Angelina Jolie to Direct WWII Drama 'Unbroken'
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- Published on Wednesday, 19 December 2012 05:38
- Written by Hollywood Reporter
The film tells the story of Olympian and war veteran Louis Zamperini, who survived on a raft for weeks after a plane crash and was later captured by the Japanese.The film is an adaptation of the 2010 book by Laura Hillenbrand (Seabiscuit: An American Legend) and tells the story of Olympic athlete and war veteran Louis Zamperini who survived a plane crash during the war and clung to life on a raft for 47 days. He was captured by the Japanese and sentenced to time in a prisoner of war camp.Hillenbrand’s book spent 108 on the New York Times bestseller list, including 14 weeks at No. 1. “I read Laura Hillenbrand’s brilliant book, and I was so moved by Louie Zamperini’s heroic story, I immediately began to fight for the opportunity to make this film,” Jolie said in a statement. “Louie is a true hero and a man of immense humanity, faith and courage. I am deeply honored to have the chance to tell his inspiring story.” The news was announced by Universal Pictures chairman Adam Fogelson and co-chairman Donna Langley, and Walden Media CEO Michael Bostick. “In her life and in her work, Angelina has embraced stories and causes involving great struggle and triumph over tremendous odds and the basic human condition,” said Fogelson and Langley in a joint statement. “She has a real ability to illustrate the strength in human spirit which will be essential in telling Lou’s story of survival and great heroism.”The latest draft of the script was written by William Nicholson (Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Gladiator, Les Misérables), with an earlier draft having been written by Richard LaGravenese. Matthew Baer and Erwin Stoff are producing with Mick Garris serving as executive producer. Jolie made her directorial debut with 2011’s In the Land of Blood and Honey. This would be her first time helming a film for a major studio. Jolie is represented by UTA for directing and attorney Robert Offer. Nicholson is represented by CAA and in the U.K. by The Agency. His attorney is Alan Wertheimer.
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'Maleficent': Sam Riley Says Angelina Jolie Took Him Under Her Wing
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- Published on Sunday, 23 December 2012 11:30
- Written by Hollywood Reporter
"There are worse jobs," the "On the Road" star says of working alongside the actress/Earth mother. Sam Riley plays literary icon Sal Paradise in the big-screen adaptation of Jack Kerouac's On the Road -- but in his upcoming film, Maleficent, the British actor portrays Angelina Jolie's "lackey.""I play a raven -- I'm Angelina's lackey, basically," the 32-year-old actor said Thursday at a Peggy Siegal Company-hosted NYC screening of On the Road.That's not a bad gig? "No, there are worse jobs," he told The Hollywood Reporter, adding that Jolie's make-up in the Disney Pictures' film is "insane" but "she's not Method. She's very nice. She took me under her wing, so to speak. We had a great time." Jolie, 37, portrays the iconic Sleeping Beauty villain in the live-action origins story, which began filming over the summer. Directed by Robert Stromberg, the movie -- slated for release in March 2014 -- also stars Elle Fanning as Princess Aurora and several members of the Jolie-Pitt brood: Pax, 9, Zahara, 7, and Vivienne, 4. Riley, who jokingly described his character Diaval as a "mird" (man-slash-bird), called Jolie "a consummate professional, so I admire that very much." Riley, meanwhile, will soon be seen in limited release Dec. 21 as Kerouac's alter ego in the Walter Salles-directed On the Road, co-starring Kristen Stewart, Garrett Hedlund and Kirsten Dunst. Riley's other credits include 2007's Control, in which he portrayed Joy Division's Ian Curtis, and the Saoirse Ronan-starring vampire thriller Byzantium.
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Angelina Jolie's 'Salt' Sequel Hiring 'Prince of Tides' Writer
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- Published on Tuesday, 11 December 2012 06:47
- Written by Hollywood Reporter
Becky Johnston is in negotiations to work on the follow-up to the 2010 spy movie for Columbia Pictures. Columbia Pictures is still working to put Salt back on the table.In a move signaling continued interest in a sequel to the 2010 Angelina Jolie spy movie, the studio is in negotiations to hire Becky Johnston to work on the script.In the original, Jolie starred as a CIA officer who discovers she is a Russian sleeper cell agent with a mission to assassinate the U.S. president. Salt grossed $293.5 million worldwide, so Columbia in 2011 hired the movie’s credited writer, Kurt Wimmer, to pen a sequel.Earlier this year, however, reports surfaced that Jolie didn’t think his script was up to snuff and had not committed to the project, which is being produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Sunil Perkash. Johnston's hiring caps off an almost year-long search for a scribe who could reconceive the script with a take that satisfied all parties.UTA-repped Johnston is a left-of-center choice for the project as her most notable credits are the character dramas The Prince of Tides (1991), which starred Barbra Streisand, and Seven Years in Tibet (1997), which starred Jolie’s fiance Brad Pitt.Johnston did work on Wonder Woman as well as Brad Bird’s San Francisco Earthquake project 1906 and has the Colin Firth-Emily Blunt drama Arthur Newman awaiting release next year.
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Angelina Jolie Wanted Jennifer Lawrence's 'Silver Linings Playbook' Role
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- Published on Thursday, 06 December 2012 19:38
- Written by Super User
Angelina Jolie wanted to be the leading lady in hit comedy drama Silver Linings Playbook, according to filmmaker David O. Russell.Jennifer Lawrence has been tipped for an Academy Award for her portrayal of promiscuous Tiffany in the movie, but Russell thought the 22-year-old star was too young and he had other "major actresses" in mind, including Jolie.At a screening for TheWrap.com, he explains, "Quite frankly, (Lawrence's audition) was like a formality. I didn't think she was really a contender. We had three very serious contenders (already). We had a lot of major actresses in town interested in the role, from Angelina Jolie to some other big stars, because it's a dimensional role for a young woman. Jennifer we frankly thought was too young."The Hunger Games beauty went on to win the part after auditioning over Internet phone service Skype, while Bradley Cooper was recruited to play her love interest, but Russell admits he considered a number of other A-list stars during the casting process.He adds, "I wrote it with Vince (Vaughn) and Zooey (Deschanel) in mind, because I love Vince's cadences... And then Mark Wahlberg, who I love and made three movies with, there was a moment where he was going to do it. That didn't work out... and it was out of my hands... I originally wrote it for other people."But as Matt Damon very graciously said to me about the Christian Bale role in The Fighter - which he was originally intended to play, 'It just goes to show, the right people play the right role at the right time.'"
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Race 2: Is Jacqueline Fernandez's look inspired by Angelina Jolie?
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- Published on Friday, 23 November 2012 05:26
- Written by IBN live
Actress Jacqueline Fernandez's look in director duo Abbas-Mustan's upcoming action thriller 'Race 2' is reportedly inspired by the one Hollywood star Angelina Jolie sported in 'Salt'. Jolie's role in Phillip Noyce's 2010 thriller was action oriented and 27-year-old Jacqueline's character in the film, also has high octane action sequences."Jacqueline will be sporting jet black, poker straight hair with a fringe just like Angelina Jolie. The makers were keen on giving Jacqueline a very international look and she mentioned the film Salt and the makers seemed very keen on her suggestion," a source from the set said. On her part, Jacqueline trained extensively to attain the desired 'Race 2' look. She worked with a Vietnamese trainer and also practiced sword fighting to fit in the character. 'Race 2' which is the sequel to 2008 hit film Race, also stars Saif Ali Khan, John Abraham, Deepika Padukone, Anil Kapoor and Ameesha Patel. The film is all set to hit theatres on January 25, 2013.
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