MOVIE NEWS – Angelina Jolie, star of Gia and many other blockbuster films, has signed a 3-year deal with Fremantle to adapt the book Without Blood into a movie.

Angelina Jolie, the iconic Hollywood actress, has signed a deal with Fremantle to produce several films, TV series and documentaries. Her three-year international deal has given the actress the green light to produce, direct or star in each on a case-by-case basis, as she seeks to tell stories that are sophisticated, powerful and internationally focused, including local language projects.

The first project in Jolie’s deal will be an adaptation of Alessandro Baricco’s international bestseller Without Blood, which she will produce and direct in Italy.

The story of the bestseller is about “Manuel Roca’s enemies hunt him down to kill him, they fail to discover Nina, his youngest child, hidden in a hole beneath his farmhouse floor. After this carnage Tito, one of the murderers discovers Nina’s trapdoor. Enthralled by the sight of Nina’s perfect innocence, he keeps quiet. By the time she has grown up, Nina’s innocence will have bloomed into something else altogether, and one by one the wartime hunters will become the peacetime hunted.”

“I am excited to be working with such a passionate and forward-looking team that has an international perspective,” said Angelina Jolie. The “freedom to tell important stories and bring them to a global audience” is at the heart of her three-year contract, Deadline reports.

This deal is crucial to meeting one of Fremantle’s key growth objectives of signing top talent. The other, the acquisition of scripted indies, was completed yesterday with the unveiling of a 70% stake in 30-year-old Italian producer Lux Vide.

The deal kicked off a massive week for Fremantle. Global chief executive Jennifer Mullin and global chief operating officer Andrea Scrosati, along with Fremantle-backed De Maio Entertainment chief Lorenzo De Maio, are believed to be the minds behind the Jolie deal, with the latter a strategic partner and adviser on the project.

“Fremantle and Angelina share the passion and ambition of telling compelling stories from everywhere in the world, for everyone in the world. We embrace and support the creative independence of our partners and look forward to working with Angelina to bring powerful and unique stories to a global audience,” said Mullin.

Source: Deadline