Jolie's Hopes For Pearl Film
Angelina Jolie has expressed hope that a new film about the abduction and execution of Jewish journalist Daniel Pearl will help bring people closer together.
The actress, who plays Pearl’s wife Mariane in A Mighty Heart, said there were a number of political risks in making the movie but suggested it may help build bridges.
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Mariane was six months pregnant with their son Adam when her husband was kidnapped by militants while researching a story on shoe bomber Richard Reid She met Jolie when the pair arranged playdates for their children.
Jolie said: “Mariane has suffered the ugliest side of all that is going on in the world today and came out of it believing we cannot just be angry and blinded by hate, but must continue to have a dialogue.
“If I don’t represent her right, and people don’t see what a beautiful, strong, open-minded, loving woman she is, then I’ve done a disservice and hurt a really great woman.”
Work on the film began in 2003 after Jolie’s partner Brad Pitt read Mariane’s book and decided to turn it into a film through his production company Plan B Entertainment.
Director Michael Winterbottom said he tried his best to keep the film faithful to Mariane’s memoirs. “We started by following her descriptions of events,” he said, “then I tried to meet with everyone who was with her at the time. Each meeting added extra details to the story.”
Filming took place in France, where the couple married, India, where the Pearls were staying and Pakistan where Mariane’s husband was killed.
Jolie said she was aware of the political dangers in making the film, “We talked about the risks before we started filming, the security concerns and what it would mean politically if we got it wrong. We could anger more people and make it worse.
“But if by some small chance we get it right, maybe we can do a little something towards bringing people back together, or at least looking at each other in another light.”
Mariane herself was very please with the team working on the film. “I am delighted that Angelina Jolie is playing my role,” she said. “I deeply admire her work and what she is committed to. I am also happy that Michael Winterbottom, a versatile and talented director who genuinely loves truth, is working on this project.
“In his work, Danny struggled to keep free of dogma and alliance. He didn’t represent a country or a flag, just the pursuit of truth. He was there to hold up a mirror and force people to look at themselves. What better way is there to respect humanity?”
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