probably be a completely different experience because of the characters that we played. It was a very bizarre. In fact, somebody told Angie that we had a lot of chemistry in the movie and we busted out laughing, because it -- there's absolutely no chemistry between these two.
So it was interesting playing -- she's great in the movie and unlike anything she's ever done in a film.
KING: Correct.
DAMON: And very -- and utterly believable. And so to see her, I would just -- it would make me laugh sometimes when I was -- I would try not to bust her up when it was in her coverage. But I -- but she would be doing things that were so not her, or what I know of her, which -- I mean we don't know each other very well, but I mean, I do -- we know each other a bit. And it just struck me as -- it was just a really great performance, but -- but so unlike the strong individual...
KING: Yes, she's not Mrs. Smith...
DAMON: ... that force of nature that is...
KING: She's not Mrs. Smith?
DAMON: Right. Exactly.
KING: We'll be right back with Angelina Jolie, Robert DeNiro and Matt Damon.
The movie is "The Good Hunter" -- "The Good Shepherd."
It opens Friday.
Why did I say Monday?
JOLIE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
DENIRO: Larry.
KING: "The Good Shepherd." I'll repeat it for frequently, Bobby.
Don't go away.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOLIE: We have a lot going on in our lives with our children and our work and our travel and all the things that are important to us. And we have many, many other wonderful things to talk about than what the world thinks of us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE GOOD SHEPHERD," COURTESY UNIVERSAL PICTURES)
JOLIE: What about you Mr. Wilson?
What do you believe in?
DAMON: Are you in school?
JOLIE: You don't say very much, do you?
DAMON: When there's something worth saying.
JOLIE: Oh. I think I'm going to like you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM DENIRO: I've been telling the president about the need to create a new foreign intelligence service, one that would do in peacetime what OSS did during the war. Philip Down (ph) will be heading the agency. Richard Hayes (ph) will be his exec. And you'll be taking Division C, special operations that report only to the director.
It would be limited to overseas, obviously, subversive operations, intelligence gathering and analysis. And I'd be interested in your thoughts about this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: The movie is "The Good Shepherd." It opens Friday.
The guests are Robert DeNiro, its director, and two of its stars, Angelina Jolie and Matt Damon.
They head, by the way, a great, extraordinary cast, a cast of characters all the way through.
It's brilliantly done, and Mr. DeNiro is at the top of his form. We are sure that he'll be directing many more films.
All of these people have to deal with public scrutiny.
How do you handle tabloids?
JOLIE: I ignore them.
KING: You ignore them?
In other words, headline about Angelina Jolie, you don't read it?
JOLIE: Yes.
KING: How can you walk right by?
JOLIE: I don't go to those places. I -- you know, I get newspapers at the hotel or my house, delivered, and I don't -- I don't go to newsstands and, you know? It's actually not that hard to avoid. I don't watch those channels on TV. And I just don't.
KING: Always done that?
JOLIE: I've never been overly interested in those headlines, whether it was me or somebody else. But I certainly make more of a point to ignore it now.
KING: Do you have difficulty with it, Bob?
DENIRO: Yes, I agree with Angelina. That's what I do. I don't -- I don't read those -- those -- that material. And, yes, so I just avoid it, because I know it's not going to be -- it's sensationalizing something that's not -- not so, or partially so, or this or that. So I -- why buy into it? KING: Do you think, Matt, that I -- meaning I or we, the collective we, have the right to your private life, once you choose a public life?
DAMON: Well, it's complicated. I think, yes, I think -- I think children being involved is different. I don't understand why they don't blur out the faces of kids in these -- in these publications, as I think they do in other countries. It's not a decision that they made. And so I think there's certain lines that are crossed.
I don't know. I mean, personally, I don't -- I don't get it as bad as some. So particularly, I mean Angie and Brad...
KING: She gets it the worst.
