A rhetorical, non-litigious claim is being made by author James J. Braddock (a.k.a. Josep K. Knezevic) that Angelia Jolie used the basic plot bones of his book, The Soul Shattering, in her script of In The Land of Blood Honey, an upcoming Serb-Bosnian war drama that she’s directed.

Angelina Jolie directing In The Land of Blood and Honey.

Based on the myriad horrors of the Serb-Bosnian conflict and partly set in a Serb-run concentration camp, Jolie’s plot is a variation on the Romeo and Juliet/West Side Story disparate-lovers theme.

Braddock is claiming there are crucial similarities between his book and Jolie’s script. But history can’t be copyrighted, these assertions are difficult to prove, story theft claims are as common as mosquitoes, if Braddock really had a case he’d almost certainly be suing, and William Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet centuries ago.

But if you read Braddock’s statement, you’ll at least get a clear idea of what the specific plot particulars are in Jolie’s film. That, for me, is the interesting part.

Jolie’s film costars Goran Kostic and Zana Marjanovic as the lovers, Serb and Muslim respectively, with Rade Serbedzija as Kostic’s Serb father.

Film District will release the Graham King-produced film on 12.23.11.