Life and Style Weekly is reporting that Angelina Jolie has become close friends with Mariane Pearl, the woman she is interpreting in A Mighty Heart. An insider said the original intention was to understand Mariane's experiences so Angelina could better play her part in the film. But instead, the ladies have bonded and become true friends. Even Maddox and Mariane's son Adam enjoy spending time with one another.

"Brad felt if he was going to make this movie, it was really important that Angelina and Mariane became friends and started to understand each other," says the insider. "Brad says he feels really lucky that they hit it off because the movie just couldn't have happened if they hadn't, especially since Jen [Aniston] had already met with Mariane several times as they were developing the project and had an eye on playing the role herself. Brad says he's overjoyed that everyone has hit it off so well, and he says Maddox has a friend for life in Mariane's young son, Adam."

And it seems Brad and Angelina have a friend for life in Mariane. "Even though it took Danny Pearl's death to bring everyone together like this," says the insider, "Brad, Angelina and Mariane are all determined to keep this friendship healthy and really make a difference in the world while they're at it." (source)