Angelina Jolie Plagiarism Lawsuit: 'Land Of Blood And Honey' Director Denies Charge

Angelina Jolie has responded to charges that she stole the idea for her new Yugoslav War film, "In The Land Of Blood And Honey," from a book published in 2007 by author James Braddock.

"There are many books and documentaries that I did pull from. It's a combination of many people's stories," she told the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday. "But that particular book I've never seen."

The book, "A Soul Shattering," features the story of Bosnian women stuck in rape camps during the mid-to-late 90's war. Jolie's film features a twisted love story between a Serbian soldier and a Bosnian woman who is imprisoned in his camp. Braddock claims that he met with a producer named Eden Sarkic number of times to discuss adapting the book to film, giving her ideas that he says were then used in "Blood and Honey." Sarkic produced the film with Jolie.

The actress/director, a longtime human rights advocate, has said that she was hit with the idea when she was sick at home, leading her to write the entire script very quickly. She's also stressed how important authenticity in the film was to her, leading to collaboration from the cast and crew.

For more, click over to the LA Times.

Comments

[justoverit333]

09:10 AM on 12/12/2011

Give me a break. The guy wasn't successful getting his book produced to film, so anyone who does a movie about the subject matter stole it from him? Sore loser. I'm anxious to see this film.

[iconico62]

03:56 AM on 12/12/2011

If you think of it, all ideas have been said before at one time or the other. I believe her when she said her ideas came from various sources, not just one. Ultimately, this is a movie. It is not a documentary. To get an authetic feel for that region and its inhabitants, she wisely decided to have local actors who have some sense of what is being depicted in the movie to improvise some of their lines as well. The final movie is more a collaborative effort of the film's principals and not just Jolie.

[oregongurl]

01:46 AM on 12/11/2011

I don't think this a movie I am going to see. I also didn't need to see Schindlers List or Lfe is Beautiful.

[2B]

11:16 PM on 12/10/2011

What about the title of the movie? The Land of Blood and Honey: The Rise of Modern Israel by Martin van Creveld, which was published in 2010.

[JuliaMac]

10:00 PM on 12/11/2011

2B, you cannot copyright a title. There are plenty of titles that get recycled by authors and publishers. Land of Blood and Honey is an old moniker for the region. It wasn't original to van Crevald either.

[2B]

12:42 PM on 12/12/2011

My point wasn't about copyright. It was about originality. I wouldn't use another person's title. No one is going to confuse AJ's film with van Creveld's book so there's no cause for a lawsuit, and I wasn't suggesting there should be. If I were advising AJ, I would have researched that title and told her to find another one. There are folks who perceive her as less than "clean," and if I were in her shoes, I'd not add fuel to the fire, including the sparks that appear in the press saying she is obsessed with blood, that she saves bloody bandaids from her kid's booboos, thinking it's edgy art, and her well-known fondness for knives and self-inflicted wounds. If she is going to establish herself as sainted, she might make better choices. That's all.

[riverhouse]

10:11 PM on 12/10/2011

I don't believe putting forth a premise that in a brutal war a woman would fall in love with her rapist is a proper and good idea to put forth to young girls and women.

[JuliaMac]

10:04 PM on 12/11/2011

riverhouse, why do you persist in repeating this lie? Is there something wrong with you? You know full well that it is not about a woman falling in love with her rapist. In fact, the lead actor who met and fell in love with the lead actress before the war even begins tries to protect her against rape.

Do you really think that repeating your lie will convince people it is true? Repeating stupid lies is not a proper and good idea to put forth to young girls.

[Reveuse]

09:57 AM on 12/10/2011

"Remember the fuss some people in Bosnia made about Jolie and her movie?
" THE FUSS"????? This is the education that Jolie is giving to the young generation. I have to say that the spreading of false information and banalisation of the balkan genocide have begun.

[Karama]

10:44 AM on 12/10/2011

What false information and banalisation of the Balkan genocide? Do you know better than the people there who have been through the madness and have seen the movie? Maybe you are also from there, so maybe you can be more specific.

