Angelina Jolie To Direct An Unflinching Portrayal Of War Through The Eyes Of A Child

Angelina Jolie Pitt will direct an adaptation of First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers, a harrowing and poignant 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 Original Film from a script she co-adapted with Ung. Acclaimed Cambodian director and producer Rithy Panh, director of the Oscar-nominated Best Foreign Language film The Missing Picture, will also be a producer.

The film will be made available to members of the world’s leading Internet TV network in late 2016 and will be submitted to major international festivals.

Loung Ung was five years old when the Khmer Rouge assumed power over Cambodia in 1975 and began a four-year reign of terror and genocide in which nearly two 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 and they became close friends. Together they adapted the book into a screenplay.

“I was deeply affected by Loung’s book,” commented Jolie Pitt. “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.” She added, “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,” commented author Loung Ung. “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.”

Loung Ung is currently writing her first novel, and is a co-owner of Market Garden Brewery in Cleveland, Ohio. Since 1995, Loung has made over 30 trips back to Cambodia and has devoted herself to helping her native land heal from the traumas of war. Loung’s other works include Lucky Child and Lulu in the Sky. She was also a contributing writer on the groundbreaking film, Girl Rising.

First They Killed My Father will begin production later this year in Cambodia and will precede Jolie Pitt’s filming of Africa which focuses on paleo-anthropologist Dr. Richard Leakey’s decades-long fight to save Africa from the illegal wildlife trade. Africa was postponed to provide additional time to get the script finalized and all production elements lined up properly to provide for the ambitious scope of the film. Jolie Pitt remains committed to making the film and continues her strong support of Dr. Leakey, the people of Kenya and ending wildlife crime and the illegal wildlife trade.

Jolie Pitt is currently in post-production on By The Sea, an adult drama written and directed by Jolie Pitt, starring Jolie Pitt and Brad Pitt, that 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. Jolie Pitt made her feature directorial debut with In the Land of Blood and Honey.

Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie Pitt (/dʒoʊˈliː/ joh-lee; née Voight; June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, and humanitarian. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and has been cited as Hollywood's highest-paid actress. Jolie made her screen debut as a child alongside her father, Jon Voight, in Lookin' to Get Out (1982). Her film career began in earnest a decade later with the low-budget production Cyborg 2 (1993), followed by her first leading role in a major film, Hackers (1995). She starred in the critically acclaimed biographical television films George Wallace (1997) and Gia (1998), and won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the drama Girl, Interrupted (1999).

Jolie's starring role as the video game heroine Lara Croft in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) established her as a leading Hollywood actress. She continued her successful action-star career with Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), Wanted (2008), and Salt (2010), and received critical acclaim for her performances in the dramas A Mighty Heart (2007) and Changeling (2008), which earned her a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Actress. Beginning in the 2010s, she expanded her career by directing and producing the wartime dramas In the Land of Blood and Honey (2011) and Unbroken (2014). Her biggest commercial success came with the fantasy picture Maleficent (2014).

In addition to her film career, Jolie is noted for her humanitarian efforts, for which she has received a Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and an honorary damehood of the Order of St Michael and St George (DCMG), among other honors. She promotes various causes, including conservation, education, and women's rights, and is most noted for her advocacy on behalf of refugees as a Special Envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). As a public figure, Jolie has been cited as one of the most influential and powerful people in the American entertainment industry, as well as the world's most beautiful woman, by various media outlets. Her personal life is the subject of wide publicity. Divorced from actors Jonny Lee Miller and Billy Bob Thornton, she is now married to actor Brad Pitt. They have six children together, three of whom were adopted internationally.

Brad Pitt’s Black Eye: From Angelina Jolie? Did He Cheat?

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Brad Pitt was photographed sporting a NASTY black eye on April 25, and while he claims the bruising is just the result of a clumsy fall, a new report about his marriage problems has sparked speculation that Angelina Jolie may have had something to do with it. Ouch!

Is there trouble in paradise between Brad Pitt, 51, and Angelina Jolie? Angie is reportedly growing furious with her husband’s behavior, which includes an alleged marijuana-filled, naked night in a hot tub with other women while she was nowhere in sight! But could the actress possibly be behind that black eye Brad’s recently been sporting?!

Brad Pitt Black Eye From Angelina Jolie?: Did He Cheat?

The night in question actually occurred last summer, just weeks before the couple’s Aug. 23 wedding, InTouch reports. Throughout the evening, Brad reportedly got completely naked with a woman in his hot tub!

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“Brad casually told Angelina he was naked and shared joins with some friends in the hot tub, as if it was no big deal,” the mag’s source claims. “Angie couldn’t believe her ears. She still has a lot of wild child in her, but she’s very territorial and jealous when it comes to Brad and other women.”

Even though this night took place over a year ago, it caused the 39-year-old to question her trust in her man, and he’s exhibited more behavior since, like smoking cigarettes and, reportedly, marijuana, that’s continued to irritate Angie. “She truly believed Brad when he swore to her more than a year ago that his days of getting stoned were long behind him,” the insider says.

Things have taken a turn for the worst over the last few weeks. On April 19, Brad was caught smoking a cigarette on-set in New Orleans, and one day later, Angie was photographed looking stressed while visiting him.

