Unbroken Production Notes
Unbroken Production Notes
Unbroken Production Notes
JACK OCONNELL
DOMHNALL GLEESON
MIYAVI
GARRETT HEDLUND
FINN WITTROCK
Executive Producers
MICK GARRIS
THOMAS TULL
JON JASHNI
Produced by
ANGELINA JOLIE, p.g.a.
CLAYTON TOWNSEND, p.g.a.
MATTHEW BAER, p.g.a.
ERWIN STOFF
Based on the Book by
LAURA HILLENBRAND
Screenplay by
JOEL COEN & ETHAN COEN
and
RICHARD LAGRAVENESE
and
WILLIAM NICHOLSON
Directed by
ANGELINA JOLIE
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CAST
JIRO FUNAMOTO
KUNIHISA GOTO
Watanabe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MIYAVI
KATSUHITO NOJIRI
KATSUICHI SHIKE
RYUZABURO NARUSE
YOJI TATSUTA
SEAN MCCARTHY
CHRIS OVENS
OLIVER WRIGHT
TAKA UEMATSU
YUTAKA IZUMIHARA
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TRAVIS JEFFERY
GEOFFREY EVANS
NICK SMITH
SIMON NOONAN
BRETT SHEERIN
CHRIS PATTON
NIK SCHODEL
JACINTA LEONG
JENNY HITCHCOCK
TONY WILLIAMS
OLIVER RIMMER
MICHAEL REIDY
CREW
ANDREW KATTIE
ROSS PERKIN
WILLIAM NICHOLSON
GABRIEL SMITH
ERWIN STOFF
THOMAS TULL
JON JASHNI
ROBBIE MACKINNON
HOLLY GOLINE-SADOWSKI
JOSEPH REIDY
ANDREW EISEN
ERIC LORENZ
BRETT REED
CLAYTON TOWNSEND
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MOSES FOTOFILI
MARK WATSON
JON TAYLOR
STEPHEN HEAD
JEN STANFIELD
MATT COPPING
ELLY KAMAL
HARLEY CAULCUTT
ROBERTA SHAW
MARTY CAULCUTT
WILLIAM STEGGLE
SEBASTIAN DICKINS
MANASSAS KEREAMA
LEROY PAGE
DAN OWEN
DREW SCHUSTER
MELANIE SHEPHERD
TONY STACHEEL
MICHAEL THOMAS
CHRISTINA VALIDAKIS
SHANE THOMAS
KAREN JONES
CARL WOOD
PAUL FOTOFILI
MATT COULAM
DAVE THOMSON
NOEL FRANCO
JASON POOLE
NICK COPPING
ALEX FEWSTER
GEORGINA MARQUIS
PIETER PLOOY
RAY PURKIS
ADRIAN SEABERT
ANNA BROADBENT
DARREN FRANK
DEAN FRANKLIN
JAMIE HOWE
JAKE INGRAM
NAZMEEN DHANSEY
ALI NICHOLLS
NICOLE COULSTON
JULIAN SUMMERS
JONATHAN HARDING
KRISTI MCLAREN
BEN MCNEILL
VANESSA REDMOND
SAFKA SINTMAARTENSDIJK
GRANT WOLSTENHOLME
BRONWYN DOUGHTY
CHRIS TURNER
JOSHUA WATKINS
MELISSA KOSTENBAUDER
NATALIE WALL
MICHAEL WARK
PHILL EAGLES
ERIC COTTON
Researcher/Production Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
RICHARD GEORGESON
CHARLOTTE TOWNSEND
BERNARD GOLENKO
MICHARNE CLOUGHLEY
MORGAN SMALLBONE
CHARLOTTE REYNOLDS
KILLIAN MAGUIRE
LAURA NAGY
JOHN PICKERING
GARTH TOMPKINS
DEREK DESMOND
BEN FOLEY
ALLISON HARVEY
MARK JONES
EMMA KAZARIAN
MICK VERBEEK
KRISTIN REUTER
JOCELYN THOMAS
TANIKA PRATT
ALEX DOYLE
KANE LOWE
BEN MCCOSKER
TIM PHILLIPS
ALLAN MOWBRAY
BERNIE CHILDS
STU BURCHALL
WADE KRAWCZYK
GIDEON MARSHALL
JACK WHIDDON
EMMA RUDKIN
ARABELLA LOCKHART
RAY COULSON
EMILE OLIVER
LUKE GASPARINI
JODIE WHETTER
VICTORIA WILLIAMS
