Paramount Pictures acquired the film rights for "Tomb Raider" in 1998, which was released as "" in 2001. Producer Lloyd Levin stated that the film makers tried to capture the essence of the video game elements rather than duplicate them. Acknowledging the character's "huge fan base" and recognisable appearance, director Simon West sought an actress with acting ability as well as physical attributes similar to Croft. Paramount also received input from developer Core Design on casting. Rumoured actresses included Pamela Anderson, Demi Moore and Jeri Ryan. Academy Award-winning actress Angelina Jolie was eventually cast to play Lara Croft. She had not been a fan of the character, but considered the role as a "big responsibility", citing anxiety about fans' high expectations. Producer Lawrence Gordon felt she was a perfect fit for the role. Jolie braided her hair and used minimal padding to increase her bust a cup size to 36D for the role. She felt that Croft's video game proportions were unrealistic, and wanted to avoid showing such proportions to young girls. Jolie trained rigorously for the action scenes required for the role, occasionally sustaining injuries. Her training focused on practising the physical skills necessary to perform the film's stunts. The difficulty of the training and injuries discouraged her, but she continued working through production. Jolie also encountered difficulties when working the guns, bungee jumping, and maneuvering with the braid. West had not anticipated that Jolie would do her own stunts, and was impressed, as was stunt coordinator Simon Crane, by the effort she put into them.