Angelina Jolie Plays Down 'In the Land of Blood and Honey' Plagiarism Lawsuit

Jolie slams allegation that she has stolen the idea for her directorial debut from Croatian journalist named James Braddock by claiming that she has never even read his book.

Angelina Jolie has weighed in on the plagiarism lawsuit she was served with a few days earlier. Being accused of stealing James Braddock's idea for her directorial and screenwriting debut, "In the Land of Blood and Honey", in the suit, the 36-year-old actress reacted by claiming that she has never even read the Croatian journalist's book.

Speaking to Los Angeles Times, Jolie admitted she did drew inspiration from many books by journalists like Peter Maas and Tom Gielten, but insisted she didn't steal Braddock's idea. "There are many books and documentaries that I did pull from. It's a combination of many people's stories," she explained. "But that particular book I've never seen."

During the chat taking place in New York on Tuesday, December 6, the long-time partner of Brad Pitt shared her belief that such case could happen to any movies. "It's par for the course. It happens on almost every film," said the actress who won an Oscar through her role as Lisa Lowes in 2000's "Girl, Interrupted".

Previously, Braddock filed a copyright lawsuit against Jolie, claiming that the actress stole the story from a book he wrote and published in 2007. The Croatian author/journalist is demanding the court to award him damages, naming GK Films and several other entities as the defendants as well.

In the Times interview, Jolie also addressed a backlash from Balkan women's group over the movie's cross-ethnic romance. "I felt sympathy for people for whom these issues are so sensitive," she said. "But when you're coming at something because you care so much about an area, especially women in that area, as I was, and you know the themes of the film are violence against women, then to be accused of the opposite hurts. You feel a little sickened by it."

"In the Land of Blood and Honey", which will open in limited U.S. theaters on December 23, tells a love story between Bosniak woman Alja and Serbian soldier Danijel who meet during the Bosnian war, and gives a look at how the war brings effect on their relationship. Zana Marjanovic tackles the role of Alja, while Goran Kostic is cast as Danijel.