I’ve always believed that out of all of her children, Angelina Jolie probably had the closest bond with her son Maddox. For several years there, it was just Angelina and Maddox against the world. They traveled together, they did everything together and they basically chose Brad Pitt together. The tabloids have always tried to claim that several of the Jolie-Pitt children are interested in acting and getting into the Hollywood world in bigger ways, but I always kind of rejected that notion. But at it turns out, Maddox really does want to get involved… somehow. And Angelina is adapting a Cambodian book and she plans on directing it… with Maddox taking on some kind of part in the production.
First Brad Pitt – now Angelina Jolie Pitt is coming to Netflix! The Oscar-winning actress will direct, produce and co-write an adaptation of Cambodian author Loung Ung’s memoir First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers, PEOPLE can confirm.
“I was deeply affected by Loung’s book,” Jolie Pitt, 40, said in a statement about the project, described as an unflinching portrayal of war seen through the eyes of a child. “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 explained.
Jolie Pitt’s son Maddox, 13, – who was born in Cambodia – is said to be involved in the production of the movie.
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.”
The project, which will be released in both Khmer and English, will bring the author and human rights activist’s story of surviving the deadly Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s to life on the streaming service. Jolie Pitt’s first full-length directorial feature In the Land of Blood and Honey was also released in two languages. Last month it was revealed that Jolie Pitt’s husband, Brad, would be releasing his next movie War Machine.
I wonder if Maddox is going to act in it or if he’ll just be working on the production in another capacity, learning the movie making process from behind the camera. While I don’t doubt that Angelina feels a strong connection to this story and feels passionately about telling the story, I also think she’s probably going to use this as an excuse to bring the family to Cambodia for several months. Which sounds awesome.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
A remarkable story about a remarkable woman is going to be directed by another remarkable woman.
I read this book as part of my international relations degree and I can tell you it will make you cry. The horrors that happened at that time is just horrific.
One question I always ask is why the western world did nothing? Why didn’t they do anything when millions were killed? Why aren’t they doing anything now when a similar situation is happening in Sri Lanka with the Tamils?
Is it because these two countries don’t have oil?
PS: another inspiring female Angelina is close friends with and which no one knew about. And yet Angelina haters claim that she has no friends especially female friends. She is close friends with women like Loung Ung, Marianne Pearl, Jane Goodall, Queen Rania etc women who are respected and admired for their inner strength and purpose in life.
PPS: the Jolie Pitts just keeps making good movies. So Brad has the War movie for Netflix & Marion Cotillard movie, Angelina has this new movie, the one with Catherine the Great and Africa with Brad.
It also seems that Maddox is interested in working behind the scenes which in totally cool. I think the children are going to like their parents – humanitarian work plus a successful career at whatever they chose to do.
I’m excited to see this film being made. When I was very young, I had a friend who’d escaped the war when she was just a toddler. I was too young to understand the hardship she’d endured and we never discussed it really. The closest we got to talking about it was when she shared the only childhood picture she had of herself, standing in a muddy field, so tiny and dirty, wearing only a diaper, looking up wide-eyed at someone taking the picture. She said that this was when they were escaping. But that’s all I knew. Her English was broken and my Cambodian was non-existent.
But on a positive note, she and her family lived for free in a lovely home and were provided a generous stipend to live on while the kids went to school and dealt with the intense culture shock of moving to America. It was hard but you could see, over the years that she relaxed some and became as normal as a person can coming from that situation.
From one IR student to another, thanks also to your review here, I want to read this book now before Angie adapts it to the screen.
Is it official that we’re supposed to call her Angelina Jolie Pitt now? If People does, it’s probably per her publicist’s suggestion?
I think it’s official because both for her humanitarian work and now career the statements are in Jolie – Pitt.
She doesn’t have a publicist but the nqmecAngelina Jolie Pitt has been seen on her name plate during her humanitarian conferences and in other U.N related articles.
I recently was able to travel to Cambodia, it’s a beautiful place and locals seem to hold Angelina in high regard. One of the temples is more commonly known at the Tomb Raider temple there, because of her.
I travelled to Cambodia last year as well. Seeing the genocide museum and the killing fields broke my heart.
man, I love Cambodia–I love Cambodian people. But they are a traumatized people, that’s for sure.
@GreenieWeenie do you feel like saying more about that? I’m interested in the topic.