ROBERT WOOD
SAM LUKINS
ADAM KEALY
BRETT BEACHAM
GENE CHANTRILL
EDDY TAYLOR
CAMERON ROCK
KAREN TRIEST
SIMON LUCAS
LAUREN HADAWAY
NAT PURDON
JIM DENDRINOS
ANGIE HAMPSON
MARK HOUSTEIN
JOHN LUETTKE
TIM OBANK
ANDY PLAYFORD
KIERAN SHEVLIN
DREW STEADMAN
NICOLAS CHARRON
ALEXANDRE DESPLAT
SYLVAIN MORIZET
JILL MCCULLOUGH
JEFF GOMILLION
DAN OCONNELL
JOHN GEUNTNER
DENISE OKIMOTO
ANDREW DUDMAN
Score Performed by . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
PHIL SHIRLEY
JAY WILKINSON
BEN PARRY
CLIVE BELL
TRANG BACH
PAUL CLARVIS
ERIK BAKER
TIM BELSHER
JEFFREY BENEDICT
GEORGE OULTON
SEAN BITTINGER
DUNCAN BLACKMAN
RYAN BRADLEY
PAT BRENNAN
MATT BRUMIT
MARCO CAPPARELLI
MARK CASEY
LANNY CERMAK
PETER CHESLOFF
BRIAN S. CLARK
JAY COOPER
MICHAEL CORDOVA
ROBERT DORRIS
PETER DWORIN
SIMON FILLAT
CARL FREDERICK
JIHYAE HAM
RICK HANKINS
TC HARRISON
ADAM HAZARD
ELOISA HONRADA
MICHAEL HONRADA
CHIA CHI HU
PEG HUNTER
DANIEL PEARSON
PAUL HUSTON
MICHAEL JAMIESON
MARTIN MURPHY
MICHELLE KATER
STEVE RAWLINS
TOAN VINH LE
KATE LEE
CORNELIA MAGAS
JOEY SANTANA
SHANTEL MEDINA
CHRIS MOORE
GURPREET PANNU
THADDEUS PARKINSON
CALEB PENNYPACKER
BEN PERKINS
PATRICK DAVID
DANIEL POST
JEREMY EZEKIEL
ROBERT ROSSELLO
SBASTIEN FRANCOEUR
STEPHAN SCHAEFHOLZ
CARL GAGNON
ROMAN SCHMIDT
OLIVIER GOULET
ERIC SCHWEICKERT
EMILE HARVEY
ALEX TANG
JOCELYN HUDON
KATE TURNER
CHRISTINE LECLERC
NOOR VALIBHOY
THOMAS MONTMINY-BRODEUR
HOWIE WEED
MARTIN PELLETIER
FABRICE VIENNE
LAUREN FONG
CHRISTOPHER MEDLEY-POLE
SAMANTHA COMBALUZIER
CAROL PAYNE
JAMES DONG
KRISTINA TRUONG
XAVIER FOURMOND
JEAN-FRANOIS GAGN
NICOLE GALAZ
SOAL GIVORD
SAM GUTENTAG
DOMINIC GUILMETTE
AKIRA HIYAMA
SAMUEL JACQUES
VIKTOR KOKORUZA
FABRICE LAGAYETTE
FRANCIS LAROUCHE
LYNE LEPAGE
RAPHAL LETERTRE
DANIEL LOWENBERG
VALRIE LOYER
ADAM OBRIEN-LOCKE
STPHANE MAILLET
DAVID MCKAY
ALEXANDRE MNARD
ANDREANNE LAMOUREUX
DOMINIQUE MOISAN
AMELIE THOMAS
CHRISTIAN MORIN
GUILLAUME PELLETIER
PHILIPPE PELLETIER
PATRICE POISSANT
MOIKA SABOURIN
KEVIN SEIVEWRIGHT
LYNN DEKKER
IRENE SMIRNOVA
RODRIGO FIALLEGA
LAURENT SPILLEMAECKER
CAMILLA HGG
EDY SUSANTO
ANDERS HEILEMANN
MATTHIEU VEILLETTE
GORAN KOCOV
SEBASTIEN VEILLEUX
ALEXANDER SWAHN
MICHAEL THEANDER
FELIX TYRESSON
PHILIPPE THROUX
MIKAEL WIDEGREN
OLIVER WOLFF
THIERRY DELATTRE
PIERRE RAYMOND
SANDRA BEERENBROCK
Visual Effects Coordinators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LEXIE BUSBY
MARYSE BOUCHARD
CHRISTOPHE DAMIANO
GEORGINA LOVERING
MATHIEU DUPUIS
JANE REYNOLDS
NADINE HOMIER
MATHIEU LALONDE
MATHIEU LECLAIRE
FRANOIS LEDUC
FRANOIS MTIVIER
STEVE PELCHAT
GUILLAUME ST-AUBIN
BEN WALKER
ETIENNE MARC
JOHAN NORDENSON
