STACK NZ May Issue #62

DVD & BD

FEATURE

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In choosing her second project as a director, Angelina Jolie found inspiration close to home. UNBROKEN

H ollywood history is filled with

movies based on inspirational true stories involving remarkable

individuals with the resilience and determination to triumph over adversity. So it was only a matter of time before the eventful life of Louie Zamperini – as documented in Laura Hillenbrand’s bestselling book Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption – was made into a film. What was unexpected, however, was that this incredible story of survival against the odds would be brought to the screen by actor- turned-filmmaker Angelina Jolie. Zamperini was a gifted Olympic athlete who joined the United States Army Air Corp in 1941. Deployed as a bombardier, he survived the crash of a defective B-24 bomber in 1943, subsequently spending 47 days adrift in shark- infested waters before being captured by the Japanese Navy and interred in a POW camp. Zamperini’s strong survival instinct and life motto, “If I can take it, I can make it”, helped him endure the torture and indignities he experienced as a prisoner of war. Angelina Jolie had made her directorial debut in 2011 with the Bosnian War-set drama In the Land of Blood and Honey , and was eager to venture behind the camera once again, albeit with the right project. “I wanted it to be something I would love and care about because directing takes so much dedication, so much time away from your family and much more effort than acting,” Jolie explains. “You have to be completely committed and fully engaged. I knew I wouldn’t be any good at directing another film unless I was really moved by the subject matter and felt it was important.” When producer Matthew Baer gave her the working script for Unbroken in 2012, Jolie found within it the themes she wanted to explore onscreen.

Above: Angelina with Louie Zamperini Right: Angelina directs Top: Jack O'Connell (right) as Zamperini in Unbroken

to structure Zamperini's story as a film. “I made these storyboards at home, taking pictures from the Internet, gluing and taping them onto sheets of cardboard,” she recalls. “Then I put them in garbage bags and hauled them to Universal, where I pitched my butt off convincing the studio I could do the job.” With support from producer Baer, the studio agreed to allow Jolie to further develop her passion project, during which time she became better acquainted with Zamperini. “I had the privilege of spending a great deal of time with Louie, who was a hero of mine,” Jolie notes. “I quickly understood what my generation and my children’s generation could learn from his. “I wanted to make this film because, in the end, Louie’s message is one that we all need, now more than ever. He was someone who helped to remind us all what each of us is capable of: to never lose heart, to gain

“I was intrigued by the draft I read, but it was after I read Laura’s book that I knew that I wanted to direct the film,” she recalls. I was drawn to the incredible story of Louie’s journey and Laura’s brilliant recreation and rich documentation of pivotal events that shape the last century.” Not only was Jolie inspired by Zamperini’s story, she soon discovered that the man himself lived in her own neighbourhood in the Hollywood Hills. “Louie could actually see the roof of my house from his living-room window,” she laughs. “Little did I know that he’d been there all the time… all the while I was trying to figure out what to do next with my life.” This revelation made Jolie even more determined to direct Unbroken , and she began meticulously researching and planning how best I had the privilege of spending a great deal of time with Louie, who was a hero of mine

strength from family, to identify our fears and our pain, to define brotherhood with our fellow man, to come face-to-face with the darkness and to never, ever give up.”

• Unbroken is out on May 20

MAY 2015 JB Hi-Fi www.jbhifi.co.nz

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