Angelina Jolie Planning To Write & Direct A Film About The Afghanistan War

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by Kevin Jagernauth
November 28, 2011 4:20 PM
7 Comments

With a new movie to promote, Angelina Jolie took a rare in depth, on camera interview with "60 Minutes" this weekend and the results were mostly of the vague comment variety that celeb blogs love to speculate on about endlessly. We learn the startling revelation that Jolie was "chubby" as a kid (JUST LIKE REGULAR PEOPLE) and had "big lips." She also alluded to her earlier "heavy, darker times" without explaining any of it (not even that weird vial of blood she wore around her neck circa Billy Bob Thornton). Oh yeah, and she claims "I'm still a bad girl." Riveting. But amongst the mostly empty piece, the folks over at CBS did manage to get one interesting morsel of news out of their interview.

Of course, there is no direct quote, but they report that Jolie isn't done with controversial material just yet and is planning to write and direct a war movie set in Afghanistan. Of course, what that actually will entail remains to be seen. But the area and the people have been of particular importance for the actress and now, director. As the United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees, in 2001 she visited with Afghan refugees fleeing the conflict in the area in Pakistan. She visited Afghanistan in 2008 and this year as well, to keep up on progress in the nation. As anyone knows, humanitarian work has been as much a job as acting for Jolie and this new project seems to fit very comfortably in her wheelhouse.

But of course, any future directing gigs will likely depend on the success of "In The Land Of Blood & Honey." And while she is nervous "that people are going to not understand it" -- with the story centering on the unlikely romance between a female Muslim prisoner and her Serb commandant -- advance word has been very strong. She's well aware that the film will have limited commercial prospects, given its dark subject matter and particularly as it goes out to theaters in its original Bosnian/Serbian/Croation lanuage version, but being behind camera is a new world that appeals to her.

"I loved having the spotlight on somebody else. And I would much prefer it," she said. But like it or not, the spotlight is on her for now. "In The Land Of Blood & Honey" kicks off a qualifying run on December 23rd and will open wider in 2012. The full interview is below.

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justin mcord | April 28, 2012 5:08 AMReply

Angelina Jolie is directing a film based in Afghanistan and has casted an undiscovered Iranian actress Sahar Biniaz to play the role of Soraya.
sveta | March 10, 2012 4:09 PMReply

Hope you include afgan s custom bacha bazi (male pedophilia) in your film.
T | December 4, 2011 2:36 PMReply

n/a
ska-triumph | November 29, 2011 11:01 AMReply

You know this is the second time I'm looking at this interview. One, I'm not surprised by her move into these films - after A MIGHTY HEART, her UN-refugee/humanitarian work, her recent tenpercentery sign-up - but what hit me was the FUNERAL DIRECTOR take. As strange as it sounds in retro, wouldn't that be an awesome film to watch? Jolie as a funeral director in whatever-town-makes-sense?
padre | November 28, 2011 9:14 PMReply

SUPERSTAR and GODDESS Angelina Jolie!!! BOW TO HER!!! Conquering the directing world just like she conquered all other actresses to get to the top of the heap! IN YOUR FACE HATERS!!!
rohan | November 28, 2011 5:48 PMReply

Count me in! I was born in Afghanistan, I know the language and can speak few more languages. I am an screenwriter, I have been thinking to write something about Afghan war, for it is going to be a fascinating film. I remember my childhood and I know what little essential details that Hollywood misses whenever they make a film about Afghanistan. For example, The Kite Runner, a good film indeed, Marc Forster is a good director, and the story is a great story, but there were many essentials points missing and that did no justice to the Afghan culture. The beginning of the film, I am talking about the credits didn't had the right Afghan music, and some actors were actually Iranian actors, not that they were doing anything wrong on the screen, but the accent was not there. I am going to follow up on Ms. Jolie's project and see if it is possible to get to her so I can contribute as well to help her and bring something magnificent on the screen.
KitCon | November 28, 2011 5:08 PMReply

If she also wants to cast ethnic Afghans and film in the region to maintain authenticity, that could be very interesting. They may not need special effects for explosions since they'll be surrounded by the real thing.