Jai Courtney Tapped For Angelina Jolie’s ‘Unbroken’, Russell Crowe’s ‘Water Diviner’
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- Published on Friday, 25 October 2013 10:24
- Written by Deadline
Jai Courtney is in high demand with Oscar-winning actors-turned-directors; he has signed to co-star in the films directed by Angelina Jolie and Russell Crowe. He’ll start with Unbroken, the film Jolie is directing for Universal based on the unbreakable spirit of Louis Zamperini, the former Olympic track prodigy who endured unimaginable hardship as a WWII POW at the hands of Japanese prison guards. Courtney will play Hugh ‘Cup’ Cuppernell, a WWII veteran pilot who gets caught in tenacious midair gunfight alongside Zamperini, who’s played by Jack O’Connell.Courtney will then move to The Water Diviner, Crowe’s feature directorial debut about an Australian man who travels to Turkey to attempt to locate the bodies of his three sons, who were killed there during WWI. Courtney portrays Lt-Col Cecil Hilton, the smart, efficient soldier tasked with organizing the effort to identify the tens of thousands of soldiers killed at Gallipoli. He reluctantly allows Connors to stay and look for his sons’ bodies. Crowe and Olga Kurylenko are also starring.Courtney most recently completed Divergent, which Summit Entertainment will release in March, and Felony, the drama written by Joel Edgerton, who stars. That pic premiered at Toronto last month. Courtney is coming off Die Another Day and Jack Reacher. He’s repped by UTA, manager Sam Maydew at Silver Linings Entertainment, and Australian agent Mark Morrissey & Associates.
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Angelina Jolie: Hard at Work on 'Unbroken' Set!
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- Published on Thursday, 24 October 2013 04:33
- Written by Just Jared
Angelina Jolie chats with some crew members while hard at work on the set of her latest film Unbroken on Monday (October 21) in Queensland, Australia.The 38-year-old actress, who is directing the movie, had a blue screen set up outdoors for some special effects! Angelina‘s doctor who performed her double mastectomy earlier this year has spoken out about women needing to be in charge of their healthcare. “A woman is the captain of her own health care team, and the doctors involved should be co-captains with her, working with her to help achieve the best outcomes,” Dr. Jay Orringer told Fox News about Angelina‘s proactive decisions.
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‘Kick-Ass 2′ Actress to Play Younger Version of Angelina Jolie in ‘Maleficent’
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- Published on Friday, 18 October 2013 03:45
- Written by The wrap
British actress Ella Purnell has replaced India Eisley in Disney’s live-action movie.Seventeen-year-old British actress Ella Purnell has replaced India Eisley as a younger version of Angelina Jolie’s title character in “Maleficent,” according to an individual familiar with the Disney project.The live-action fantasy film stars Jolie as Disney’s ultimate villainess. Story explores Maleficent’s origins and what led her to curse Princess Aurora (Elle Fanning) in Disney’s animated classic “Sleeping Beauty.” The casting switch, first noticed on IMDb by UpAndComers.net, a result of the recent reshoots that took place over eight days and addressed the opening of the film, which establishes young Maleficent’s role in the hierarchy of a peaceful forest kingdom.Veteran production designer Robert Stromberg made his directorial debut with the film, though Disney turned to its “Saving Mr. Banks” filmmaker John Lee Hancock to be on set for the reshoots, as he helped write new pages of the big-budget tentpole’s script.The movie, which was originally shot last summer, co-stars Sharlto Copley, Brenton Thwaites, Sam Riley and Juno Temple.Disney is scheduled to release “Maleficent” on May 30, 2014, the same day Universal releases Seth MacFarlane’s Western comedy “A Million Ways to Die in the West,” which is his follow-up to “Ted.”Purnell, who recently co-starred alongside Chloe Moretz in “Kick-Ass 2,” previously played a younger version of Keira Knightley’s character in Mark Romanek’s “Never Let Me Go.” She’s repped by UTA and Curtis Brown Group.
