Angelina Jolie has high award hopes for her new biopic, Maria, but she’s endured savage reviews for her other most recent directorial endeavor, Without Blood, which has left her with a serious embarrassment, a source close to the actress’ team exclusively tells In Touch.
“Angelina is a little annoyed that she’s having to juggle the solid success of Maria, which has firmly put her in the Oscar race and back into business with Netflix, and her passion project Without Blood,” the source says.
The pal adds that Without Blood was “a movie Angelina thought could change the world when she first initiated it, but which now is stained by apathetic reviews and a weak audience response at its film festival debut.”
Angelina, 49, is an outspoken humanitarian, activist and former UN ambassador. She had previously made other, well-received films about the toll of the Bosnian War, In the Land of Blood and Honey, and the Cambodian Civil War, First They Killed My Father, but her latest attempt at adapting Alessandro Baricco’s novel about the lingering horror of surviving violence missed its mark with critics.
Without an identifiable conflict to study through the film, The Guardian’s Radheyan Simonpillai says Angie’s attempt “leaves its mismatched stars, Salma Hayek Pinault and Demián Bichir, flailing with words, anecdotes and frustratingly tedious and abstract conversations that feel like they’re searching for meaning.”
Maria, on the other hand, has been billed as Angelina’s big comeback movie. The Salt actress spent months preparing for the role of Maria Callas, the temperamental and titular main character. While some critics have been more negative toward the film, with Vulture even titling their article “This Is Not Angelina Jolie’s Big Comeback,” others have been warmly receptive of the star’s latest shot at Oscar success.
“As both movies march toward being seen by the broader public,” the insider continues, “Angelina is going to have to thread the needle here a bit, especially because she has always seen directing as a way to stay in the business once she ages out these leading lady roles.”
“She wants to direct more movies, in no uncertain terms, and she has installed a whole team around her for those projects that will follow her into the gates of hell to get these films made.”
“But the trick is, they have to make money and nobody thinks Without Blood can make a profit.”
As a second source previously dished to In Touch, “Angelina and Salma have a deep, ongoing collaboration that hasn’t let up since they shot Eternals together almost six years ago.”
The Maleficent star has even kept billionaire Salma, 58, who married luxury-brand mogul François-Henri Pinault, in her corner to back her up in her dizzying divorce battle with ex Brad Pitt.
The first source continues, “The upside here is that the movie really deepened her already-strong friendship with Salma Hayek, and Salma has billions of dollars and the ability to fully finance films that she’s passionate about.”
“That didn’t happen on Without Blood but it’s certainly on the table the next time Angelina steps behind the camera.”
