Thursday, July 10, 2014











Angelina Jolie's Unbroken Delivers Gorgeous New Trailer

We’re more than halfway through the summer, which means it’s time to start turning our attention to fall, and the so-called “prestige” movie season. And you couldn’t ask for a sign that the better, more serious movies are just around the corner than this new trailer for Unbroken, the second directorial effort from Angelina Jolie.
Jack O’Connell stars as Louis Zamperini, the Olympic track star and World War II P.O.W. whose story was first told in Laura Hillenbrand’s 2010 book Unbroken. He competed in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1941; he and two other pilots survived in a life raft in the Pacific Ocean for 47 days after being shot down by Japanese bombers, and Zamperini went on to spend two and a half years as a prisoner of war. He was given a hero’s welcome upon his return home, and spent much of the rest of his life as a motivational speaker.
Zamperini was Jolie’s neighbor in Los Angeles and became friendly with her before she decided to direct the film. Whem Zamperini died last week at the age of 97, Jolie released a statement calling it “a loss impossible to describe.” When accepting her honorary Oscar last year, Jolie called him her hero. The movie she’s made about him appears to be a gorgeous, soaring tribute to the man she adored, and feels, even in this brief trailer, like Jolie has taken some notes from her Changeling director Clint Eastwood, in the period detail and emphasis on strong-willed heroes.
Will Unbroken receive the same kind of awards attention that Eastwood’s movies often do? The release date certainly seems to suggest it could—Unbroken opens in the thick of Oscar madness, on Christmas Day.










Watch: Angelina Jolie Enters the Oscar Race With Powerful Trailer for 'Unbroken'

Angelina Jolie is having one hell of a year. After seeing her latest film "Maleficent" become her highest earning project ever, today sees the release of the trailer for her sophomore directorial effort "Unbroken," and it's a stunner. With a Christmas Day release, Universal is clearly positioning it as an Oscar contender. If the promising trailer is anything to go by, it looks like Jolie might have a front-runner on her hands.
Based on a true story, the drama (co-scripted by the Coen Brothers) centers on Olympian runner Louis Zamperini (Jack O'Connell), who was taken prisoner by Japanese forces during World War II. Co-starring Domhnall Gleeson and Garrett Hedlund, "Unbroken" marks a huge leap for Jolie, who made her debut with the well received but smaller scaled war drama "In the Land of Blood and Honey."











More and more this is looking like the one to beat
As we all know very well, it's dangerous to be the sight-unseen "frontrunner" in an Oscar season. It rarely turns out well. Last year's "12 Years a Slave" made it through by the skin of its teeth as the rare example of a film expected very early on to take the Best Picture prize at the Oscars. This year, Universal Pictures is facing that daunting status as Angelina Jolie's "Unbroken," on paper, simply looks like a film destined for the season. And the latest trailer for the film only further engrains that notion.
Telling the remarkable true story of Olympian-turned-World War II P.O.W. and hero Louis Zamperini, the film has all the hallmarks. It checks a lot of boxes, as it were. And it looks to have the goods, as the trailer reveals a fierce Jack O'Connell in the lead with lush and vibrant cinematography from the legendary Roger Deakins. (Could it finally be his year?) Filmed in Australia, the finished product looks positively epic. Not to mention the Oscar-winning and nominated screenwriters on board: the Coen brothers, Richard LaGravenese and William Nicholson.
Of course, it goes without saying that the recent passing of Zamperini will add plenty more to the outer aura of this release. It's only natural. One hopes he was at least able to see some version of his life story writ large on the big screen before he died, but then again, it was his life. He lived it. Now it belongs to the ages, and "Unbroken" will enlighten plenty to his amazing journey.