CARL PRUDHOMME
ESBEN SYBERG
ROGIER FRANSEN
LARRY TOWNSEND
JACOB BRSTING
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ALFIE OLIVIER
DAVID HERNANDEZ
PAWEL OLAS
CHRIS HUNSBERGER
DREW HUNTLEY
NATSUKO KIKSAKI
NICK CHONG
DAVID LEVINE
ZELKO DEJANOVIC
JAMISON MCCORD
TYSON DONNELLY
BRUNO PARENTI
JULIEN LEVEUGLE
JEREMIAH SWEENEY
DEAN RICHICHI
CLIFF WELSH
KAZIA ROACH
YUKI UEHARA
RANDY VELLACOTT
GUIDO WOLTER
NICOLETTE PICARDO
TROY DARBEN
JAMES MCCARTHY
HARRY MEDLIN
MATT ROE
CORIN SADLIER
RICHARD SKELTON
SUZANNE CIPOLLETTI
SIMON CLARKE
SCOTT HANKEL
HIROSHI MORI
MARCELINO NEWQUIST
LACHLAN PHILLIPS
ARTHUR ZAJAK
DAVID WEINSTEIN
ALLISON PAUL
WILLIAM BARKUS
DAN BARTOLUCCI
CHRIS CABRERA
TRENT CLAUS
FEFO DESOUZZA
DEMITRE GARZA
BRIAN HAJEK
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OLYMPISCHE HYMNE
Written by Richard Strauss and Robert Lubahn
Performed by Locke Brass Consort
Traditional
AIKOKU NO HANA
Greenland Group
MIRACLES
Performed by Coldplay
LAURA HILLENBRAND
Foreword
When I first met Louie Zamperini, on a telephone call on a sunspilled afternoon more than a decade ago, I was in
search of a good story. As he recounted the many years of his monumentally eventful and unlikely life, I knew Id found no
mere good story. Id found perhaps the most extraordinary life history Id ever heard.
I marveled at every turn of it: the hellion youth; the superlative speed that carried him to the Olympics and an encounter
with Hitler; the harrowing hours as a World War II bombardier; a plane crash; 47 days and two thousand miles as a raftbound
castaway; leaping sharks; a typhoon; starvation; capture; an epic struggle as an enslaved prisoner of war; years entangled in
the terrors of PTSD; and a final, beautiful moment of redemption. This was the stuff of legend.
As I hung up the phone that day, the first of innumerable days I would spend in Louies company, there was something
that resonated even more deeply than the story Id heard. It was the man whod lived it. What made Louie truly singular, and
what made his life relevant to all of us, was not the series of events that comprised his life, but the way in which he met them,
summoning strength amid suffering, joy amid loss, forgiveness in the face of cruelty, hope that knew no master. To him, his
odyssey was a gift, a lesson he could teach in how to endure the bruises of life and emerge in happiness. His laughter was
irrepressible because he looked about him and saw only blessings. The loveliest thing about this wondrous man was that he
wished for all of us to see in our own lives what he saw in his. His story was his gift to us.