DAMON: The worst of anybody in the country right now. And, you know, I've been around the world with Brad on the "Ocean's" movies and, I mean, you know, even George Clooney, who's a pretty famous guy, I mean, he marvels at what -- what it's like for Brad. And so when Brad and Angie are together, it's just -- you know, it's an absolute -- it's just a very -- it's a different thing than I would ever have to deal with. So...
KING: Brad's a friend of yours, though, right?
DAMON: Sure, yes. I mean, we've worked together three times now. And he -- what's interesting to me about it is that he does nothing at all to encourage it, nothing at all to encourage it. And neither does Angie.
KING: He's a good guy, right? He's just a regular good guy?
DAMON: He really is. I mean, he's just a terrific guy, just a very normal, regular person, as is Angie. And, I mean, I admire the fact that they -- they've taken this incredibly bright -- this bright spotlight that's on them and tried to turn it onto other issues that are of importance and are a better use of those resources that are being spent trying to figure out what goes on behind, you know, closed doors between -- between them. They've tried to shine that spotlight on areas around the world that they think are issues that are more relevant or important or a better use of that -- those resources.
KING: Angelina, do you get involved in each other's work? Like, do you rush to see his film? Will he...
JOLIE: Brad?
KING: ... quickly see "The Good Shepherd?"
JOLIE: Yes, he'll see it tonight. And I did see "Babel." I thought it was wonderful. I thought he was amazing. So, yes.
KING: Do you talk a lot about what people say about you?
JOLIE: No.
KING: You don't?
JOLIE: No.
KING: Well, I mean, you would think it would be normal to say --
JOLIE: We have a very...
KING: ... they're really rude.
JOLIE: We have a very -- we have a lot going on in our lives with our children and our work and our travel and all the things that are important to us. We have many, many other wonderful things to talk about than what the world thinks of us.
KING: Let's go back to the movie a second.
What do you like about directing?
DENIRO: Well, it occupies my mind a lot more. I have so many things that I have to...
KING: It's your baby, right?
DENIRO: Yes. And that is the -- I mean, it's a collaborative effort. And there are so many people involved, behind the scenes, around. The whole thing is like -- I'm amazed that it even gets done. And so that's -- you rely on all these people to help you get it done.
KING: When you're in the scene, how do you direct yourself?
DENIRO: I talk to myself like this and turn around.
DAMON: It's really weird when you see it happening.
KING: You talk to yourself?
No, with you it's possible.
DENIRO: No. No, you know, just -- it's not so -- I'm not too thrilled by directing myself. It's hard. And I don't like to take too much time on myself, but I have to get it right, as right as I think it should be. And so I sometimes rely, say, the scenes that I did, on the script supervisor; Bob Richardson, the V.P.; anybody else -- Matt or Angie.
KING: You ask anybody's opinion?
DENIRO: Yes.
DAMON: It's a little unnerving when he comes and says how was that?
KING: You know, what do you say?
DAMON: Great. You know, well, it was. But also Richardson was looking through -- he was actually, he was operating the camera. So that helps, too, when you have the guy who is actually seeing the movie.
KING: Your character is so low key.
Is it tough to stay that way?
DAMON: Well, that was where -- I was directed to do that. And that's the greatest feeling for the group of actors that worked on the movie, to have Bob as the -- as the safety net, to be the minder of our performances, you know? That was -- I mean we all trust him implicitly, so...
KING: Did it help, Angelina, do you think, that he is an actor?
JOLIE: Yes. Absolutely. I think at first we all had the feeling of, God, he could probably just tell us all exactly what to do and make these decisions himself. But because he's a great actor and a great director, he really helped us to find it ourselves.
And -- but certainly he gives the best advice and has a real understanding of this, you know, how sensitive these certain situations are, moments or certain care, certain, you know, that actors need to get through different things and help us to find things or to not make us feel bad about the wrong choice, to help us understand the right one in a sensitive manner. And, yes, he guided us through it gently and it's strong.
