REVIEW: Angelina Jolie Makes a Bleak Bosnian War Romance with In the Land of Blood and Honey

In the Land of Blood and Honey isn’t actually Angelina Jolie’s first film as a director — that distinction goes to A Place in Time, a little-seen 2007 documentary showcasing life in different locations around the globe at the same moment, shot with the help of some of her famous friends, including Djimon Hounsou and Anne Hathaway. But like that film, Jolie’s narrative debut arrives surrounded by a halo of good intentions and the sense that celebrity is being used as the spoonful of sugar to make the didacticism go down. Per the activist and star’s own statement in the press notes, with this new feature she “wanted to make a film that would express, in an artistic way, [her] frustrations with the international community’s failure to intervene in conflicts in a timely and effective manner.” The conflict on-screen is the Bosnian War of the ’90s, which puts new lovers Ajla (Zana Marjanovi) and Danijel (Goran Kosti) on opposite sides of a clash that left 100,000 dead and led to accusations of genocide. Despite those austere intentions, In the Land of Blood and Honey is gratifyingly short on lectures and, interestingly, on history lessons. The drama, which was also written by Jolie, is set very specifically during the Bosnian War without delving deeply into the complications of the reasons for the bloodshed. Ajla is a Bosnian Muslim, an aspiring painter who lives with her sister; Danijel is a Bosnian Serb, a policeman whose family has a tradition of going into law enforcement. But neither is a fervent believer in the war, at least not in the beginning. They’re just shuffled off into the parts already assigned to them, Danijel taking a place as a commander in the Serbian army under his father, General Nebojsa Vukojevich (Rade erbedija, who often plays Eastern European baddies in Hollywood fare), Ajla forced into a detention center with other women who are made to wait on the Serb troops. Upon their arrival, one of the soldiers pulls a woman to the front of the group and rapes her, just to make a point, her fellow prisoners looking away as she weeps, her face shoved into the table. It’s here that Danijel and Ajla are reunited and the most compelling part of In the Land of Blood and Honey unfolds, a squirmy, dark romance in which Danijel is at once Ajla’s wooer, protector and persecutor. He tries to shield her from the abuses of the other soldiers without appearing as if he’s too attached to a Muslim woman in their eyes, and he attempts to convince her he’s not like the others when he goes out on campaigns to kill her fellow Bosniaks. “One of your Muslim friends was in my scope, and I’m thinking of you,” he tells her after choosing not to shoot a man and his child on a bridge earlier that day, and it’s unclear whether he wants gratitude or an apology. Marjanovi and Kosti have a potent on-screen chemistry together, when taken with the power dynamics at play, and they present an uncomfortable developing relationship that you can’t turn away from — when we first see it consummated, it’s immediately after another soldier has stepped on Ajla’s hand to punish her for dropping a dish, with Danijel unable to intervene on her behalf. In their desperate coupling it’s clear that Ajla has been reminded of how she needs him on her side as much as she might actually want him there. And yet, given an opportunity to escape, Alja stays. As a director, Jolie sometimes jumbles her visual construction (a firefight late in the film is difficult to follow). But she’s unfailingly generous with her leads, who are both charismatic and watchable — Kosti is handsome but sinister, while Marjanovi’s beauty is centered around her wise, steady gaze. Still, she leaves so much unsaid that we often have no idea what’s going on in the heads of the characters. As their The Night Porter-esque relationship takes new turns and encounters growing complications — Danijel is assigned elsewhere for a while, and things get worse for Alja at the compound until she runs away, though later Danijel has her brought back — it becomes less and less clear, in ways that don’t all seem intentional, what either is thinking and how sincere each is in the faux domesticity they’ve carved out for themselves in an ever-more devastated landscape. “Am I your prisoner?” she asks him once, and he responds, astoundingly, “You’re a prisoner only if you don’t want to be here.” Between engagements with Alja and Danijel the film provides images of the awfulness of the war — the murder of a baby, the use of women as human shields, a mass grave — as well as its surreal quality, as one man reflects that 40 minutes away in Italy tourists are sitting out in the sun. These are haunting scenes, but along with the growing muddiness of our understanding of our two leads they seem disconnected. If In the Land of Blood and Honey aims to be a film about the madness of war, it’s not clear whose madness it is, as war is depicted as descending out of the sky like a contagion. It fits with Jolie’s insistence that there should have been early outside intervention in the conflict, but also seems too facile an explanation for the atrocities committed. As the love between Danijel and Alja curdles in an impossible environment, we mourn for them but don’t feel we understand them. Follow Alison Willmore on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.

