Unbroken

Unbroken is an upcoming war drama film produced and directed by Angelina Jolie and scripted by Joel and Ethan Coen. Earlier drafts were written by William Nicholson and Richard LaGravenese. The film stars JacO'Connell, Garrett Hedlund, and Domhnall Gleeson. The film is based on the life of Olympic athlet Zamperini.

Plot Summary: Academy Award winner Angelina Jolie directs and produces "Unbroken," an epic drama that follows the incredible life of Olympian and war hero Louis "Louie" Zamperini (Jack O'Connell) who, along with two other crewmen, survived in a raft for 47 days after a near-fatal plane crash in WWII—only to be caught by the Japanese Navy and sent to a prisoner-of war camp. 

Adapted from Laura Hillenbrand's ("Seabiscuit: An American Legend") enormously popular book, "Unbroken" brings to the big screen Zamperini's unbelievable and inspiring true story about the resilient power of the human spirit.

Starring alongside O'Connell are Domhnall Gleeson and Finn Wittrock as Phil and Mac—the airmen with whom Zamperini endured perilous weeks adrift in the open Pacific—Garrett Hedlund and John Magaro as fellow POWs who find an unexpected camaraderie during their internment, Alex Russell as Zamperini's brother, Pete, and in his English-language feature debut, Japanese actor Miyavi as the brutal camp guard known only to the men as "The Bird."

If it didn't actually happen, you might think the story came from a Hollywood pitch that started with: "Think 'Forrest Gump' meets 'Life of Pi'." But Louis Zamperini's real life tale -- which has already been spun into a best-selling book -- is now being made for the big screen. And it's all true.
News broke this week that the Zamperini tale "Unbroken" will be directed by Angelina Jolie, who is said to have beat out other directors to helm her first major studio film. The story is being adapted from Laura Hillenbrand's best selling 2010 book of the same name. And those who have read it know exactly why the biography would play well on the big screen. It's simply unbelievable.An athlete and a World War II vet, Zamperini cheated death in numerous and harrowing ways, shook Adolf Hitler's hand, and ran one event for his fourth time ever at the Berlin Olympics. Incidentally, at the age of 95, he is still alive and living in Southern California.

The following are astounding facts about Zamperini in chronological order:

-At 19 years old, Zamperini qualified for the Olympics in track and field after racing 5,000 meters for the second time ever.
-He wound up finishing in eight place at the Berlin, Germany, games in 1936.  There, he met Adolf Hitler, who requested a meeting.
-He stole Hitler's personal Nazi flag, which he still has to this day.
-In 1940, Zamperini's dreams of winning a gold medal came to a halt when the Olympics were cancelled at start of World War II.