KING: Our guests are Angelina Jolie, Robert DeNiro and Matt Damon.
The film is "The Good Shepherd." It opens Friday. We'll be right back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING: By the way, there's this -- someone called me today.
Are you going to get married?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE GOOD SHEPHERD," COURTESY UNIVERSAL PICTURES)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good night.
DAMON: Good night.
JOLIE: How dare you speak to me that way?
DAMON: You are never to tell anybody what I do.
JOLIE: How dare you?
DAMON: You are never to tell anyone...
JOLIE: Those people are my friends. DAMON: ... what it is that I do.
JOLIE: I don't have a lot of friends.
DAMON: Never.
Do you understand?
JOLIE: What do you do?
What you do. I don't know what you do. You leave at 5:00, you're home at 10:00 seven days a week. You don't say a damn word to me. I live with a ghost. I don't know what you do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "MR. & MRS. SMITH," COURTESY TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENTERTAINMENT)
JOLIE: Satisfied?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not for years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: We're back with the stars of the film "The Good Shepherd." Robert DeNiro is also its director; Angelina Jolie and Matt Damon.
Let's discuss how you pick what you pick.
What is the basis of what -- of how you'll choose a film?
Like "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," let's say. You read that script.
Did you like it right away?
JOLIE: No.
KING: You didn't like it?
JOLIE: No, I didn't think it was something I should -- I didn't know what I was looking for, but it wasn't something that obviously spoke to me. I hadn't done comedy or that kind of action comedy romance I didn't think was going to -- but I had somebody who was close to me who read and said she thought it was great. And I trusted the opinion of some people around me who said if you are ever going to do a comedy, this is probably the best kind for you to get to do. This is fun-and I could be in L.A. with my mom. And so it was decisions like that. It wasn't the film itself.
KING: Do you like action films?
JOLIE: Sometimes. Yes.
KING: You've done them.
JOLIE: I do, yes. And I like to break it up. But it's -- it gets you healthy. It's a fun-day on set. Yes.
KING: Back to DeNiro, the actor.
How do you choose? What's your formula for I will do this?
DENIRO: Well, it's either the director or the script, one of those two, at least. And who else is involved in it and has good intentions and so on. And I mean it could, I would -- if it's like Marty Scorsese, we have something that we want to do, we would work on. We don't have the script, but we have the idea, we have all the elements and we want to move forward and commit to making -- coming up with the story or the script and so on.
Or another situation where the director -- I'm not sure of, but the script is great, and I know I had a lot to do with making that script great, well, then I would say, yes, you know?
KING: Do you have to be the star?
DENIRO: No.
KING: No?
You don't have to be the star.
That's interesting.
Matt Damon, what's your positioning for choice?
DAMON: Yes. No, I feel the same way. I go by director and script and the role is the third thing, if I was going to rate the importance. And so I end up in supporting roles a lot, but in movies that I really want to be in and that I like.
KING: Speaking of Scorsese and "The Departed," did you like that right away?
DAMON: Yes. I mean that was a very easy decision. The fact that he was directing it, and plus it was set in Boston, where I'm from, and, you know, I know a lot about that stuff. So it was a great -- it was a great phone call to get.
KING: By the way does this -- someone called me today -- Are you going to get married?
It's just interesting to know.
JOLIE: No.
KING: I wish you lots of luck. Someone said that you're planning a Christmas wedding in South Africa.
JOLIE: Ooh, no. DAMON: You just blew it.
KING: You destroyed (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
JOLIE: Thank you for your support if I was, but I'm not.
KING: You're not getting married on Christmas in -- not.
The -- you're all parents. The impact of what you do on your offspring -- do you think it's great, Bob?
DENIRO: Of course, yes. Of course.
KING: It affects their lives?
DENIRO: Yes. It has to. Yes.
KING: There's a down side to that.