[Karama]

01:20 AM on 12/10/2011

Remember the fuss some people in Bosnia made about Jolie and her movie?
They objected to details of the plot, alleging it was about love between a rapist and his victim.

The film tells a tale of love between a Serb man and a Muslim woman before the Bosnian war, who later meet in different circumstances - he is an army officer and she is his detainee.

"Jolie quiets Bosnian critics with war film screening"

http://m.ibtimes.com/jolie-angelina-264903.html

The film was screened to representatives of victims' associations and elicited positive reactions from some of Jolie's toughest critics.

"She has made a fantastic film for Bosnia and Herzegovina..."
"Two hours of film is not enough time to show all (the horrors of the war), but I think Angelina managed to do it."
"The film is so strong, so difficult, it would be stronger if it was shot in Bosnia."

Another story I found is "Bosnian war victims praise Angelina Jolie's movie," but the link is so long.

[moyramartin]

09:34 PM on 12/09/2011

Garbage.

[persimmon8]

04:13 PM on 12/09/2011

More Angelina Jolie drama...she seems to create it just by existing...poor thing!

[CoffeeOnIce]

12:32 PM on 12/09/2011

The bigger concern is that the overwhelming majority of depictions of the war that come out of Hollywood reinforce inaccurate perceptions of the area, the conflict, and the people. Human rights ambassador does not mean expert in the field, and it concerns me that this is going to be yet another case of inadvertently spreading false information and exploiting victims while Hollywood and fans lavish praise and money on their celebrity idol.

[Reveuse]

03:04 PM on 12/09/2011

Accurately said!!! Many cannot seem to grasp that concept for one reason or another.

[persimmon8]

04:36 PM on 12/09/2011

cause many of AJ fans do not score high in the maturity range.

[Karama]

01:37 AM on 12/10/2011

Let's see what CoffeeOnIce said! ..not an expert in the field.. another case of spreading false information.. exploiting victims..

Do you still think all that is accurate?

[Karama]

01:26 AM on 12/10/2011

You can stop being concerned! It looks like you criticized Jolie's movie too early.

[Quai DOrsay]

10:40 AM on 12/09/2011

WTF !!!!... That vein is about to pop tho

[method]

01:51 PM on 12/09/2011

kinda scary looking. She looks like that creature on Star Trek

[riverhouse]

10:08 PM on 12/10/2011

It's the mark of an anorexic.

[J Osteen]

09:42 PM on 12/11/2011

That's her mud vein - it throbs and grows bigger with every lie she tells.

[DaniFoxy]

09:26 AM on 12/09/2011

sad

[Lauren Kottwitz]

03:35 AM on 12/09/2011

That vein in her head... yowza.

[J Osteen]

07:51 AM on 12/09/2011

That's her mud vein.

































But what's with the greasy gack all over her face all the time ?

[lsgas]

04:00 PM on 12/10/2011

LMAO, she's just a greasy woman. Snuff said. I love all your comments, you should write comedy.

[notaniceguy]

11:12 PM on 12/08/2011

Angie has tats, no apparent education, dated 30+ older Jagger, discusses sex in public so officially she qualifies for a rich blip . And that guy, Brad.. she ownes him.

[hot crispy]

12:44 AM on 12/09/2011

Bravo sums it all ..lets take her to court

[notaniceguy]

12:19 PM on 12/09/2011

Good post,crispy. No court needed. Just take this TrTr off TV or at least limit to movies where I have a choice not to watch them. :)

[method]

01:52 PM on 12/09/2011

And yet she represents the USA as ambassaor to some third world country. Hope pathetic is that?

[Karama]

10:39 PM on 12/08/2011

The premiere in LA is about to start, right now.

If you want to see the video of an "Extra" interview, AJ with the two main stars, here is the link. Scroll down a bit more than halfway.

http://jjb.yuku.com/topic/676448/Angelina-Brad-6-On-Board?page=924

(credit funnyyale26)