Scott Rudin and Angelina Jolie probably won't be teaming up on any movies anytime soon. The Oscar-winning star, 39, is the subject of a group of harsh internal emails from Rudin that leaked from Sony Pictures Entertainment this week.
Obtained by Gawker and published on Tuesday, Dec. 9, the email chain is the latest bit of private information from Sony to make its way online in recent weeks. A widespread hack of the company previously produced salary information for actors, internal memos from company executives, and the aliases used by big stars.
The notes in question, which were largely from this past February, are exchanges between Sony Pictures Entertainment's co-chairwoman Amy Pascal and big-budget producer Scott Rudin (The Social Network, Moneyball).
From the leaked emails, it appears that the two industry heavyweights were not seeing eye to eye in an issue involving Jolie. The wife to Brad Pitt apparently wanted celebrated director David Fincher to lead a Cleopatra movie that she would star in, around the same time that Rudin planned to use the director for his own Steve Jobs biopic.
The emails begin in a more temperate tone, with Pascal writing of Jolie, "She is upset about us giving [Fincher] Jobs. She wants to talk." Rudin then brushes off Jolie's apparent frustration, writing, "She'll survive it. I don't want to waste my time on this."
Rudin's words quickly turn ugly, however, as he starts worry about the future of his Steve Jobs film, writing to Pascal, "YOU BETTER SHUT ANGIE DOWN BEFORE SHE MAKES IT VERY HARD FOR DAVID TO DO JOBS."
As Pascal seemingly could not deliver what Rudin was asking for, the producer wrote a bold email to the exec, telling her not to involve Fincher in Jolie's project and questioning the actress' acting chops and attitude.
"I'm not destroying my career over a minimally talented spoiled brat who thought nothing of shoving this off her plate for eighteen months so she could go direct a movie," Rudin wrote.
"I have no desire to be making a movie with her, or anybody, that she runs and that we don't," he added of Jolie. "She's a camp event and a celebrity and that's all and the last thing anybody needs is to make a giant bomb with her that any fool could see comingŠ There is NO relationship with any movie star – ANY one – that requires our willingness to prostrate ourselves this way in the face of childish, irresponsible, willful and un-partnerly behavior."
The bitter dispute resulted in the Jobs movie making its way to Universal Pictures after the months of conflict with Sony. Jolie has yet to comment on Rudin's words.