DENIRO: Yes. Sure. That's -- that's something that is -- it comes with the territory and it's a double-edged sword. You know, that's...
KING: You're a father now, Matt, right?
DAMON: Yes.
KING: Five months, six months old?
DAMON: Six months old, yes.
KING: They can't be raised normal, right, Bob? By our standards of what would be normal?
DENIRO: Yes. They're not -- they'll become aware of the attention that you get and then you would always hope that wherever they are, going to school and things like that, that people are sensitive to that. But you never know what people are going to say or do or what the parents say in front of other kids.
KING: It's not easy?
DENIRO: No, not easy.
KING: The way you get treated, Angelina, you should have double worry.
JOLIE: No, thanks.
(LAUGHTER)
KING: No, I mean, seriously, don't you?
JOLIE: You know, yes. I'm hoping that as we get older, maybe we'll do less films, and it'll be less of -- we'll be less focused on, as our children hit their early teens, or at times when it's really, really on them. So this, hopefully, is as bad as it's going to get for us. And just to know, we don't raise our kids in Hollywood. They don't go to sets everyday. You know, they travel the world and we do many, many other things. So hopefully, they don't think this is just what their parents do for a living. They know -- they know many other things about who we are.
KING: But they are going to be fathered?
JOLIE: Yes.
KING: That's something that's delicate to raise, right?
JOLIE: Yes -- you, just -- yes. I mean it's -- they're restricted in the -- but they have a lot of other blessings and you just, like every parent, really, you just do the best you can with whichever situation you've got.
KING: The film is "The Good Shepherd."
It opens Friday.
We'll be right back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING: If Hillary runs, will it be a (UNINTELLIGIBLE) that you endorse?
DENIRO: Possibly, yes.
KING: Yes?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "CASINO," COURTESY MCA/UNIVERSAL PICTURES)
JOLIE: He said that if it didn't work out between us that I could get my things and I could leave.
DENIRO: Look into my eyes. Look in my eyes. You know me.
Do you see anything in these eyes that makes you think I would ever let someone in your condition take my child away from me? Do you?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: It opens this Friday. They are Angelina Jolie, Robert DeNiro and Matt Damon.
Celebrities and causes. Do you get involved, Angelina? Support political people?
JOLIE: I haven't gotten out and -- I get involved in politics and global issues, but not specifically a one person -- I haven't done that yet.
KING: So you never come forward and say, "Vote for ..."
JOLIE: No. Not yet.
KING: Bob? You were involved with Hillary, weren't you?
DENIRO: Well yeah -- no -- I did a telephone message for Hillary, yeah.
KING: Have you supported others?
DENIRO: I don't do it much but this year -- or the next presidential election, I feel that I'll be more active to hopefully make it right.
KING: If Hillary runs will it be she that you would endorse?
DENIRO: Possibly, yeah.
KING: Do you think it's the duty of a person, actor or not?
DENIRO: I think it is. Yeah. I mean, if you can help and I think it is, yes.
KING: Matt?
DAMON: Yeah. I've started working with the One Campaign to deal with the issues of extreme poverty in Africa and went to Africa earlier this year and I just kind of started down the road to kind of start getting educated about some of the issues that people face there. And I find it really interesting.
KING: Has George Clooney affected you in that regard?
DAMON: We actually started -- we kind of came around to some of the same stuff independently and we ended up talking about it after we had both been there. I mean what he did was very impressive -- going over to Chad and kind of sneaking in with his dad. It was very daring, actually, pretty incredible what he did and it brought to what's going on there.
KING: Back to "The Good Shepherd." It is an anti-CIA film? You're the director.
DENIRO: No, I never thought of it as being anti-CIA. I -- as a director you take the point of view of the characters to try and understand every one like -- as an actor I do the same so I wouldn't be -- it's just not ...
KING: Is it just a good story?
DENIRO: It's a good story.
