Maddox Jolie-Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s eldest son, is joining the family business!
The 13-year-old is set to be a part of the production team for author Loung Ung’s memoir, First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers. Mom and Academy Award winner Angelina Jolie will direct, produce and co-write the new movie.
Jolie released in a statement,
”I was deeply affected by Loung’s book. 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.”
The film will be released in two languages: Khmer and English. This is similar to Jolie’s directorial debut film, In the Land of Blood and Honey, which was also released in two languages as well.
The memoirs of Ung follow how the Khmer Rouge took power in Cambodia when she was just 5 years old. Soon after, she was trained as a child soldier in a work camp for orphans, while her other six siblings were sent off to labor camps.
Jolie read the book over a decade ago, and afterwards contacted and became friends with Ung.
Ung explained, “Angelina and I met in 2001 in Cambodia, and immediately, I trusted Angelina’s heart. 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.”
One thing Jolie is doing differently this time around is partnering with Netflix. She said,
“Films like this are hard to watch but important to see, 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.”
Chief content offer Ted Sarandos said,
”We are proud to be with Angelina Jolie in brining this emotionally powerful and ultimately uplifting story exclusively to Netflix members around the world. Loung Ung’s incredible journey is a testament to the human spirit and its ability to transcend even the toughest circumstances.”
Before First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers premieres, Jolie and Pitt fans can look forward to seeing the couple in Universal Pictures’ By the Sea, in which Jolie wrote and directed. Brad’s next big role is the movie War Machine, set to be released via Netflix soon.
Image: Via Flickr/Gage Skidmore
