Claim: Angelina Jolie is a performer.

Changeling is a 2008 American mystery thriller film directed , co-produced and scored by Clint Eastwood and written by J. Michael Straczynski , that explores child endangerment , female disempowerment , political corruption , mistreatment of mental health patients , and the repercussions of violence . Based partly on real-life events -- the 1928 `` Wineville Chicken Coop '' kidnapping and murder case in present-day Mira Loma , California -- the film stars Angelina Jolie as a woman supposedly reunited with a boy she immediately realizes is not her missing son . When , however , she tries to demonstrate this to the police and city authorities , she is vilified as delusional and an unfit mother .   Straczynski spent a year researching the story after hearing about the Wineville Chicken Coop case from a contact at Los Angeles City Hall . Almost allStraczynski described 95 % of the script as being drawn from around 6,000 pages of documentation . of the film 's script was drawn from thousands of pages of documentation . His first draft became the shooting script and his first film screenplay to be produced . Ron Howard had meant to direct the film , but scheduling conflicts led to his replacement by Eastwood . Instead , Howard and his Imagine Entertainment partner Brian Grazer produced Changeling alongside Malpaso Productions ' Robert Lorenz and Eastwood . Universal Pictures financed and distributed the film .   Several actors campaigned for the leading role ; ultimately , the key factor in Eastwood 's decision to cast Jolie was his feeling that her face would suit the 1920s period setting . The film also stars Jeffrey Donovan , Jason Butler Harner , John Malkovich , Michael Kelly and Amy Ryan . While some characters are composites , most are based on actual people . Principal photography , which began on October 15 , 2007 and concluded a few weeks later in December , took place in Los Angeles and other locations in southern California . Eastwood 's low-key direction led actors and crew to note the calmness of the set and the short working days . In post-production , scenes were supplemented with computer-generated skylines , backgrounds , vehicles and people .   Changeling premiered to critical acclaim at the 61st Cannes Film Festival on May 20 , 2008 . Further festival appearances preceded a limited release in the United States on October 24 , 2008 , followed by a general release in North America on October 31 , 2008 ; in the United Kingdom on November 26 , 2008 ; and in Australia on February 5 , 2009 . Critical reaction was more mixed than at Cannes . While the acting and story were generally praised , the film 's `` conventional staging '' and `` lack of nuance '' were criticized . Changeling earned $ 113 million in box-office revenue worldwideof which $ 35.7 million came from the United States and Canadaand received nominations in three Academy Award and eight BAFTA Award categories .