You know, I would never be so -- for me, presumptuous or -- I don't want to say pretentious but about saying it's a political film about this. I just can't do that. People are going to take from it what they want.
KING: You don't see it as a film with a point of view?
DENIRO: It might have a point of view that even I'm not aware of. That I'm just -- I do it. I would rather not even talk about it. Just see the movie -- I think -- I mean, I put myself into that film.
KING: Did you do all the casting?
DENIRO: Yes.
KING: William Hurt. Great to see him back. Been kind of away.
DENIRO: Yeah. He's a hard guy to find. I had to find him ...
KING: How did you like working with Alec Baldwin?
DENIRO: Alec was great. I saw him on the show ...
KING: Yeah, he's a piece of work.
DENIRO: Yeah.
KING: When you go into a party, Angelina, do you -- are you like him? By that I mean someone said about DeNiro he marinates a roll. He doesn't just act. He thinks it all through. It becomes part of him. From what the shirt the guy would wear.
JOLIE: I don't think anybody is as detailed or does as much research as him. But in some small way I think we've all learned from him over the years and certainly I do a lot of research as much as -- and get into a character as much as ...
KING: Do you have to like her?
JOLIE: No. Sometimes I think it's important not to like her.
KING: Really?
JOLIE: I think it's important to like the piece and what the piece does and sometimes even if you're the person that's making other people look like the good people because you are the negative force in the movie, then that's important. You have to believe in what the piece entire says. So yeah, I didn't mind.
I think in the beginning of this film she is a bit of a bad guy and -- so ...
KING: And then she becomes -- trying to be a mother, right?
JOLIE: Yeah. Yeah.
KING: And the growth of, Matt, your child in this movie. It's a really interesting aspect to "The Good Shepherd," don't you think?
DAMON: I do. KING: The kid becomes formidable.
DAMON: Yeah. Yeah. It's really interesting. I really always loved that relationship between them in the script. And I don't want to give too much away, obviously, because it becomes pretty important to the plot, the whole relationship that unfolds with me and my son. So -- but yes, it's one of the many -- I mean, what Eric wrote was just -- the script was so -- there was so much happening in the script, it just -- it really -- it read like a novel.
KING: We'll be right back with the cast of "The Good Shepherd."
Don't go away.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOLIE: I have been able to bring attention to things I believe very much in. And -- and certainly it's impacted me as a woman. I've learned so much from refugees and become a better person because of them.
DAMON: That is unfair.
That is unfair.
JOLIE: You abandon people when they need you the most.
DAMON: I don't abandon people.
JOLIE: You abandon people.
DAMON: I do not abandon people.
JOLIE: It's true.
DAMON: I have stood by you.
JOLIE: Stood by me?
DAMON: For 22 years, I have stood by you.
JOLIE: You don't know what it is to stand by somebody.
DAMON: I have stood by you and I've stood by him. I have done everything to be a good father to him.
JOLIE: You have done no such thing.
DAMON: I married you because of him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: Angelina Jolie is a Goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commission for Refugees, right? You are it. And your humanitarian work is exemplary.
Has it impacted your acting? Has it impacted your reaction to celebrity? What kind of effect has this had on you?
JOLIE: I think just giving, you know, celebrities a very strange thing so they have some good use for it. It makes some sense out of it.
You know, I've been able to bring attention to things I believe very much in. And certainly, it's impacted me as a woman.
I've learned so much from refugees, and I've become a better person because of them. And I'm very grateful to them. And...
KING: What do you learn from people who have no homes?
JOLIE: It's not just that they have no homes. They are the people that are there that (ph) accompany children, that have seen war. They are mothers that have lost their children. They're fathers that have been unable to feed or take care of or protect their own families, and they're broken and they're sad.
So they are amazing survivors. And I've found them to be gracious and tough and funny. And just to be around that kind of -- those kind of human beings -- they've -- and so certainly when I wake up in the morning, I look at my own life, where I have my own moments of concern or thought for myself, I immediately remember all the reasons why we should all be so -- so lucky, everybody sitting around this table. And they have focused me in the greatest way.
