I suppose any true, card-carrying Brangeloonie will be happy about this news: Angelina Jolie has just signed on to direct her next film project. This will be her fourth directorial outing, following In the Land of Blood and Honey, Unbroken and By the Sea, which she is currently directing and acting in as we speak. But this news depresses me because it means that Angelina really is moving away in a major way from acting. She’s really just interested in directing now, which is fine and good for her. But I like my Angie in front of the camera too!! Anyway, her next film will be about ivory poachers in Africa:
Angelina Jolie has found her next movie to direct. The actress and now busy helmer has signed on to for Africa, an epic tale for David Ellison’s Skydance Productions. Written by Oscar winner Eric Roth, the pic is based on paleo-archaeologist Richard Leakey’s late-’80s battle with ivory poachers in Kenya that threatened the existence of the African elephant population and the soul of Africa.
Ellison, Jolie, Dana Goldberg and Jon Peters will produce. The pic also reteams cinematographer Roger Deakins and Jolie after the pair did the Louis Zamperini biopic Unbroken, which Universal releases on Christmas Day. The plan is to ramp up production on Africa soon after Jolie wraps her current gig, directing her script By The Sea for Universal in which she stars opposite husband Brad Pitt.
Her first feature helming effort, 2011’s In The Land Of Blood And Honey, served as her calling card and garnered a Golden Globe nom and the PGA’s Stanley Kramer Award, which honors filmmakers who illuminate social issues. That jibes with the idea behind Africa, as both Jolie and Ellison are involved in humanitarian causes and Jolie won the Movie Academy’s Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award last year.
“I’ve felt a deep connection to Africa and its culture for much of my life, and was taken with Eric’s beautiful script about a man drawn into the violent conflict with elephant poachers who emerged with a deeper understanding of man’s footprint and a profound sense of responsibility for the world around him,” Jolie said in today’s announcement.
Added Ellison: “Based on Richard Leakey’s inspirational life, Africa is a story that deserves to be told. It is very close to my heart, and I know that it will exceed my expectations in Angelina’s hands. She is an incredibly talented filmmaker and is sure to turn Eric Roth’s impeccable script into the project I’ve always wanted Skydance to be involved in.”
I like that this is going to be based on a true story, on Richard Leakey’s real-life battle. When I first glanced at the headline, I worried that it was going to be, like, Beyond Borders 2: This Time With Elephants. I tried to watch Beyond Borders, really, but even I couldn’t get through that mess. As for this story… I’m assuming that Angelina will not be directing herself in a role. It’s probably going to be like Unbroken, where Angelina pursued this project as just a directing gig. I wonder who will be cast as Leakey? Hm… looking at photos of him on Google. It will be someone British. She should totally get Benedict Cumberbatch. OMG. In truth, she should get someone like Colin Firth.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
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