Already an Oscar-winner and one of the highest paid, most bankable actresses alive, Angelina Jolie is branching out into writing and directing. And she couldn't be more scared.
Her screenwriting and behind-the-camera debut, the film is titled "In the Land of Blood and Honey" and, set against the Bosnian Civil War of the 1990s, has provided Jolie with a new level of professional and artistic risk taking.
"I've never felt more exposed. My whole career, I've hidden behind other people's words," Jolie tells Vanity Fair in their October cover story. "Now it's me talking. You feel ridiculous when you get something wrong."
Luckily, she has a rather accomplished Hollywood hand living with her that was able to give some advice -- whether she found it valuable or not.
"He'd come in and say what he liked or what he didn't understand," she says of partner Brad Pitt -- whom she says she has plans to marry at this time. "Like any woman, I would listen to most of it and fight a few things. He's been so supportive. But it's hard to separate the person that loves you from the critic, so I don't think he's a fair judge."
At one point, the film had a harsher set of critics.
In Bosnia, The Association of Women Victims of War, the powerful advocacy lobby working on behalf of those that suffered unspeakable mistreatment in mass rape camps set up during the war, protested the film, leading to the revocation of Jolie's permit to film within the country. Eventually, Jolie clarified her intent and viewpoint, and re-secure the permit, and shooting took place in Sarajevo; Hungary also served as one of the primary backdrops for production, especially while the permit was suspended.
The film, which was picked up for distribution by FilmDistrict, will hit theaters on December 23rd, right in the middle of prestige movie season and in time to qualify for Oscar consideration.
For more from Jolie, click over to Vanity Fair.
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