KING: Well said.
Based on international things and the like, do you think, Bob, that the world is a better place because of the CIA?
DENIRO: I don't know. I think for our interests, we need an intelligence organization...
KING: So for America it's a plus.
DENIRO: Yes. And you would hope that that would work for -- that would have a good effect on the rest of the world.
If things are found out that can benefit other -- other places, or things can be avoided, especially these days -- I mean, I don't know what's going to happen with everything, but, I mean, my big concern is that so much of this nuclear stuff is going to get more easy to acquire.
KING: Like Iran.
DENIRO: Yes. Well, Iran -- I mean, Iran is -- you know, Iran, that's one thing. It's a country that inevitably is going to have to do what they want. I mean, they have that right. And we can't tell them -- but we do have another problem which is much bigger, that things will get smaller and more dangerous. And god knows where it's all going to go.
That's my concern.
KING: In "Details" magazine Matt, you're quoted as saying, "I've worked very hard in interviews to portray a very polite and a boring person." Is the operative word portray? Are you -- do you try to be different when you're being interviewed? Are you conscious, I'm being interviewed and therefore I'm going to be different.
DAMON: Yes.
KING: Why?
JOLIE: He's not.
DAMON: Because in reality there's -- for the most part -- for most of the interviews we do and I'll leave you out of this, but most of the interviews aren't particularly substantive and they're not looking. And they don't need to be for the purpose of selling a movie. And that's why they're occurring and you're kind of -- you sign up and you have to -- and it's different from when he was in the 70s and the films that they were doing. I don't think you guys had to do press junkets the way -- it's a different thing now. It's this whole ancillary business is built up next to the film business. And it probably drives more -- it sells more shampoo and it's probably more important in some ways, economically than the films themselves.
And we're expected -- Angie and my generation, it's just part of the job. You go and you put on your nice shirt and you sit and you talk and that's -- but it doesn't have anything to do with making the movie and in reality is, as Bob says, it would be better if you could just put it up like a painting. And to talk about it is something -- it's very different from actually making it. And the skill set it takes to make something is very different from the skill set of selling it.
KING: "The Good Shepherd" opens Friday. We'll be right back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING: You sold the pictures of your baby, right?
JOLIE: We did for charity, yes.
KING: Oh, it went to charity?
JOLIE: Yes.
KING: How? Are they going to give you money?
JOLIE: Yes, they're going to get that picture, they're going to get pictures of my kids unfortunately no matter what we do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOE PESCI, ACTOR: Let me ask you something. We Italians, we've got our families and we've got the church. The Irish, they have the homeland. The Jews, their tradition. What about you people, Mr. Carlson (ph)? What do you have.
DAMON: The United States of America, and the rest of you are just visiting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: Some other aspects of our extremely talented guests -- you have two adopted children, right? What's that like?
JOLIE: It's the same as my biological child. They're -- I have three, and Maddox -- he's five and he's from Cambodia, and Zahara is two, almost, and she's Ethiopian, and Shiloh is six months. And they are all just like everybody. I love my kids -- they're funny, and they're magnificent, and --
KING: The late Bob Considine (ph) -- the Chicago writer -- wrote, "I have four children; two are adopted -- I forget which two."
JOLIE: That's right. You really do. And I honestly thought, when I was pregnant, I thought, god, I hope it doesn't feel different. Because I was worried. And it didn't feel different -- it doesn't at all.
KING: What do you make of the fuss over Madonna adopting a young African boy?
JOLIE: I don't know all the details and we're not close friends, so I wasn't able to speak with her. I only understand that we all have to be very -- everybody who adopts -- it's a difficult thing, to adopt, probably more difficult in many ways than it should be. But it's great that it is out there. And you have to go through many levels in order to do that.
KING: It should be hard.