Judge Approves Pay Bump For Jackson Estate Admins

First Published: December 19, 2011 2:08 PM EST Credit: Getty Images Caption Michael Jackson leaves the Santa Barbara County Courthouse in Santa Maria on May 25, 2005LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- The executors of Michael Jacksons estate are getting a pay raise. A judge on Monday approved a request by the two men running the late pop stars estate to receive additional compensation for their professional services. Jacksons estate is overseen by attorney John Branca and music executive John McClain. They say in court filings that they have so far been paid less than the 10 percent of gross entertainment-related earnings of the estate that they agreed to split for managing the singers business affairs. The deal allows Brancas law firm to bill separately for its work, which was previously part of his share. McClain will now be paid for use of his recording studio. Jacksons estate has earned more than $300 million since his June 2009 death. Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Christoph Waltz on 'Carnage,' Roman Polanski, Quentin Tarantino and 'The Three Musketeers'

Good timing for Team 'Carnage.' On Thursday morning, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association nominated Kate Winslet and Jodie Promote within the Best Actress inside a Musical or Comedy category in the Golden Globes, under 24 hrs prior to the new Roman Polanski film is scheduled to reach in limited release. Kismet! Regrettably, 'Carnage's' best artist, Christoph Waltz, did not take pleasure in the glow from the Globes. Not too Waltz most likely minds. Because he told Moviefone recently, the thought of running the 4 co-stars of 'Carnage' (John C. Reilly completes the foursome) as anything apart from supporting stars and stars for award consideration was "ridiculous." Which may as well be another reputation for the Golden Globes. In line with the hit abide by Yasmina Reza -- the Broadway version which won the Tony Award for the best Play last year -- 'Carnage' concentrates on two progressively inebriated and hostile couples, the Longstreets (Reilly and Promote) and also the Cowans (Waltz and Winslet), who meet at inside a Brooklyn apartment to go over your dream their sons got in around the playground. Waltz, who won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for 'Inglourious Basterds' last year, plays Alan Cowan, a calculating and detached business shark who slices a lot of the discussions that ensue having a cold-hearted clearness. Though what else can you expect in the guy who performed Hendes Landa. Waltz rang up Moviefone recently to go over 'Carnage,' debate if the film is simply too theatrical, his busy year of 4 releases, and 'Django Unchained.' How familiar had you been using the play before accepting the role? Well, I have seen it. I have seen it once. The Broadway version? No, I first viewed it years before! I understand People in america have that inclination to think about the Broadway version the initial. It isn't! It's 5 or 6 years following the original. The initial is at Zurich, and strangely enough, despite the fact that it had been designed in French, it had been in German -- the initial. I first viewed it there. What, contrary, remember about this production? I recall which i just loved the various components. I loved the roles. I loved the figures. Despite the fact that I rarely do this, I figured, "Hmm, hmm, I possibly could play each one.Inch [Laughs] They are meaty roles within the film, with a lot of dialogue. It feels very theatrical sometimes... Well, no, I disagree. I apologize to destroy. I do not think the film is theatrical. Because what can that be? On the other hand, It is extremely motion picture. As motion picture because it will get. Simply because it is a limited space does not mean it isn't motion picture. Simply because your camera actions aren't from thirty-feet cranes swooping over Dying Valley and behind the racing stagecoach does not mean it isn't motion picture. Everything offers a bit more focus on detail. But, I question -- and it might be a fascinating discussion to entertain for a while -- I question whether that isn't really more motion picture than technological efforts to prove the purpose. I'd accept that. I resulted in the performances are -- well, not stagey, because that could be an insult... Well, not always. OK, well, it is simply you don't frequently see broad performances such as these in typical movies. Yes, yes. Absolutely. Yet, the confinement from the space, I claim, does not allow it to be less motion picture. And That I question be it not on the contrary. You had been born in Austria, you shot the film in Paris also it happens in NY. And also the NY facet of it's key, since the couples are extremely specific Park Slope-types. How have you get within the mindset from the clever Park Slope shark when you are not filming here? That is indeed a huge compliment, since you, like a NYer, believe that. Which means something. If somebody who has visited NY two times for 3 days states, "Well, it brought to mind NY!" That might be meaningless. You saying that's an enormous compliment. It is a difficult factor to complete, especially not in NY for that shoot. Well, it's. We wanted might we done it. Polanski isn't just an expert of where you can put the camera, he's additionally a master at creating very specific atmospheres and guiding you to definitely a really specific behavior. That is what the attempt was, let us refer to it as such. Apparently, based on you, it had been effective. So, thanks! [Laughs] Well, you are welcome. Just how much preparation have you do before? Was there a serious quantity of rehearsals? We'd two days of rehearsals. That is, for that regular movie, an extravagance. With this, it had been just enough. Although not because we'd more problems to resolve. After eight days we began run-throughs from the whole factor. Had we practiced another couple of weeks, we're able to have carried out it around the stage. That may be next -- you four can embark upon a countrywide tour. That might be fun. [Laughs] You are dealing with three other major stars -- two other Oscar those who win as well as an Oscar nominee -- so... Did we fight? Well, yes. Was there any competition between you four? No, no. This is the one complement Roman compensated us, and that he does not do this gently. At some point we requested him, "Do you know us a bit how it's, what it is going, the way we are?" And that he stated, "Would you like me to stroke your ego?" Sorta beaming, since it is an estimate in the play. The main one large compliment he compensated us was that he's never labored with several stars where there is no oneupmanship. And he's absolutely right! Yet, I credit him with putting this number of stars together. Why do you consider Polanski keeps attracting such major acting talent? Well, you realize, really, its not all actor is attracted to him, incidentally. There has been occurrences in which the stars have stated, "Sorry, I can not do that,Inch and left. It's where your requirements are. I do not think you are a fool if you cannot deal with that. It is where your requirements are, and where they're is really a matter of preference. You will find stars who not work this way. It's their right! I simply occur to like it. This excessively precise, 100-percent concrete, to-the-point, and, in ways, almost pedantic method of what it's that we are doing. It will really make a difference whether you are here or there, even when the length between your two is really a one-half inch. It will really make a difference. The choice is yours to determine what lengths you need to enter into the particulars. So how exactly does his style rival, say, Quentin Tarantino? I wouldn't do a comparison whatsoever. It might be among the silliest attempts ever. How does one compare a race equine to some -- no, that's already casting something. How does one compare -- I'm not sure -- a equine to some bicycle? Well, both of them move places. Both of them can enable you to get somewhere. Both of them move, exactly! If you devote some effort they move faster. You'd a extended career before 'Inglourious Basterds,' but that movie place you into the spotlight for American audiences. How can you keep that momentum and goodwill from 'Basterds' consistent? It isn't been that lengthy. The discussion could be interesting about 10 years from now. It's been 2 yrs and contains been developing nicely. Aside from the truth that I am really thrilled and happy about this and grateful still, it's ... I'm not sure. Sometimes with those who are fantastic. These. I do not use lots of people around me. Agents and publicists. I do not travel by having an entourage. I do not believe for the reason that. However I use the very best. And "best" means perfect for me. It may be not the very best for the following guy, but exactly what do I worry about the following guy? Again, same factor: it certainly is about what it's that you want to do and never how you want to push myself within the foreground. That could be an effect or otherwise. That isn't something to become anticipated. We would like to perform the great work. Carnage' may be the 4th film of yours getting launched this season. It's been a comically busy year for you personally ... That's a great way of putting it. [Laughs] ... so was there a method or anything with one of these options? No, no. You will find certain criteria through which you get to a choice, and they are not fixed. They are not law. They are not gospel. These criteria are dynamic -- let us place it this way. It must function as the right mixture of things the ones. There is no large mystery. You decide to go greatly because of your feeling. While you stated, I have been neighborhood for any week-and-a-half already, so that your instincts are not only your inspiration, but according to experience. You may be totally wrong. Obviously you can! But, with a few experience -- and also you do keep your spontaneity and customary sense -- usually you are taking one step within the right direction. Despite the fact that may possibly not function as the wished for grand success, however, you can't win all of them. That seems like maybe 'The Three Musketeers.' I understand which was a disappointment both financially and significantly. That occurs. It's a part of the overall game. You have 'Django Unchained' approaching. It had been reported that you simply were hurt while training, same with it reliable advice this role is much more physical than Hendes Landa was? It is a Western. Unexpected things happen inside a Western. You do not perform a Western on the bicycle. Despite the fact that, in 'Butch Cassidy and also the Sundance Kid,' there's this large sequence on the bicycle! Obviously, that's probably the most famous scene within the whole movie. Exactly. So, I suppose you are able to perform a Western on the bicycle. However, you were on the equine. Yeah. But it is OK. It had not been a large deal. To 'Carnage,' before we are saying goodbye: I understand The new sony is thinking about running all individuals within the supporting groups... Other things could be ridiculous! The amount that I, personally -- I speak personally -- relied around the others, and i believe how a others relied around the others, anything wouldn't make sense at all whatsoever. Other things is totally unthinkable. You may as well run all people for the best Seem Design. [Photo: AFP/Getty] 2012 Golden Globe Nominees Best Actor inside a DramaBest Actor inside a DramaBest Actor inside a DramaBest Actor inside a DramaBest Actor inside a DramaBest Actress inside a DramaBest Actress inside a DramaBest Actress inside a DramaBest Actress inside a DramaBest Actress inside a DramaBest Actor inside a Comedy/MusicalBest Actor inside a Comedy/MusicalBest Actor inside a Comedy/MusicalBest Actor inside a Comedy/MusicalBest Actor inside a Comedy/MusicalBest Actress inside a Comedy/MusicalBest Actress inside a Comedy/MusicalBest Actress inside a Comedy/MusicalBest Actress inside a Comedy/MusicalBest Actress inside a Comedy/MusicalBest Supporting ActorBest Supporting ActorBest Supporting Actor'A Harmful Method'Best Supporting ActorBest Supporting ActressBest Supporting ActressBest Supporting ActressBest Supporting ActressBest Supporting ActressBest DirectorBest DirectorBest DirectorBest DirectorBest Director See All Moviefone Art galleries » Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook

Jennifer Aniston and Luc Besson drama acquired by Universal

Universal has closed a deal for your distribution rights for the approaching Luc Besson picture, with Angelina Jolie's title set being round the marquee.The Leon guy, more frequently credited just like a producer nowadays, will probably sire a combination between his acclaimed works The Professional as well as the Fifth Element, together with the studio getting upset within the lion's share of worldwide rights, the untitled project now looks ready.In the move that will prompt many to request, "what's the reason behind even seeing it now?", Universal has revealingly divulged that it's going to be described as a "dramatic thriller with action".Waifish Tourist star Jolie, whose partner also works inside the film industry, is busy haranguing anybody who'll listen about her directorial debut, Bosnian war drama Inside The Land Of Blood stream And Honey, nevertheless it appears that her collaboration with M. Besson will precede almost every other turns before camera.Ridley Scott's Gertrude Bell biopic and Sony's Nefertiti epic are the other projects presently trying to trap her eye.Inside The Land Of Blood stream And Honey are available in US cinemas on 23 December, but you'll find no nuances of the Uk release by yet.

Boardwalk Empires Shocking Finale Hits Season High, Luck So-So In Preview

Boardwalk Empires second season ended on the high note. The finale, featuring the shocking dying of the major character (won’t reveal more with regard to waiting Digital recording device audiences), averaged a season high 3 million audiences at 9 PM on Sunday. Another 834,000 audiences caught the 11 PM replay for any combined audience of three.8 million. Sandwiched between your two airings of Boardwalk Empire would be a preview of HBOs new David Milch/Michael Mann series Luck, which premieres Jan. 29. The pilot episode from the equine-racing drama starring Dustin Hoffman averaged 1.a million audiences, possessing another from the Boardwalk Empire finale audience.

Friday Box Office: New Year's Eve Fizzles in First

Exactly what the saying again? You are able to fool some moviegoers constantly and all sorts of moviegoers a few of the time, however, you can’t fool these constantly? Something of that nature — maybe we ought to request Warner Bros., Garry Marshall and all sorts of the heavens stuffed so tough into Year’s Eve, who recycled the model that gained the aromatic Valentine’s Day a $56 million opening weekend and located under another of this crowd prepared to fall for this again. Still, it will likely be enough for to begin with on the pillow-soft weekend. Your Friday Box Office is here now. 1. Year’S EVE: $5,080,000 (new) 2. THE SITTER: $3,725,000 (new) 3. THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING Beginning PART 1: $2,500,000 ($254,083,000) 4. THE MUPPETS: $1,664,000 ($60,427,000) 5. HUGO: $1,600,000 ($28,964,000) [Figures via Box Office Mojo

Fate of net rests on Dodgers

The survival of an entire cable channel effectively depends on the disposition of future TV rights of the Los Angeles Dodgers, reflecting how abruptly sports TV fortunes can rise and fall. When 2011 began, the top two sports franchises in Los Angeles, the Dodgers and the Lakers, were quietly clicking off another year with Fox Sports as their primary cable home. With 2012 beckoning, the Lakers have already been pried away by Time Warner Cable, and Fox is in litigation to preserve its hold on the Dodgers. The stakes are high for both media giants. Time Warner is under pressure to make profitable its multibillion-dollar commitment to English- and Spanish-language networks dedicated to the Lakers -- keeping those networks thriving during the warm-weather months without regular-season NBA games -- while Fox may have to collapse one of its two Los Angeles-centric sports cable channels (either Fox Sports West or Prime Ticket) if it loses the Dodgers. "There's no question, because essentially (Fox would be) left to the Angels and hockey and lesser properties," Sports Business Journal baseball and digital media writer Eric Fisher said. "The legal papers have already suggested as such that Prime Ticket's future is certainly threatened." Should Fox Sports West and Prime Ticket be consolidated into one network, the revenue loss to Fox would be in the hundreds of millions. "Essentially you're not only losing the advertising, but you're losing some of the carriage fees as well," Fisher said. Complicating matters locally is another 2011 development: the Pacific 12 Conference's bold plan to debut its own group of proprietary networks in August 2012, which will pry still more content away from Fox Sports. Time Warner also made a noteworthy, albeit smaller-stakes, raid on Fox Sports content by inking a deal in November for 10 years' worth of TV rights to the Major League Soccer champion Los Angeles Galaxy beginning next year. Fox Sports retains rights to MLB's Angels, the NBA's Clippers and the NHL's Kings and Ducks, but the viability of spreading them over two channels is limited -- especially with the Angels as the only summertime attraction. "Given that Time Warner has got the Galaxy and there's a little bit of a summer foothold, I would say Fox and Prime Ticket are the more desperate party (for the Dodgers)," Fisher said. Whoever gets dibs on the Dodgers will pay dearly for the privilege. Thanks to skyrocketing valuations, the Dodgers figure to cost their next TV home at least $150 million per year, perhaps much more if the bidding heats up. The Lakers' 20-year deal with Time Warner is believed to be worth approximately $200 million per year. The Dodgers' linchpin role for Southern California cable networks is nothing new. When Fox acquired the Dodgers from the O'Malley family in 1998, it was with an eye on having a centerpiece that could launch that second all-sports cable network in Los Angeles and forestall ESPN from invading the territory. In theory, Fox's hold on the Dodgers shouldn't currently be in jeopardy. Their current deal runs through 2013, with a clause that through November gives Fox exclusive negotiating rights to a post-'13 extension, including a chance to match competing offers. But the ongoing legal drama surrounding outgoing Dodger owner Frank McCourt has put Fox's exclusivity on the ropes. With the Dodgers still in bankruptcy court since their filing in June, lawyers for McCourt have requested permission to immediately open the sale of future media rights to all comers in order to maximize value for creditors. Settlement talks are taking place, with a hearing on the matter scheduled for later this month. Mere months ago, before becoming legal combatants, Fox and McCourt were allies. The media giant, which helped finance McCourt's highly leveraged purchase of the Dodgers in 2004 and no doubt was looking to reinforce his dependence, made a personal loan in April to the McCourt to help keep his embattled ownership dreams alive. Two months later, a June deal between Fox and McCourt to extend Dodger broadcasting rights through 2030 was rejected by MLB commissioner Bud Selig on the theory that it sold out the long-term future of the Dodgers. If Fox does comes away with the Dodgers for the long-term future, Fisher speculated, "You could have a situation where Prime Ticket gets amalgamated to a more front-and-center Dodger branding." Contact Jon Weisman at jon.weisman@variety.com

REPORTS: NFL Close To Deal Extending TV Rights Through 2021 For $6 Billion A Year

This NFL season’s ratings haven’t been as strong as last year’s which broke a slew of ratings records. But the NFLcontinues to be the most potent TV sports franchise by a mile. So the National Football League and the broadcast, cable and satellite networks are close to whopping deals stretching through 2021 that would give the league a 60% increase over current fees. That’s $6 billion a year or more from all its media “partners,” according to the industry trade publication Sports Business Daily and the Wall Street Journal. The deals are with News Corp’s Fox, Comcast’s NBC, andCBS as well as DirecTV and Disney’s ESPN. Broadcast network share of the yearly fees will amount to about $3.2 billion. ESPN’s share will be about $1.9 billion per season under the league’s separate $15.2 billion deal with the cable network for “Monday Night Football” which also lasts through 2021. (ABC suffered significant drops in ratings when Disney opted to shift Monday Night Football to ESPN.) DirecTV pays roughly $1 billion a year to offer its Sunday Ticket that covers all Sunday afternoon games and some other NFL programming. NFL coverage is also a huge factor for local TV stations, not only for network-owned stations but for affiliates owned by other companies that have to pay the networks for the rights to carry their programming. In turn cable systems and satellite providers have to fork over what are known as retransmission consent fees when they carry local stations from every market where the systems operate. NFL football is a huge bargaining chip in these overall negotiations. Disputes over fees sometimes result in threatened or literal disruptions of service on cable or satellite services that play out in news coverage tugs-of-war with networks. League and media executives have been workingto complete the agreements before the holidays.