Angelina Jolie Joins Ethiopian Film 'Difret' as Executive Producer
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- Published on Thursday, 17 September 2015 11:22
- Written by Just Jared
Angelina Jolie has a new credit to add to her resume – executive producer of the Ethiopian movie Difret! The film will be heading to the 2014 Sundance Film Festival this week as an entry in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition and now it has one of the world’s biggest stars putting her support behind it. Angelina will be taking a presentation credit on the film and there is no word yet if the title will be changed, according to Deadline. The movie tells the story of a girl and a female lawyer who take on the Ethiopian tradition of “telefa,” which means marriage by abduction. “This film is a strong moment for art in Ethiopia”, Angelina said in a statement. “It is inspiring to see such an important story so beautifully illustrated with such creative talent. It draws out the richness of Ethiopian culture and shows how important legal advances can be made while respecting local culture. It is a story that gives hope for Ethiopia’s future, and for other countries where countless girls grow up without the protection of laws that shield them and their bodies, and shows how the courage of brave individuals can awaken the conscience of a society.”
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Angelina Jolie helps bring Sundance hit to theaters
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- Published on Thursday, 17 September 2015 11:21
- Written by EW
Ethiopia has made great progress as a nation since the devastating famine and civil war of the 1980s, but as recently as the 1990s, women in that country were susceptible to unspeakable violence disguised as custom. In Difret, which played at Sundance and opens in theaters on Oct. 23, two Ethiopian women fight back against the practice of telefa, the accepted abduction and rape of teenage girls as long as the man marries his victim. Based on a true story, Difret was the passion project of Ethiopian filmmaker Zeresenay Berhane Mehari. It tells the story of a 14-year-old (Tizita Hagere) who defends herself against her abductor and is sentenced to death when she kills him. A female lawyer (Meron Getnet) takes her case, pitting generations of tradition against the future of equal rights in her country. Mehari turned down opportunities to get his film made abroad, in English, because he was determined to film it in Ethiopia, in Amharic, so that his countrymen and women could see and relate to the story.“Difret not only shows the tenacity and strength of two remarkable Ethiopian women and brings the world’s attention rightfully to these two real-life heroes, but it also shows the extraordinary talent and creativity of Ethiopian filmmakers,” says Angelina Jolie, who became an executive producer prior to Sundance, where the film won an Audience Award. “I’m very proud to be a part of it.” EW has the exclusive trailer above.
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Angelina Jolie Pitt’s ‘By the Sea’ to Open AFI Fest on Nov. 5
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- Published on Friday, 28 August 2015 03:52
- Written by Variety
Universal Pictures’ “By the Sea” will world premiere Nov. 5 as the opening-night film of the AFI Fest. Pic, to screen at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, was written, directed, produced by and stars Angelina Jolie Pitt and also stars and was produced by Brad Pitt.The cast includes Mélanie Laurent, Melvil Poupaud, Niels Arestrup and Richard Bohringer.The 29th AFI Fest takes place Nov. 5-12 in Hollywood. Screenings and galas will be held at the Dolby Theatre, TCL Chinese Theatre, the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres, Egyptian Theatre and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. The full festival lineup and schedule will be unveiled in October.Film festivals are increasingly important in a film’s awards campaign, and last year, the AFI Fest confirmed its key role when it premiered “Selma” and “American Sniper,” which both wound up with best-picture nominations. Last year’s AFI opening-night film was “A Most Violent Year.”AFI Fest director Jacqueline Lyanga said, “We are launching this year’s AFI Fest with a film that is fueled by the influence of both American and foreign cinema. Angelina Jolie Pitt’s intelligent artistry in ‘By the Sea‘ proves that she is among the most creative and expressive filmmakers today. It is a perfect way to kick off what will be eight days of incredible films from Hollywood and across the globe.”Jolie Pitt said, “AFI has long supported the boldness and experimentation that accompanies provocative cinema. As a filmmaker, and on behalf of our cast and crew, I am honored to launch the film at the Opening Night Gala for AFI Fest.”AFI president-CEO Bob Gazzale said, “Time and again, Angelina Jolie Pitt has proven herself an artist of the highest caliber. It is an honor for AFI to celebrate her latest story with its world premiere — and in doing so — to shine a proper light upon her boundless creative energies as actor, director, writer and producer.”“By the Sea” follows American writer Roland (Pitt) and his wife Vanessa (Jolie Pitt) in a seaside resort in 1970s France, their marriage in apparent crisis.