JOLIE: It should -- it should be hard to be a parent, period. It should be -- you know, you shouldn't...
KING: They ought to have a test for it.
JOLIE: I mean, yes, you're saying -- and I go through many, many things in order to adopt. I'm fingerprinted, I'm checked, I go through home studies. I go through everything to prove I'm a decent citizen, I'm a good human being.
That doesn't -- that didn't happen to me when I gave birth. You know? So it's interesting that there's no background check on you when you bring a child into your home in that way.
But -- but I think, you know, that there's -- it was a country that does not have foreign adoptions usually. And so I think she's I'm sure smart enough to know that that was going to be unusual.
KING: What's it like to be a new parent, Matt? How old now, six months?
DAMON: Six months today, yes. So -- it's kind of indescribable. I don't really know -- I wouldn't really know how to say it. You know, everybody said, "Oh, your life's going to change. Your life's going to change."
KING: It's a girl, right?
DAMON: It's a girl, yes. And then she showed up and my life changed completely. But I had some practice. I have a stepdaughter. So...
KING: Your wife had a child?
DAMON: Yes. Yes.
KING: How old?
DAMON: Eight-years-old.
KING: Boy or girl?
DAMON: Girl.
KING: How do you get along with her?
DAMON: Great. She's a terrific -- I'm very lucky. My wife is a great mother, and her ex-husband is a terrific father. And so I'm, you know, the third -- I'm the third wheel.
KING: And Ben Affleck had a kid. How is she doing?
DAMON: Terrific, yes. Great. She's a year old now.
KING: He's a great guy.
DAMON: He is...
KING: You two have stayed friends through all this, right?
DAMON: Yes. Yes. Our friendship kind of transcends -- predates our professional, you know, success.
KING: It goes back to Boston, right?
DAMON: Yes, we grew up right around the corner from each other.
KING: Are you a Red Sox freak?
DAMON: Yes. Yes. Yes, which -- it's fun to be in New York.
KING: You sold the pictures of your baby, right?
JOLIE: We did for charity, yes.
KING: Oh, it went to charity.
JOLIE: Yes.
KING: What the hell? They're going to give you money...
JOLIE: Yes, they're going to get that picture. They're going to get pictures of my kids, unfortunately, no matter what we do. So we...
KING: Why not?
JOLIE: ... chose to control it and give the money to charity, not to paparazzi.
KING: How many do you have? How many children do you have?
DENIRO: I have five children and one grandson. And he's 3.
KING: How old is the youngest?
DENIRO: Almost 9.
KING: What's it like -- I'm in the same boat -- being a little older parent.
DENIRO: Well, you know, it's -- it's a lot of work.
KING: They run you ragged?
DENIRO: Yes. Yes. And they're getting older. And, you know, they're boys.
KING: Faster.
DENIRO: My daughter, who's the oldest of all the kids, and my four sons.
KING: OK. You're doing a film about Mariane Pearl, right, who's been a guest on this show?
JOLIE: Yes. I've had to study that interview.
KING: A wonderful lady. His father-in-law I know very well.
JOLIE: Yes.
KING: What's it like playing someone people have seen?
JOLIE: It's hard. But I think harder than that, it's somebody that I know and respect. And so that makes it very, very difficult, because I don't want to in any way not honor this woman and do this story properly. So it was very -- it was terrifying.
KING: Who else is in it? JOLIE: Dan Futterman, who plays Danny, and many and many different actors from Pakistan and India.
KING: Is that where you're shooting?
JOLIE: Yes, we shot in India.
KING: What are you doing next, Bob? You're always doing something.
DENIRO: Yes. Well, I'm doing a movie with Barry Levinson from Art Linson's book who wrote "What Just Happened" about his experiences as a producer, a Hollywood producer.
KING: A comedy?
DENIRO: Yes. Yes.
KING: Matt?
DAMON: "The Bourne Ultimatum." It's the third...
