Angelina Jolie is creating controversy in Hollywood. And this time, it’s not because she’s stealing another woman’s husband.
James Braddock, a Croatian journalist, has filed a lawsuit against Jolie for allegedly stealing his ideas for a new film, “In the Land of Blood and Honey,” which is the first movie the actress/humanitarian has ever directed.
Braddock claims that Jolie’s movie infringes on the copyright on his 2007 book, “The Soul Shattering,” which, like “In the Land of Blood and Honey,” is about a woman who is imprisoned and abused during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s. Braddock also says he discussed ideas with the film’s Bosnian producer before Jolie’s movie was made.
Jolie says she drew inspiration for the film from many sources, including books by two other journalists, but not from Braddock’s work.
Braddock initially sought a temporary restraining order to prevent the film’s upcoming release on Dec. 23, but he withdrew his motion when a judge last week said Braddock hadn’t shown that he would suffer from immediate and irreparable harm from the release of the film, and that there were concerns with the timing of his suit because he knew about the making of the film since early 2010.
Additionally, the judge has ordered Braddock’s lawyers to submit a brief today explaining why the case should proceed in Illinois federal court when the parties in the case are based in California, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Jolie would benefit if the case gets transferred to California, where the courts have been skeptical about these types of copyright infringement suits.
