Angelina Jolie has cast her “Eternals” co-star Salma Hayek Pinault in her latest directorial effort, an adaptation of Alessandro Baricco’s best-selling novel “Without Blood.” According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jolie also penned the script and will produce, in addition to her directing duties. Production is now underway.
The film marks her first project under the three-year deal she signed with Fremantle, who are also producing and will be distributing the feature worldwide.
The story follows a girl on a quest for revenge and healing during a time of conflict. Jolie, who has been attached to the project since 2017, said: “I’m honored to be here in Italy to bring this very special material to film, and to have been entrusted by Alessandro Baricco with the adaptation of his book — with its unique poetry and emotion and way of looking at war, and the questions it poses about what we search for after trauma or loss or injustice.”
There’s no word yet on the role Hayek Pinault is set to play. The “Frida” star’s other recent on-screen credits include Sally Potter’s “The Roads Not Taken,” and she has served as exec producer for a number of TV series including “Ugly Betty.”
Jolie is the director of narrative features “In the Land of Blood and Honey,” “Unbroken,” “By the Sea,” and “First They Killed My Father,” which was nominated for a Best Film Not in the English Language BAFTA, and the documentary “A Place in Time.” She won a Best Supporting Actress for her role in “Girl, Interrupted.”