KING: Oh, you're going to do another Bourne? The Ludlum books.
DAMON: Yes. Hedging my bets.
KING: You like this genre, huh?
DAMON: I do. Well, I like -- it's Paul Greengrass is the director and Frank Marshall is the producer. And, you know, you can't really go wrong with those guys. So -- in fact, Paul directed the last one, and the fact that he wanted to do another one made me -- made me -- it's the reason I did the movie.
KING: Some more moments with this great cast from a terrific film. "The Good Shepherd" opens Friday.
We'll be right back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOLIE: She's doing good. She's been battling -- you're the first person to ask about it. She has for about six years, and she's a remarkable woman. She's very, very strong. Great doctors, and she is just -- her spirit is unbroken.
JOLIE: What if I had a punctured artery? What would you do? You'd just keep going about your rounds, ignoring my wounds?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lisa, stop it.
JOLIE: Stop what? You (CENSORED). Look at this. Go ahead. Go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's enough.
JOLIE: Take one (CENSORED) step and I'll jam this in my aorta. Go ahead. Go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stop it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lisa, your aorta is in you chest.
JOLIE: Good to know.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'll make a note of that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: We have a few moments left, and we'll cover them with Angelina Jolie, Robert DeNiro and Matt Damon.
Angelina, it's been reported that your mom has been battling cancer. How is she doing?
JOLIE: She's doing good. She's been battling -- you're the first person to ask about it. She has for about six years, and she's a remarkable woman. She's very, very strong. Great doctors, and she is just -- her spirit is unbroken.
KING: Cancer of what?
JOLIE: Ovarian cancer.
KING: Ovarian. That's tough to lick.
JOLIE: Yes. And she's amazing.
KING: Hanging in.
JOLIE: Yes. Yes.
KING: How old?
JOLIE: She is 56 now.
KING: Young.
JOLIE: Yes, she's very young.
KING: Bob, how are you doing with prostate?
DENIRO: It's -- knock on wood -- is there any wood here, Larry?
JOLIE: We'll knock on anything. There you go. That's wood.
(CROSSTALK)
KING: How have you treated it?
DENIRO: I had a prostatectomy. Is it a -- did I pronounce right? I just had the operation and... KING: They removed it?
DENIRO: ... about three years ago -- yes.
KING: I know you told us once at lunch that you were very angry that your father didn't do anything.
DENIRO: Right.
KING: Diagnosed, chose to let it go.
DENIRO: Right. He -- I mean, as far as I'm concerned, he might have been alive today if he had faced it. And he was terrified. And at that time it was a little more different.
You're told about an operation like that maybe -- we're talking 20 -- over 20 years ago, 23 years ago. He was -- I was with him when the doctor explained what he would do, and this particular doctor wasn't that sensitive. He was like -- he reminded me of the doctor from "East of Eden," I think it was, with the nurse...
KING: Oh, yes.
DENIRO: So, that didn't help the situation. Yes, so he didn't deal with it and things got worse.
KING: And you made a decision -- do you think that decision affected your decision?
DENIRO: Absolutely. I was very proactive with it. I not only was -- since that time, I saw somebody since I was 40 and got tested every three, four months. And then even then I didn't -- I was OK. My PSA was below 4 -- like 2-something or 3. I still called a surgeon friend of mine and went and had it done. And the surgeon, he recommended somebody and he said, do it. And this surgeon said, do it, you have a 40 to 60 percent chance. So I would have done it, even if he had said you have a 20 percent chance. And they did find something.
KING: How old are you?
DENIRO: Sixty-three.
KING: Everything's OK now? Did you get a PSA clear?
DENIRO: (Raps on desk.)
KING: Knock all the wood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING: That's it for another hour in our LARRY KING LIVE Christmas marathon.
Up next, television's new cream of the kitchen, Rachel Ray. First, let's check in for the stories making headlines right now. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com
