Angelina Jolie claims she has "never seen" the book she is alleged to have based In the Land of Blood and Honey on.

The Oscar-winning actress - who is making her directorial debut with the Serbian love story - is being sued by Croatian journalist James Braddock for copyright violation, as he maintains the movie is an adaptation of his own book The Subject Work, which was published in 2007.

Jolie, however, has dismissed the lawsuit as "par for the course" of directing a film: "It's par for the course. It happens on almost every film. There are many books and documentaries that I did pull from. It's a combination of many people's stories. But that particular book I've never seen."

In a lawsuit filed in a federal court in Illinois, Mr. Braddock claims he met with producer Edin Sarkic - who is now working on Angelina's movie - several times throughout 2008 to discuss the possibility of his tome being adapted for the big screen. He maintains the pair talked about the details of the book, which similarly to In the Land of Blood and Honey documents the love story between a female prisoner and a Serbian soldier, "including plot and character development and the story's cultural significance and historical accuracy."