Tom Brokaw conducted a rare interview with Angelina Jolie and 97-year-old Louis Zamperini on the “Today” show Tuesday about their upcoming film “Unbroken,” a biopic about the former distance runner and legendary World War II hero’s life.
Jolie opened up about the exhaustive process it was to pitch the movie to studio executives, which she undertook herself.
“This has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” Jolie revealed. I had all the hours of phone calls and things and made all these boards. I took my glue and tape and pictures off the internet and tried to — and I put all my boards in a garbage bag and I carried them to Universal myself and put them out and I pitched my butt off!”
“Just watching the two of you, I’ll bet this is not just a filmmaker’s journey for you,” Brokaw said to Jolie. “This becomes really personal, because you’ve got the legacy of this amazing man in your hands and on the big screen.”
“Such a huge responsibility to get it right,” Jolie said. “I love him so much and he’s helped me so much in my life!”
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“Did you find the book on your own, or did somebody send it to you?” Brokaw asked.
“I wanted to direct something again, but I wasn’t sure what,” she explained. “And I wanted — it had to be something I would love and care about because it takes much more time away from your family and much more effort than acting.”
Incredibly, Zamperini’s home overlooks Jolie’s in the Hollywood Hills.
“I imagine that for the last 10-something years, he’s been sitting there having a coffee in the morning and wondering who’s going to make this movie!” Jolie exclaimed. “And I’ve been sitting in my room laying there thinking, ‘What am I supposed to be doing with my life? I wanna do something important. I need some help. I need some guidance. Where is it?’ And it was right outside my window.”
Watch Jolie open up about her new film below via NBC: