Jolie, Hayek on 'Without Blood' and On-Set Trauma — SkimNews
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- Angelina Jolie wrote and directed "Without Blood," adapted from Alessandro Baricco's novella of the same name, starring Salma Hayek Pinault as Nina, a woman who spends her adult life hunting the three men responsible for the wartime murder of her father and brother.
- Salma Hayek Pinault was initially reluctant about the role, saying: "I wasn't sure that Angelina was directing. I thought she was just producing. I'm like, 'Oh no, I don't want to suffer like that.'"
- The film deliberately omits a specific time, location, or war, with Jolie explaining she wanted "anyone watching it from anywhere could identify with it," echoing the book's line, "We return to where we break."
- Jolie revealed that her 2017 film "First They Killed My Father" used "trauma therapy tents" on set, and on this production "we all ended up spending a lot of time talking about our pain, talking about our losses, our traumas."
- The pair first worked together five years ago on Marvel's "Eternals," and Jolie will next serve as producer on Hayek Pinault's directorial debut "Arena," an epic romantic adventure Hayek Pinault also wrote.
- Hayek Pinault called Jolie "my partner" and said they've "fantasized about making different comedies together," though Jolie cautioned: "My comedies tend to be a bit dark."
Why it matters: Jolie's filmography of war and trauma — from her 2011 debut through "Unbroken" (2014) and "First They Killed My Father" (2017) — now adds a deliberately locationless revenge story designed for maximum universality, with trauma-therapy practices carried over from prior productions. The director-actress relationship is also flipping: Jolie will produce while Hayek Pinault directs "Arena," deepening a partnership that began on Marvel's "Eternals."
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