Angelina Jolie To Direct Elephant Poaching Pic ‘Africa’
By Angie Han/Sept. 19, 2014 2:00 pm EST
Skydance Production has just signed Jolie to helm Africa, scripted by Oscar winner Eric Roth (Forrest Gump) based on the true tale of paleo-archaeologist Richard Leakey. Hit the jump for more about Angelina Jolie directing Africa.
Depending on how things go, this could mean we’ll have dueling elephant poaching dramas in the nearish future. Warner Bros. has been prepping its own Africa-set anti-poaching movie with Tobey Maguire, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Tom Hardy for some time now. Will Staples was set to script that one last month.
Jolie and Skydance CEO David Ellison will produce Africa along with Dana Goldberg and Jon Peters. Roger Deakins (Skyfall) is on board as cinematographer, so Africa should look good at the very least. He also shot Jolie’s Unbroken.
In a statement, Jolie explained what attracted her to the project:
I’ve felt a deep connection to Africa and its culture for much of my life, and was taken with Eric’s beautiful script about a man drawn into the violent conflict with elephant poachers who emerged with a deeper understanding of man’s footprint and a profound sense of responsibility for the world around him.