Brad’s bruised face sighting came just five days later, and while he claims it was just from tripping while running up the stairs, these new relationship revelations have led to speculation that there’s more to the story.

Could Brad really have been cheating, causing Angie to go berserk!? We seriously hope not!

Angelin Jolie Removes Ovaries After Cancer Scare: “I Will Not Be Able To Have More Children”

Despite all this drama throughout the last year, Angie and Brad did ban together for a very important purpose in January — she had her ovaries and Fallopian tubes removed after a blood test showed early signs of cancer.

The decision was, of course, an emotional one, but, as Angie explained in an op-ed for the New York Times, “I feel feminine and grounded in the choices I am making for myself and my family. I know my children will never have to say, ‘Mom died of ovarian cancer.'”

She also added that she won’t be able to have any more biological children because of the procedure, as she’s not in menopause. “But I feel at east with whatever will come, not because I am strong, but because this is a part of life,” she assured readers. “It is nothing to be feared.”

Angelina Jolie: Revealing Your Ovary Removal Surgery Will Save Women’s Lives

Brad stood by Angie’s side throughout the entire process, and InTouch reports that it strengthened their relationship — until he started acting up again this Spring.

We truly hope everything works out between Brad and Angie and that that nasty bruising was just the result of a fluke fall!

HollywoodLifers, do you think Angie could’ve had something to do with Brad’s black eye? Do you believe he may have cheated?

WHOA! Hollywood is FURIOUS With What Angelina Jolie Said About Barack Obama

By TPIWriter |  3,624,891 views

There is every reason to believe Angelina Jolie is a liberal. She is a beautiful Hollywood actress who has served as United Nations Goodwill Ambassador since 2001. Her Husband, Brad Pitt, is a major donor and promoter of the Democratic Party and supporter of Barack Obama.

Which makes what Angelina said a huge shock. Jolie clearly takes after her father — the outspoken Jon Voight — when she expressed her dislike for President Obama in US Magazine.

Sources close to Angelina Jolie have come forward to say that she not only dislikes Obama, but thinks he’s a socialist. The quote from one source was, “She hates him. She’s into education and rehabilitation and thinks Obama is all about welfare and handouts. She thinks Obama is really a socialist in disguise.”

It is nice to find a talented actress who isn’t afraid to speak out against President Obama, which on the Hollywood Left Coast will cost her many friends and business opportunities. Maybe this is a sign that even Hollywood is starting to realize just how miserable this President is.

Doctors: Angelina Jolie did the right thing

(CNN)Angelina Jolie's decision to remove her breasts and ovaries to prevent cancer (as she detailed in today's New York Times op-ed) might sound extreme, but breast cancer experts say she was spot on.

"I understand what Angelina Jolie did, and I would have done it, too," said Dr. Otis Brawley, the chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society.

Brawley said if he were Jolie's doctor he would have advised her to do what she did because her mother, aunt, and grandmother all had ovarian cancer, and her mother had breast cancer as well.

Why did Angelina Jolie get her ovaries removed?

Why did Angelina Jolie get her ovaries removed? 02:55
Plus, Jolie has a gene that gives her about an 87% chance of getting breast cancer sometime in her life. "She has one of the particularly bad breast cancer genes," Brawley said.

The decision is made even easier by advances in breast reconstruction and by hormone treatments that help ease women into menopause, which is induced by removing the ovaries. The ovary surgery was a no-brainer, doctors say, and some wondered why she didn't do it sooner.

In her op-ed, Jolie explained that every year she's had a blood test called CA-125, to monitor for ovarian cancer. But that test often has false positives and false negatives, said Dr. Dr. Funmi Olopade, director of the Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics at the University of Chicago. "You really can't rely on it," she said.

Instead of screening, experts in cancer genetics recommend that women at a very high risk for ovarian cancer, like Jolie, remove their ovaries as soon as they're done having children. "I can't emphasize enough how important this is," Olopade said.

Olopade was glad to hear Tuesday morning that Jolie had decided to move forward. "What she's done is really important to save her life, because there's no way to detect ovarian cancer," she said.

The 'Angelina effect' on cancer

The 'Angelina effect' on cancer 02:22
Jolie's decision about her breasts (also documented in an op-ed), however, is not so clear cut, Olopade explained, because it would have been perfectly acceptable if Jolie had decided to keep her breasts and to get regular MRIs instead. "We have lots of survivors who went that route, and they've done well," she said.

Some made the decision to keep their breasts because they couldn't afford a good plastic surgeon for breast reconstruction, she added. "Celebrities have access to that kind of surgery, but that's not the life everyone lives," Olopade said.

Brawley added that Jolie's decision likely wouldn't be right for someone with a different kind of breast cancer gene mutation. For example, some women have a mutation that gives them a 15% chance of getting breast cancer in their lifetime. That's not much higher than the 12% chance a woman has of getting breast cancer even if she has no mutation at all.

He says he worries that some of these women with just a slightly increased risk will hear about Jolie's decision and want to remove their breasts, too. "To get surgery in their situation is really overkill," he said. "Most of these women would be just fine if they took tamoxifen for five years and got regular mammograms."

But all in all, doctors say they're glad Jolie has been so public with her decision making. "These very publicly shared medical sagas from respected figures play a very powerful role in creating these teachable moments," said Dr. Ken Offit, chief of clinical genetics at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.