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Directed by award winning actress Angelina Jolie, Unbroken is a chronicle of the life of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner who was taken prisoner by Japanese forces during World War II. Courtesy Universal.
- news.com.au
- 14 Jul 2014
- News
Angelina is in town for the world premiere of her second directorial effort, Unbroken. Source: Getty Images
ANGELINA Jolie embraced the Aussie vernacular while in the country filming Unbroken, her new World War II epic that premiered in Sydney last night.
“We picked up a few things - like ‘too easy’ and ‘no worries’,” she revealed at a press conference this morning in the Utzon Room of the Sydney Opera House.
“No worries is a great thing to hear from your crew when you are in the middle of 200 extras and you are doing lots of things … like sinking planes in the water. It’s a very, very stressful environment and you say ‘Can you do this?’ And they say ‘No worries’,” she laughed.
After stopping traffic in a figure-hugging Gucci gown at the world premiere of Unbroken at the State Theatre on Monday night, Jolie was dressed simply in a flattering, knee-length grey dress for the press conference, which was also attended by leading man Jack O’Connell, Japanese singer-turned-actor Miyavi and producer Matthew Baer.
She told the rapturous Australian press about how her superstar husband Brad Pitt influenced the film from afar. Jolie was on set in Australia while Pitt filmed his own war epic Fury abroad.
“We wrote letters back and forth, 1940s style,” she said.
Oscar-bound ... The film, in which Jolie directs Jack O’Connell (left) and Miyavi (right), has been generating huge buzz before its December release. Source: Getty Images
While her husband, Oscar-winner Pitt, has a couple of successful WWII films under his belt (Inglourious Basterds and more recently Fury), Jolie said they didn’t really discuss the technical aspects of the making a war film.
“He was busy shooting Fury when I was busy doing this and it was interesting that we were in different theatres of the same war at the same time.
“But (while) this is a war film, that’s not all it is. It’s an epic about the human spirit.”
WORLD PREMIERE: What Brad and Ange are really like on the red carpet
All smiles ... Jolie waves to fans at the Opera House. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images Source: Getty Images
World premiere ... Jolie on the red carpet in Sydney last night. Source: Getty Images
Unbroken tells the harrowing but ultimately inspirational story of Zamperini, who survived 47 days at sea after his plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean only to be interned at a prisoner-of-war camp after being “rescued” by the Japanese navy.
Pitt’s influence, Jolie said, had more to do with who he was as a human being than a film star.
“It wasn’t about the technical aspects of shooting a war film but more what I know of him as a man and what I have learnt from living with this great man.
“Seeing the choices he makes, with our family, our children … the way he treats me, with the values he holds, and learning from my sons.
“These are things I think I brought to the film. What I felt I understood about men, and what I love about men.”
Poised ... Jolie has drawn a huge media throng with every appearance Down Under. Source: News Corp Australia
Jolie also spoke about the responsibility she felt, as a director, in telling the story of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic athlete and war hero who died in July aged 97 not long after seeing a completed version of the film.
“They say don’t meet your heroes because you will be disappointed. But I met mine and he was truly extraordinary,” she said.
In charge ... Jolie on the set of Unbroken, which was filmed in Sydney. Picture: Jeremy Piper Source: Supplied
One of the film sets for Unbroken at Wentworth Park in Sydney. Source: News Limited
Unbroken is slated for a December 25 release in the US in time to qualify for the Oscars. It opens in Australia on January 15.