Watch: The New Trailer for Angelina Jolie's 'Unbroken' Clearly Makes It an Oscar Frontrunner
By Jul 10, 2014
We may be in the heart of summer blockbuster season, but it’s never too early to start generating hype for the Oscars – which is exactly what’s happening in this new trailer for Unbroken.
Angelina Jolie’s second directorial feature looks to be a strong contender for Academy Awards, telling the real-life story of Louis Zamperini (who passed away on July 2 at the age of 97) – an Olympian who survived 47 days at sea on a raft after a tragic plane crash during World War II. If that wasn’t bad enough, Zamperini and his fellow soldiers were eventually rescued – by the Japanese, who took him to a POW camp.
The new trailer gives you the Cliff’s Notes version of the story, complete with rousing score, memorable quotes, and a few impressive scenes from the plane crash that put Zamperini (played by Jack O'Connell) in the middle of the ocean. It’s the kind of project (co-written for the screen by the Coen Brothers) that Oscar voters love – even if it seems a bit obvious as “Oscar-bait”.
Can Jolie become the second woman to win an Academy Award as Best Director? We won’t know the answer to that until next year. Until then, you can watch this trailer and prepare yourself for Unbroken’s release on Christmas Day.






Writer Jul 10, 2014

Angelina Jolie has only directed two films, but the new trailer for Unbroken shows just how ambitious she is. The epic drama, based on Laura Hillenbrand’s bestselling biography Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption, takes on the true life story of Olympic track star and World War II veteran Louis Zamperini.
Judging from the trailer, the biopic begins in Zamperini’s childhood — and there’s a lot of ground to cover after that. At 19, Zamperini was the youngest American to qualify for the 5000-meter run at the 1936 Olympics. (He finished in eighth place and briefly met Adolf Hitler after the race.) Five years later, Zamperini enlisted in the U.S. Air Force as a bomber pilot. His plane crashed into the Pacific in 1943, and he survived 47 days at sea before being captured by the Japanese Navy. He was held in a POW camp under awful conditions until his release in 1945. After the war ended, Zamperini became a born-again Christian and inspirational speaker, returning to Japan in order to tell his former captors that he had forgiven them.
Nearly as sprawling as Zamperini’s life story is the history of the film adaptation. The veteran’s story has been floating around Hollywood since 1956, when Universal Pictures courted Tony Curtis to star. Nicolas Cage and Ashton Kutcher were both rumored to be playing Zamperini in more recent decades, according to the LA Times, but the movie didn’t get off the ground until Jolie took an interest. Though even partner Brad Pitt was skeptical about the project — telling her, “Oh honey, that’s been around forever” — Jolie was able to get Universal’s blessing.
Zamperini passed away only last week at the age of 97, but he was integral to the production. He joked to biographer Hillenbrand that he’d love to be in the movie himself — “ as long as I can play Angelina’s boyfriend.”
Unbroken, which stars Jack O’Connell and Garrett Hedlund, opens in theaters on December 25.  













Jocelyn McClurg, USA TODAY 6:03 a.m. EDT July 10, 2014
Coverage of the July 2 death of Louis Zamperini at age 97 dramatically boosted sales of Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand's non-fiction book about the Olympian and World War II hero. The book jumps from No. 88 to No. 7 on USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list.
The 2010 title has been on USA TODAY's list for 160 weeks and has been as high as No. 3 (on Dec. 23, 2010). Sales increased in recent months again because of publicity surrounding Angelina Jolie's film adaptation, due Christmas Day.
"It is a loss impossible to describe," Jolie said in a statement last week. "We are all so grateful for how enriched our lives are for having known (Zamperini). We will miss him terribly."
As an airman during World War II, Zamperini was on a flight that crashed into the Pacific. He spent 47 days adrift in a life raft before being captured by the Japanese.
Author Hillenbrand said: "His story is a lesson in the potential that lies within all of us to summon strength amid suffering, love in the face of cruelty, joy from sorrow."
A first paperback edition of Unbroken is due from Random House on July 29. It will include an interview with Hillenbrand, as well as new photos. A movie tie-in edition is due in the fall.
The book has sold nearly 4 million copies in all formats.































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