Angelina Jolie said Saturday that she hopes her new film about Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge will help educate the world about the brutality of the 1970s regime and shed a light on the plight of young people in war zones today. First They Killed My Father is based on author and human-rights activist Loung Ung’s account of her survival as a child under the 1975-79 communist Khmer Rouge regime, believed to be responsible for the deaths of 1.7 million Cambodians from starvation, disease and execution. Speaking at a news conference ahead of the film’s premiere, the actress-turned-director said she hopes the movie will “remind everybody that there are little Loung’s all around the world today” in various war zones and corners of the world. “Her story is their story and so this is, in many ways, universal, and we hope that that is something that you think about as well,” said Jolie, who directed the film and co-wrote the screenplay with Loung. Jolie has had an affinity for Cambodia since she began goodwill work for the U.N.’s refugee agency in 2001, and her eldest son, Maddox, 15, was adopted from that country. She also has established a foundation to promote social development in rural Cambodia. However, the Hollywood actress stressed that Cambodia’s history is not just the war. “I hope that the young people, when they see this film, that yes, they will learn part of their history, but I hope they also see — I hope all of you see — that this is a country of talent and art and love and beauty,” Jolie said.
James Earl Jones and Donald Glover are lending their voices to Disney’s coming remake of The Lion King. Director Jon Favreau announced the casting of the two men as voice actors. Glover, star and creator of television’s Atlanta, will portray the adult Simba. Jones reprises the role of Simba’s father, Mufasa, which he voiced in the 1994 animated film. Favreau is making a computer-generated-imagery, live-action version of the movie, similar to Disney’s remake of The Jungle Book, which he also directed. A similar process is being used for Beauty and the Beast, which debuts next month.