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Angelina Jolie Pitt to Direct ‘Cambodia’ Movie With Netflix
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- Published on Friday, 24 July 2015 17:34
- Written by Variety
Angelina Jolie Pitt is the latest top-tier talent to go the digital route, as the multihyphenate is working with Netflix on “First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers,” a film she will direct for the studio.The pic is based on a memoir from Cambodian author and human-rights activist Loung Ung about surviving the deadly Khmer Rouge regime.Jolie Pitt will direct and produce the Netflix project from a script she co-adapted with Ung. Cambodian director and producer Rithy Panh, helmer of the Oscar-nominated foreign-language film “The Missing Picture,” will also be a producer.The film will be made available to members of the streaming service in late 2016 and will be submitted to major international festivals.Ung was 5 years old when the Khmer Rouge regime assumed power over Cambodia in 1975 and began a four-year reign of terror and genocide in which nearly 2 million Cambodians died. Forced from her family’s home in Phnom Penh, Ung was trained as a child soldier in a work camp for orphans while her six siblings were sent to labor camps. Ung survived and wrote “First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers,” which was first published in 2000. Jolie Pitt read the book and contacted Ung over a decade ago. They became close friends and later adapted the screenplay together.“I was deeply affected by Loung’s book,” Jolie Pitt said. “It deepened forever my understanding of how children experience war and are affected by the emotional memory of it. And it helped me draw closer still to the people of Cambodia, my son’s homeland. It is a dream come true to be able to adapt this book for the screen, and I’m honored to work alongside Loung and filmmaker Rithy Panh.”Jolie Pitt’s Cambodian-born son, Maddox, will also be involved in the production of the film.
Netflix’s global reach was a major factor in Jolie Pitt’s desire to partner with the streaming service. “Films like this are hard to watch but important to see,” said Jolie Pitt. “They are also hard to get made. Netflix is making this possible, and I am looking forward to working with them and excited that the film will reach so many people.” The film will be released in both Khmer and English.“We are proud to be working with Angelina Jolie in bringing this emotionally powerful and ultimately uplifting story exclusively to Netflix members around the world,” said Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos. “Loung Ung’s incredible journey is a testament to the human spirit and its ability to transcend even the toughest circumstances.”“Angelina and I met in 2001 in Cambodia, and immediately, I trusted Angelina’s heart,” Ung said. “Through the years, we have become close friends, and my admiration for Angelina as a woman, a mother, a filmmaker and a humanitarian has only grown. It is with great honor that I entrust my family’s story to Angelina to adapt into a film.”Jolie Pitt is in post-production on “By the Sea,” a drama she wrote and directed, as well as stars in with Brad Pitt; it will be released by Universal this year. Jolie Pitt recently directed Universal’s “Unbroken,” based on the life of Olympian and World War II POW survivor Louis Zamperini. She made her feature directorial debut with “In the Land of Blood and Honey.” She is repped by UTA and Media Talent Group.
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'Fast & Furious 8' rumors: Helen Mirren, Angelina Jolie, and Ruby Rose considered for cast?
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- Published on Thursday, 10 September 2015 10:30
- Written by Christian Post
Universal Pictures has begun the hype surrounding the eighth "Fast & Furious" movie with speculations on its cast.With two years more to go before "Fast & Furious 8" hits theaters, the film's star and producer, Vin Diesel, and Michelle Rodriguez have been interviewed about their choice of actors to make an appearance in the eighth film.Dame Helen Mirren, who earlier mentioned she was a huge fan of Diesel during an April appearance in "Late Night with Seth Meyers," calling the action star "smart, funny, and cool," gave him a shoutout in an Entertainment Online red carpet interview to "get your act together" because she always wanted to star in a "Fast & Furious" movie but was never asked to do so.Diesel responded with a whoop, saying he respected her directness and mentioned there were many characters Dame Mirren could play in the eighth film, including Ramsey's (Nathalie Emmanuel) mother or the Shaw brothers' (Owen, played by Luke Evans in "F&F 6," and Deckard, played by Jason Statham in "Furious 7") scheming matriarch.Michelle Rodriguez also expressed her actress of choice to join the cast, picking her dream co-star, Angelina Jolie as another "Fast and Furious" badass to up the franchise's ante, the Latina actress declared in an August interview with ET."Orange is the New Black's" newcomer, Australian actress Ruby Rose, may also be joining the film. Rose, who auditioned for one of the franchise's flicks before she landed a role in Netflix's "OITNB," confirmed she is currently in negotiations to star in "Fast & Furious 8," saying she was previously turned down for her resemblance to Canadian singer, Justin Bieber.While Jason Statham has already confirmed he will reprise his role, speculations have also emerged Eva Mendes, who played Agent Monica Fuentes in "2 Fast 2 Furious," as well as the late Paul Walker's brother and body double, Cody, will be coming back to the eighth sequel."Fast & Furious 8" is scheduled to premiere in theaters on April 14, 2017.
