Fun fact: Angelina Jolie was married to Billy Bob Thornton when he filmed Monster’s Ball with Halle Berry, and Halle would go on to win the Best Actress Oscar for the role. While Halle is nearly a decade older than Angelina, they “came up” around the same time and they have mutual friends and acquaintances within the industry. They’ve posed together at events and all of that. But apparently it’s not until now that Halle and Angelina are really talking and bonding about how much they have in common. But it hasn’t been all sunshine and roses – according to Halle, they butted heads as soon as they met for an upcoming film which will have them costarring.

Oscar-winning actor Halle Berry had a strike of inspiration on the flight to Saudi Arabia, where she gave a career-spanning conversation at the third edition of the Red Sea Film Festival. The flight, she said, led her to figure out what she wants to direct next: “It’s a love story at its core but it deals with the supernatural, time travel and the future.”

This will mark Berry’s sophomore feature after 2020’s MMA drama “Bruised.” When asked about her first directing experience, the actor was frank, labelling the entire process “hell.” “Because I was a woman, and a Black woman, the treatment I received and the things I had to put up with were unconscionable,” she said. “If I were a white man or even a Black man, it would have been easier. It’s amazing I even made it and a miracle Netflix bought it.”

Alongside taking the first steps toward her next directing project, Berry is currently in preparation for “Maude v Maude,” a project she described as a mixture of “Mr & Mrs Smith” and “Mission: Impossible” with a comedic twist. Berry is set to co-star and co-produce the film with Angelina Jolie. Despite looking forward to battling Jolie “physically and intellectually,” Berry said the two got off to a “rocky start.”

“We had a rocky start and I think that is going to serve us well in our screen time together,” said Berry, adding she is “thrilled to work with another woman and craft a story with our sensibility and from our point of view. She is formidable.”

When prodded about the reasons behind the complicated first steps in their relationship, Berry said people were going to have to wait to hear that story, but it’s a “good one.” The actor reinforced her belief that the initial conflicts between her and Jolie will help cement their friendship and that the two eventually bonded over many things they share in common: “We’ve been talking a lot about divorces and exes. We bonded, let’s say that.”

[From Variety]

I totally forgot that Jolie signed onto Maude v. Maude – that happened in the spring and there was a bidding war over the project, with Jolie and Berry already attached. This whole thing gives me vibes of Salma Hayek – yet another woman who came up around the same time as Angelina, but it took decades for them to really meet, work together and become friends. Now Salma is one of Angelina’s biggest cheerleaders, and they really love each other. I hope it’s the same with Halle – I hope that we’re in a new era, where all of these ‘90s actresses are coming together and becoming friends. What if Angelina and Gwyneth start hanging out? It probably wouldn’t happen, Gwyneth still says nice stuff about Brad Pitt. Angelina should hang out with Winona again though. Oh God what if Angelina and Sandra Bullock become friends??? I’ve wanted Angelina and Charlize to be friends for a while too, I genuinely think they would love each other.

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