Angelina Jolie is bringing the life of celebrated war photographer Don McCullin to the big screen. The actor has been tapped to direct the upcoming biopic based on McCullin’s incredible life and famous photographs. Taking the title from his 1990 autobiography,
Unreasonable Behavior will cover McCullins’ career, which has included photographing wars in Greece, the Congo, Vietnam and more.“I am humbled to have a chance to bring Don McCullin’s life to film,” said Jolie in a
statement about
Unreasonable Behavior. “I was drawn to his unique combination of fearlessness and humanity – his absolute commitment to witnessing the truth of war, and his empathy and respect for those who suffer its consequences. We hope to make a film that is as uncompromising as Don’s photography, about the extraordinary people and events he witnessed, and the rise and fall of a unique era in journalism.”[video_embed id='1971999']RELATED: Angelina Jolie donates $200K to NAACP fund[/video_embed]McCullin also released a
statement about Jolie’s involvement in the biopic, referencing her 2017 film
First They Killed My Father. Filmed in Cambodia, the film was based on
Loung Ung’s memoir of the same name and told Ung’s story of being trained as a child soldier during the Khmer Rouge regime. “Having viewed Angelina’s last film on Cambodia (and having spent so much time during the war there) I was very impressed at how she made such a powerful and accurate representation of the place at that time,“ said McCullin. “I feel as if I am in safe, capable and professional hands with her.”Casting for the film has not yet been announced but
Unreasonable Behavior will be produced by actor Tom Hardy and Dean Baker under the pair’s production company Hardy Son & Baker. Hardy and Baker also released a statement about the film, calling McCullin someone they have held a ‘deep and profound respect for.’ “His remarkable story is one of brutal honesty, unflinching courage, and unbound empathy. Angelina has carved a considered approach to the material that we’ve all been looking for – relevant and compelling, ethically sensitive
and engaging,” said the men in their
statement. “We are excited by her vision and look forward to supporting her depiction of a man who deserves to be remembered for his extraordinary contribution, service, and lifelong work to humanity.”Sir McCullin, who is a member of the Order of the British Empire, was born in London in 1935 and began his career as a war photographer in 1956 in the Suez Canal during the Suez Crisis. He would go on to photograph the Vietnam War, conflicts in Northern Ireland, Beirut, and the AIDS epidemic in Africa. In 1968, he spent a day with The Beatles while they were recording
The White Album. These pictures would later be used for 2010’s “A Day In The Life of the Beatles,” one of the many books on photography McCullin has published throughout his career. In 2012, the documentary
McCullin was released and earned two BAFTA nominations.
Jolie has proved to be one of the most capable directors in recent history when it comes to bringing biopics and films set in war-torn countries to the big screen. In addition to
First They Killed My Father, Jolie made her major directorial debut with 2011’s
In The Land of Blood and Honey, a love story set during the Bosnian War. In 2014, Jolie directed
Unbroken, which was based on the life of U.S. Olympian Louis Zamperini, who was held as a prisoner of war in a Japanese camp during WWII.[video_embed id='2079282']BEFORE YOU GO: We try the Band-Aid mask hack... and it works! [/video_embed]
