Angelina Jolie attached to star as influential WWI-era British political officer Gertrude Bell in new biopic.Angelina Jolie may be heading back to the early 20th century again in a new film entitled "Gertrude Bell", based on the life of the titular pioneering British political officer and explorer who became instrumental in shaping the modern-day Arab world. Jolie would star as Bell, the archaelogist/Middle East expert who became a vital asset to British Intelligence during WWI by helping convince Arab tribal leaders to revolt against the ruling Ottoman Turks, a conflict that resulted in the re-shaping of the region as we know it today.


The film is being developed by Ridley Scott's Scott Free Productions, according to exclusive-getter The Hollywood Reporter, with Scott circling it as a potential directing project. Jeffrey Caine ("The Constant Gardener") is penning the screenplay.Jolie's next film is the upcoming "In the Land of Blood and Honey", a love story she directed which is set against the backdrop of the Bosnian War. The foreign-language film is scheduled to hit theaters on December 23rd and will serve as the actress' directorial debut.

Scott most recently helmed the highly-anticipated sci-fi/action movie "Prometheus" starring Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender, Noomi Rapace and Idris Elba. That film is currently in post-production and is slated for a June 8, 2012 release.