It was a grand privilege and indescribable pleasure to know Louie Zamperini and to narrate of his life. And it is with
happy anticipation that I await the worlds reception of Angelina Jolies marvelous film about him, a film that captures not
just the drama of his years, but the irrepressible, brave, grand-hearted and profoundly inspiring man he was.
Laura Hillenbrand
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JACK OCONNELL stars as Olympian and war hero Louis Louie Zamperini in Unbroken.
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BEFORE THE
PRODUCTION
includes 11-time Academy Award -nominated former Olympian, whose long, incredible and inspiring
cinematographer ROGER DEAKINS (Skyfall, No
life has been described as one of the greatest stories of
Country for Old Men), production designer JON triumph in the 20th century, lived through and beyond
HUTMAN (Somethings Gotta Give, The Tourist), what most could comprehend. His tale of crippling
editors TIM SQUYRES (Life of Pi, Crouching despair trumped by indomitable will and redemption
Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and Oscar winner
continues to serve as a message of hope for the millions
WILLIAM GOLDENBERG (Argo, Seabiscuit), who have been affected and inspired by his journey.
costume designer LOUISE FROGLEY (Quantum
And it all began almost a century ago.
of Solace, Good Night, and Good Luck.) and
As a youth in Torrance, California, the youngest
composer ALEXANDRE DESPLAT (The Kings
son of Italian immigrants, Louie was an incorrigible
Speech, The Curious Case of
Benjamin Button).
The screenplay for Unbroken
is by Oscar winners JOEL COEN
& ETHAN COEN (No Country for
Old Men, True Grit) and RICHARD
LAGRAVENESE (HBOs Behind
the Candelabra, Water for Elephants)
and WILLIAM NICHOLSON (Les
Misrables, Gladiator).
The films executive producers
are MICK GARRIS (Riding
the Bullet), THOMAS TULL
(Godzilla) and JON JASHNI
(Pacific Rim).
Mischievous young Louie (CJ VALLEROY) tries to sit still in church.
Road to Redemption:
A Brief History of
Louies Journey
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home to Southern California, but his life was forever Although several screenplays were commissioned at
changed. Louie was plagued by nightmares and the time, no director signed on to the project.
a crippling mental disorder that would not be
In 2002, however, a turn of events changed
classified as such until decades later: PTSD. Like everything.
the countless heroes who returned from the far
Louie Zamperini and best-selling author Laura
reaches of these cruel detention camps with night Hillenbrands eight-year journey together began just as
terrors alternating with waking hell, Louie found
the author finished Seabiscuit: An American Legend.
post-war life a monumental struggle. For four years During her research for her first book, she kept coming
after his internment, he battled crippling anxiety,
across another famous Californian who was discussed
alcoholism and demons that visited him every time as the only one who could give Seabiscuit a run for
he went to sleep.
his money. She thought: Someday, Im going to look
Only after Louie and his new bride, Cynthia,
into this guy. Once she had locked her copy, she wrote
heard a young pastor by the name of Rev. Billy
Louie a letter, and he wrote back.
Graham speak in September 1949 would he have a
The more they communicated, the more
revelation of forgiveness. Embracing Christianity, he
Hillenbrand was fascinated by what she learned about
turned around a life that had come to be tortured by the man whose lifelong attitude was If I can take it, I
murderous regret. In subsequent years, Louie devoted can make it, and asked the nonagenarian if she could
himself to spreading the word of spirituality, fortitude write her next book about him. Louie agreed, even
and forgivenessgoing so far as to travel back to though he had written his own story years before. His
Japan and making peace with the very tormentors
life dedicated to service, he wanted to spread the word
who had starved him and beat him senseless. Only of reconciliation as far as he could.
The Bird refused to meet with him.
