Angelina Jolie hopes that her friendship with Salma Hayek will “ratchet up” the Maleficent star's power as she continues to spend vast sums on legal battles with her ex-husband, Brad Pitt, per InTouch.

“Angelina has met plenty of billionaires during her career as an actress,” the insider told the weekly outlet, “but the friendship she has forged with Salma over the last few years is a different animal altogether and really ratchets up Angelina's power in the business.”

The two actresses have been collaborating closely in recent years, with Salma taking on the lead role in Angelina’s upcoming film, Without Blood

“Their next project together is Angelina's film, Without Blood, which will roll out this fall on the festival circuit, but the reality is that it was a pandemic-conceived project for Angelina that she has been quietly working on for the last three years and which she directed prior to acting in her Maria Callas biopic that is also getting released this year,” the insider shared.

“Angelina and Salma have a deep, ongoing collaboration that hasn't let up since they shot Eternals together almost six years ago.”

How Salma can help Jolie against Pitt

Salma Hayek, who has an impressive net worth exceeding $200 million, is married to François-Henri Pinault, a billionaire luxury-brand magnate with a net worth of approximately $7 billion. “Salma and her husband have a level of expertise and contacts in the Europe-based luxury world that matches and even surpasses the resources Brad has wielded in his fight with Angelina. You can bet that Angelina is going to call on that support as she looks for some kind of resolution to her and Brad's conflict,” the source said.

The insider also suggests that this may be wishful thinking from Jolie to outplay the Bullet Train star.

Brad, who was declared legally single in 2019, continues to challenge Angelina in court, particularly over the Château Miraval winery they once co-owned. The dispute over the winery has led to further legal action, with Brad suing Angelina over their NDA contracts.

“How does [Angie and Salma's working relationship] impact Angelina's ongoing legal battle with her ex-Brad Pitt? Well, it certainly helps to have a massive fortune like Salma's in your corner, and not just for the purposes of getting a film financed,” the source told InTouch.

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