Angelina Jolie Enters Her Mogul Era With a Major Production Deal

Angelina Jolie is doubling down on her efforts behind the cameras with a three-year production deal with British production company powerhouse Fremantle. The deal will be inclusive of films, television series, and documentaries—and will encompass Jolie’s talents as a director, producer, and, when she wants, actress.

In fact, Jolie’s first project under the pact is already set. This May, she’ll decamp to Italy to direct an adaptation of Alessandro Baricco’s 2002 novel Without Blood. The short book tells the tale of a young girl who witnesses her father’s brutal death amid wartime, only to grow up and hunt the killers down one by one. It will be Jolie’s first directorial effort since 2017’s First They Killed My Father, the most critically acclaimed film Jolie has directed yet. Jolie also wrote the script, though there’s no indication she plans to also start writing regularly.

Jolie, of course, has directed a number of films over the years. She’s also produced a handful of documentaries: the Oscar-nominated animated film The Breadwinner, the Ethiopian film Difret, and BBC My World, a news program for children. From the sound of it, the Fremantle deal will continue that focus on high-minded fare with an international focus.

“To have the freedom to tell important stories and bring them to a global audience is at the heart of this agreement with Fremantle,” Jolie said in a statement according to The Hollywood Reporter. “I am excited to be working with such a passionate and forward-looking team that has an international perspective.”

“Fremantle and Angelina share the passion and ambition of telling compelling stories from everywhere in the world, for everyone in the world,” added Fremantle Global CEO Jennifer Mullin. “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.”

As a company, Fremantle dates back to 1952, and is perhaps best known for producing game shows (Family Feud) and reality competition series (American Idol and The X Factor), but over the past few years has pursued a new strategy of championing high-end content with a global focus. That’s included series like American Gods and Picnic at Hanging Rock as well as numerous Italian-set shows you’ve seen on HBO in recent years (The Young Pope, My Brilliant Friend, and We Are Who We Are). Jolie’s intention, then, seems to fit well with Fremantle’s new focus.

No word, however, on how much the deal is worth—but it does bring Jolie in line with the slew of other acting A-listers who have formalized their own production aspirations with partnership deals.