Jolie asked to lighten up

Jolie is signed on to direct <i>Africa</i>, based on paleo-archaeologist Richard Leakey's late-'80s battle with ivory poachers in Kenya. Photo / Todd Williamson

Angelina Jolie has been asked to tone down the sex and violence in a film she is making about an African conservationist, who wants to be able to watch it with his grandchildren.

Richard Leakey, 70, the palaeoanthropologist known for his discoveries of important hominid fossils in East Africa, said he feared his request might deter Jolie's husband, Brad Pitt, from playing him, as planned.

"I have a reputation for having had a fairly full life, but not nearly as full as that," Mr Leakey said, referring to the first version of Jolie's script.

Mr Leakey has led a varied life, from finding fame with the discovery of early human remains, to fighting elephant poaching and escaping death in a plane crash.

He is twice married, has had three organ transplants and lost both legs below the knee in the 1993 crash. There were suspicions that sabotage might have been involved because of Mr Leakey's tireless campaigning against corruption and poaching.

Two years later, he won a seat in Parliament where he continued his conservation campaign.