[dropcap]A[/dropcap]NGELINA Jolie says she ‘fought hard’ to land the opportunity to direct the upcoming film Unbroken.
Unbroken marks the return of Jolie to the director’s chair for the first time since she made her debut with In The Land of Blood and Honey, and this was a much bigger project compared to that debut.
Jolie has revealed that she did not just walk into the job of the director and had to prove that she was able to handle the size of the film and all of the special effects and set pieces that came with it.
Speaking to Us Weekly, the actress said: “I fought hard for the opportunity. I’d directed only one other film [2011’s ‘In the Land of Blood and Honey’], which was very small in comparison.
“I had to prove I could handle locations, the budget, balancing two plane crashes, the visual effects and the technical aspects. I had not done anything like that before! I had to go to school quickly, then I pitched my little heart out.
“I over-prepared, with all of these graphs, maps, images and boards that I tied together and put in a garbage bag. Then I didn’t hear anything for three days. It was terrible! I was so driven to get ‘Unbroken’ right, I’d work all night.”
Unbroken is already being tipped as a possible Oscar contender, and we could well see Jolie in the race for the Best Director race when the nominations are announced at the beginning of next year.
The movie is a World War II drama and follows the true story of Olympic athlete Louis Zamperini, who is captured and held in a labour camp by the Japanese.
Jack O’Connell is set to play the central role of Zamperini, while Jai Courtney, Domhnall Gleeson, Garrett Hedlund, and Luke Treadaway are all also on board.
Jolie has already moved on to her next directing project, and has just finished work on By the Sea. The movie sees her direct and star as she teams up with Brad Pitt - this will be the first time that she has directed her husband.
Unbroken is released 26th December.