During their collaboration (which ultimately
Louies story had all the makings of an unforgettable
spanned more than 75 phone interviews and exhaustive
film. In fact, Universal Pictures had long been interested globe-spanning research supported by approximately
in his life. In 1957, the studio acquired the rights to Louies 400 endnotes), Hillenbrand and Zamperini agreed
book Devil at My Heels. Back then it was planned as a not to meet in person until the book was published.
vehicle for Tony Curtis, but when Curtis went on to star The author needed to envision Louie as the young
in Stanley Kubricks Spartacus, the project was shelved
troublemaker whose spirit would transform him into a
before a script was drafted.
In 1998, a CBS Sports documentary
on Louies life aired on the network and
breathed life back into the project. When
producer Matthew Baer watched the
piece, he was tremendously affected by
what he saw, unknowingly embarking
upon what would be a 16-year quest to
get the film made. He met with Louie
and his family, then brought Louies
story back to Universal Pictures, as
the studio remained tied to the rights.
The studio was once again interested
Clarence Douglas (STEPHEN J. DOUGLAS) and Harry Brooks (SPENCER LOFRANCO)
man their stations on the Super Man.
in bringing this epic saga to the screen.
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ABOUT THE
PRODUCTION
Louie Meets Jolly:
A Friendship Is Born
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Best friends Louie and Phil in Oahu before their last mission.
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Olympians and
Bombardiers:
Casting the Drama
The greatest generation was the hardiest
generation. We were hardy because we were all in the
same boat. Everyone pulled and helped each other.
Louie Zamperini
First and foremost among the casting challenges facing
Jolie was discovering the films Louie. Who would be able
to embody all of the elements required of a young actor to
play this extraordinary man? It was such a very difficult
task, Jolie recounts. We had to find somebody who not
only had a physical resemblance to Louie,
but someone the audience would want to
go on this journey withsomeone who
looked like he belonged in the period of
the movie and didnt look too modern.
He also had to be someone you
would believe as an Olympic athlete,
someone who could survive a plane
crash and the most intense deprivation,
first adrift in the ocean in a raft for 47
days and then, for the remainder of
the war, endure physical and mental
abuse in several Japanese POW
camps, the director continues. We
had to have someone whod be able to
do all these things physically and also
have a strong spirit.
Mac, Phil and Louie are stranded on a raft in the South Pacific.
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Torrance to
the Pacific
Theater:
Design, Locations
and Shooting
I think the hardest thing in life is
to forgive. Hate is self-destructive.
If you hate someone, youre not
hurting the person you hate,
youre hurting yourself. True
forgiveness is complete and total.
Louie Zamperini
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ABOUT
THE CAST
After making his acting debut in 2005,
JAC K
OCONNELL
(Louie Zamperini) has gone
from strength to strength in
his varied career. OConnell
can next be seen in 71, a
thriller based on the troubles
in Belfast, Ireland. The
f ilm, which screened at
the Toronto International,
Tribeca and New York film
festivals and screened in competition at the Berlin
International Film Festival, will be released in
the U.S. in early 2015.
In April, OConnell was seen in David
Mackenzies Film4-backed Starred Up, in which
he played young prisoner Eric opposite Rupert
Friend. This gritty prison-based father-son
drama premiered to great acclaim at the Toronto
International Film Festival, and screened at the
London, Los Angeles and Tribeca film festivals.
The role earned OConnell a British Independent
Film Award nomination for Best Actor, and
contributed toward his nomination for The South
Bank Sky Arts Awards Times Breakthrough Award.
In March, OConnell was featured as Calisto in
300: Rise of an Empire, the prequel to Warner
Bros. Pictures epic 300. Over the summer, he
wrapped production on Tulip Fever, opposite Dane
DeHaan, Alicia Vikander and Holliday Grainger,
for The Weinstein Company.
In 2012, audiences saw OConnell star as Charlie
Peaceful in Pat OConnors Private Peaceful. This
adaptation of Michael Morpurgos novel follows
the rites of passage of two brothers in the early 20th
century. Additionally, he starred as Kurtis in the
thriller Tower Block, alongside other British talent
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ABOUT THE
FILMMAKERS
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unbroken
NOTES
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NOTES
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