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Angelina Jolie Pitt and Brad Pitt have a not-so-perfect day in first By the Sea trailer
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- Published on Friday, 07 August 2015 11:59
- Written by Entertainment Weekly
We’ve been waiting 10 years for Angelina Jolie Pitt and Brad Pitt to re-team on screen, but judging by this first trailer for By the Sea — which Jolie Pitt also wrote and directed — there are going to be a lot more tears (and great hats!) than in Mr. & Mrs. Smith. The real-life couple (who shot this film last year while on their honeymoon) portray Vanessa and Roland, an estranged husband and wife traveling through France in the 1970s. Production took place on the island of Gozo off of Malta, and Jolie Pitt tells EW that if you are thinking such a dreamy-looking hotel and bar exists, you can forget it. “It’s this lovely and quiet island and we built the hotel and bar. Everyone who has seen the movie wants to go to that exact place — but it’s just the magic of film.” We don’t yet know what the central cause of the grief that’s tearing this pair apart, but it’s enough to inspire a lot of seriously rough-looking kicks and slaps and a crumpled Jolie Pitt on the floor. Harry Nilsson’s “Perfect Day” plays over this trailer, but we’re guessing not-so-much.
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Tsarina Angelina: Jolie snaps up film rights to torrid tale of Catherine the Great's love trysts in the Winter Palace sauna
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- Published on Tuesday, 07 July 2015 03:34
- Written by Daily mail
Angelina Jolie is set to play the nymphomaniac Catherine the Great in a new drama about the Russian empress’s scandalous love life.The Oscar-winner has bought the rights to British historian Simon Sebag Montefiore’s bestselling book about Catherine’s ‘secret’ and very open marriage to the flamboyant and ambitious Grigory Potemkin.The character is something of a dream come true for Jolie, who has made no secret of her quest for meaty female roles. She played Queen Olympias in Oliver Stone’s 2004 Alexander The Great biopic and the title role in last year’s Maleficent – and has been on the lookout for another regal role ever since.Sebag Montefiore said: ‘I am thrilled that Angelina has optioned the book because it was my first book and it was very much a labour of love.‘Catherine is the ultimate feminist hero. I feel very safe with Angelina in charge of it.’His book, Catherine The Great And Potemkin: The Imperial Love Affair, was published in 2000 and drew on 5,000 previously unpublished love letters between the pair.
Catherine ascended the Russian throne in 1762 following a coup in which her husband, Tsar Peter III, was murdered. Potemkin was one of the conspirators and Catherine’s enemies always claimed she was involved in the Tsar’s death.The Empress – whose 27-year reign is regarded as a golden era in Russian history – was also a sexually liberated woman who embarked on affairs with countless men.Her enemies used her sexual conquests against her and branded her a nymphomaniac.But the highly educated Catherine was particularly infatuated with Potemkin, with whom she enjoyed secret trysts in the sauna of St Petersburg’s Winter Palace.The couple, who were alleged to have married in secret, became co-rulers of the Russian Empire.Sebag Montefiore said: ‘Catherine and Potemkin had history’s greatest love affair. They were both brilliant people who were totally equal and totally balanced.‘They were the great loves of each other’s lives and, in effect, they were one of the most successful political couples in the whole of history. By comparison, Antony and Cleopatra were a disaster whose relationship ended with failure and suicide.’He added that Potemkin ‘was a wild character who ruled like a sultan. He travelled with gardens which were planted every night by thousands of serfs’.How much Jolie’s production company paid for the rights is being kept a commercial secret, but one source described it as a ‘high five-figure sum’.
Jolie was first linked to the role of Catherine the Great in a separate movie mooted more than a decade ago, but that never materialised. And although the actress is being linked to the role in this new production, it is also possible that she might prefer to remain behind the camera as producer. She has already directed two films, including last year’s Unbroken, and she has made no secret of the fact that she is considering giving up acting.It is also unclear whether this adaptation would be for TV or film. If Jolie does take on the role, she will be following in the footsteps of Marlene Dietrich, Bette Davis, Tallulah Bankhead, Catherine Deneuve and Catherine Zeta-Jones, who have all played the Empress in the past.Bea Hemming, editorial director of Weidenfeld & Nicolson which published Sebag Montefiore’s book, said: ‘We’re delighted at the news that this magnificent biography has been optioned.‘Simon always brings the drama and intensity of cinema to his writing, so it will be thrilling to see his work brought to life on screen.’
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