Films, News, Women Directors, Women Writers

Angelina Jolie’s Next Moves: Acting, Directing, and Producing Gigs

Angelina Jolie in “By the Sea”

Angelina Jolie isn’t leaving Hollywood anytime soon. While many reports have indicated that the multi-hyphenate is stepping away from the business to focus on her humanitarian work, the fact that the Oscar winner has a number of projects in the works suggests otherwise. Jolie’s latest directorial effort, Netflix’s “First They Killed My Father,” had its Cambodian premiere just days ago, and there’s already word of her follow-up to the project. The Hollywood Reporter writes that she’s developing “Without Blood” as a directing vehicle. She’s also in talks to star in both a spy drama and a film centered on Catherine the Great. And she’s signed on to produce an upcoming Disney film.

The “Maleficent” actress has a number of acting offers on the table, and is in “active development” on two high-profile Universal projects, both of which are big screen adaptations of nonfiction books: “The Spy Who Loved,” a WWII-set espionage drama based on Clare Mulley’s book, and a film focused on Russia’s longest-reigning female sovereign, Catherine the Great, based on a book by Simon Sebag Montefiore. Jolie’s production company, Jolie Pas, optioned the rights to the latter back in 2015.

“All the while, she is quietly prepping what may be her next directing vehicle: an adaptation of Alessandro Baricco’s 2004 novel ‘Without Blood,’ which chronicles the cruelties of an unnamed war,” THR writes.

Jolie will also serve as a producer on Disney’s “The One and Only Ivan,” an adaptation of Katherine Applegate’s award-winning children’s book that follows a silverback gorilla who lives in a mall. Her other producing credits include “Difret” and her own films, such as “By the Sea” and “Unbroken.”

While she’s signed on to star in Disney’s “Maleficent 2,” it’s unclear when Jolie will reprise the role. THR writes that Jolie has the opportunity to star in Sony’s adaptation of Air Force Major Mary Jennings Hegar’s memoir “Shoot Like a Girl: How One Woman’s War Against the Taliban Led to Her Victory Over the Department of Defense.” The book focuses on Hegar’s time serving three tours in Afghanistan, during which the rescue helicopter pilot was taken down mid-rescue mission and shot by the Taliban. She not only saved the three Americans who were the original targets of the rescue mission, but also eventually escaped containment by hanging onto the skids of a helicopter like a goddamn action hero. “It’s the kind of role [Jolie] gravitates toward, because it’s a courageous woman,” the film’s producer, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, told THR. But it remains to be seen whether Jolie will commit to the project.

Netflix hasn’t revealed a premiere date for “First They Killed My Father” just yet. According to its official synopsis, the film, based on Cambodian human rights activist Loung Ung’s book, offers “an unflinching portrayal of the Khmer Rouge’s reign of terror and genocide from the view of a five-year-old survivor cut off from her family in 1975.” Check out a video of Jolie discussing the project below.


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