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Angelina Jolie Sets Japanese Singer Miyavi As Brutal WWII POW Camp Guard ‘The Bird’ In ‘Unbroken’
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- Published on Monday, 14 October 2013 04:12
- Written by Deadline
Universal Pictures and director Angelina Jolie have found their villain for the Lou Zamperini tale Unbroken. Jolie has set Japanese guitarist and singer Miyavi to play the role of Mutsushiro Watanabe, known as “The Bird.” That is the guard who made it his mission to break the spirit of Zamperini, and who haunted the athlete-turned-POW’s every step after he was captured in WWII. I’m told by individuals close to the project that it was no easy task to cast this role. After a long search for the perfect actor, the filmmakers continually found themselves returning to Miyavi’s captivating audition, one that mixed grace, ferocity, sensitivity and sophistication. That audition got Miyavi his first lead role in a Hollywood film. Jolie begins production in Australia in two weeks, and Universal releases the film December 25, 2014.Miyavi might be a new face onscreen, but he is well known in international music circles for his unconventional guitar and singing skills and music that incorporates period-authentic guitars and playing styles from the 1940s. Now he’s going back to that volatile wartime era in Unbroken. Miyavi will have to reschedule part of an upcoming Asia tour to perform the role.“As a musician, I questioned whether I should take a break from my craft to pursue this role,” Miyavi said in a statement. “After meeting Angie, it became clear to me that an underlying theme to this story is forgiveness. This resonated with me because that is exactly what I want express through my music. I look forward to taking on this challenge whole-heartedly.”
I must say, I have been fixated on The Bird since I first saw a wonderful short segment broadcast during the Nagano Olympics, where Zamperini returned to Japan in 1998. After running so compellingly in the final lap of his distance race in the 1936 Munich Olympics that Hitler asked to shake his hand, Zamperini was expected to bring home the gold with four more years of seasoning. The 1940 Olympics were scheduled to be held in Japan but all that fell apart in war. Zamperini instead arrived as a bombardier fighting in WWII. Sent on a rescue mission aboard a faulty aircraft, Zamperini and two other crewmen were the only survivors of a crash in the Pacific Ocean. After surviving in a raft for 47 days, the near-dead men were caught by the Japanese navy. And so began a POW ordeal that would have broken most men. In that CBS segment, Zamperini found the grace to forgive his captor, and offered to do it in person. The Bird was interviewed on camera, but he refused to meet with the hero he tormented for so many years.Universal first made a movie deal with Zamperini in 1957, when Tony Curtis planned to make the Zamperini story his followup to Spartacus. He waited forever. It was kept alive for over a decade by Matthew Baer, who is producing with Jolie, Erwin Stoff and Clayton Townsend. The big break was the publication of the book by Seabiscuit author Laura Hillenbrand, which gave the project a second wind. Jolie, who had impressed Universal executives with her 2011 feature directing debut In The Land Of Blood And Honey. She flipped for the book and for Zamperini, and won the job over several other accomplished directors. And suddenly the 96-year old Zamperini sees his movie go into production, with Jack O’Connell playing him.Joel and Ethan Coen wrote the most recent draft of the script, with earlier drafts written by William Nicholson and Richard LaGravenese. Jolie will have Roger Deakins as her DP, and Universal execs Kristin Lowe and Sara Scott are overseeing for the studio.
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Angelina Jolie's first 'Unbroken' image
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- Published on Friday, 11 October 2013 03:54
- Written by USA Today
Angelina Jolie releases her first image from the film "Unbroken." It's of the director and her subject.Angelina Jolie has released the first picture from her directorial effort Unbroken.It's a photo of the director with the inspiration of the story, Louis "Louie" Zamperini. The famed Olympic long-distance runner survived brutal conditions as a Japanese prisoner of war during World War II.Jolie and and Zamperini are actually neighbors in the Hollywood Hills and have become close friends over the film's development.Zamperini even gave Jolie a golden running shoe pendant, a prize from one of his earliest race. Jolie will wear it every day as she helms the film in Australia.In a release with the photo, Jolie said of her subject: "It will be hard to make a film worthy of this great man. I am deeply honored to have the chance and will do all I can to bring Louie's inspiring story to life... He has made me a better person." Zamperini referred to Jolie as "a human dynamo." "I know she will tell this story in the right way," he added. Zamperini's story was made into a best-selling book by author Laura Hillenbrand.Jack O'Connell will appear as Louis Zamperini in the film arriving in theaters Christmas Day, 2014.
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