I was just thinking about that, haha. I liked getting up early and taking pics at sunrise by the temples and I remember overhearing tour guides who called themselves Angelina Jolie/Brad Pitt, etc.
i’m glad that she’s involving Cambodians in the key positions. will this be like ITLOBAH where she’ll be employing all Cambodian cast?
also glad to see “hollywood” movie about lesser-known conflict zones (not just the main european theaters of WWII, etc)
A movie was already made. 1984.
A small project close to her heart is a great way to develop her skills behind the camera and the Netflix partnership is smart. And, yes, a great way to enjoy time in Cambodia!
I am pretty sure I will be getting an email that my subscription is going to be increasing. And you know what, with the projects they have been announcing, I am okay with that.
Unbroken is a lacklustre movie to me, so I’m not terribly excited about Angie’s directing chops. But I love that she picks these interesting stories to tell which are undoubtedly also close to her heart.
K i keep thinking i can’t love & admire this woman any more, but then she keeps doing stuff like this. I love that she spoke of Rithy Panh. I read his book earlier this year and it knocked me on my azz for a couple of days, it affected & taught & made me think so much. She’s bringing personal accounts of the horrors of war like these to the attention of more and more people and i think that is such a valuable contribution to the world- to the cause of peace. gawd she’s amazing
Hollywood/the media won’t be interested in seeing of the non-white Jolie-Pitt children acting. That’s the sad truth. But it sounds like he has done BTS works in production before, so that’s probably what he wants to do.
Sounds interesting, wonder when it’s going to be filmed. Brads schedule seems pretty tight right now. Maybe between War Machine and the movie with Marion?
I think it was Dateline said it will start filming at the end of this year but who knows.
I suppose we will have to wait and see. They seem pretty good at organizing their schedules. Outside of Fury and Unbroken they have been going back and forth for years. Maybe someone will ask them when they promote BTS
I know Jolie is reverred on this site however it is celebitchy and I have to say as much as I want to like Jolie I just don’t. There’s something about her I find very polarizing plus I dont find her all that attractive. She always has such a haughty look about her and comes across as a very dark person. This does sound like an interesting project and I hope she’s able to do it justice. I would love to go to Cambodia. The Killing Field was such a tragic and horrific film.
Yeah I’m with you I don’t revere Saint Angie either. A lot of the people here act like she is some kind of Second Coming. I think her acting is mediocre and I dunno about her talent as a director, never saw the movies she directed. Her humanitarian work is awesome but I don’t see the need to fawn over her because of it. I’m not really excited about this Netflix thing but we’ll see.
Saint Angie? Really?
@Firebomber, @ Amy M, Remember you are entitled to your opinion. We who are Angelina Jolie Pitt’s fans admire her and is happy to see that she has grown up to be a loving, and kind human being. In the big game of life, Angelina Jolie Pitt will always have fans all over the world whether you like her or not.
Life is good. Brad and Angelina have been together for over ten years, and they are still going strong. It’s time for the haters to move long, Brad never goes backward, always ahead.
Let me share with you a comment I read from another site in relation to your post, “Shes never denied that her teens and early adulthood was a dark period for her, in that she internalized a lot of negative emotion and even acted -out in a way that was harmful only to herself. Never others. Actually, it is not unusual for artists to have this angst inside them, apparently more so than ordinary, dull, nonartisitc folks…..I’m sure youre familiar with the type.
But interestingly, despite this dark period she never hurt anyone but herself, tho, which is very telling about her fundamental character, which is one of great empathy.
Because when she grew up and shed the darkness (or rather, learned to exercise greater control over it), the world was able to see the love and light that she is full of.
I understand your negative view of her………it is usually the result of those who cannot bear to see the love and light that others are capable of. It makes the viewer feel inadequate and they lash out in anger. Often of the passive-aggressive variety.”
We’ll have to agree to disagree. I think she has always been a very honest person who genuinely wants to do good and help people. She is doing that through her humanitarian work but also through the projects she takes on as a director. She is adding her celebrity to a project that wouldn’t receive the attention otherwise. She walks the talk and people appreciate her because of that.
I read this a long time ago, I think I picked it up at the library. It would make a good movie, it was very sad and terrible.
As usual her rabid fan base come to her defence and throw insults. Isnt anyone allowed an honest opinion? Why take it as though personal?
no one threw insults.. just stated a different opinion.
and I have said many time before. Most fans have had many many years of reading attacks and very nasty things. Perhaps we are a bit overly sensitive. But there is a long history behind it.