Angelina Jolie is currently in the midst of production on her second directorial feature Unbroken, and Universal Pictures has now unveiled the first images from the Australian set.  The film chronicles the incredible life of Louis Zamperini, a former Olympian and WWII bombardier whose plane crashed at sea in 1943.  Zamperini and two crewmates floated adrift for 47 days and 2000 miles, eventually finding themselves caught by the Japanese Navy and sent to a POW camp where Zamperini was targeted by a sadistic overseer.  Jack O’Connell leads the film as the young Zamperini, and these images offer a first look at the actor on the ocean set as Jolie watches over the scenes.

Hit the jump to take a look at the images.  The film also stars Domhnall Gleeson, Finn Wittrock, Garrett Hedlund, Alex Russell, and Carla Thexton.  Unbroken opens in theaters on December 25, 2014.

Here’s a bit of casting information for you today:

• Jai Courtney (A Good Day to Die Hard) has landed a pair of films, starring in Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken and Russell Crowe’s directorial debut, The Water Diviner.
• Ioan Gruffudd (Fantastic Four) and Chandler Riggs (The Walking Dead) are set to star in Home Invasion, Sean Carter’s thriller that also stars Bella Thorne and Natalie Martinez.

Hit the jump for more.

Universal Pictures has released a first look image from Angelina Jolie’s next directorial effort Unbroken ahead of the start of production on the film.  Based on the non-fiction book by Lauren Hillenbrand, Unbroken tells the incredible true story of Louis Zamperini, a former Olympian and WWII bombardier whose plane crashed at sea in 1943.  Zamperini and two crewmates floated adrift for 47 days and 2000 miles, eventually finding themselves caught by the Japanese Navy and sent to a POW camp where Zamperini was targeted by a sadistic overseer.  This image shows Jolie with the real life Zamperini, with whom she’s been meeting regularly since agreeing to direct the film.

Jack O’Connell is set to play Zamperini in the pic, with a supporting cast that includes Garrett Hedlund, Domhnall Gleeson, and Alex Russell.  Joel and Ethan Coen penned the recent rewrite of the screenplay and the film opens in theaters Christmas Day, 2014.  Hit the jump to check out the image and a fact sheet on the production.

We’ve got a few casting stories to attend to this afternoon.  Briefly:

• Steve Martin and Jennifer Lopez have joined the voice cast for DreamWorks Animation’s new film Home, which is an adaptation of the children’s book The True Meaning of Smekday.
• Kathryn Hahn (Step Brothers) is making a late addition to the cast of Brad Bird’s Tomorrowland, which is lead by George Clooney and is now in production in Vancouver.
• Chronicle star Alex Russell has been added to the cast of Angelina Jolie’s next directorial effort, Unbroken.

Hit the jump for more on the aforementioned casting stories.

Angelina Jolie’s next directorial effort continues to fill out its cast, and Tron: Legacy actor Garrett Hedlund is the latest to sign on.  Based on the non-fiction book by Lauren Hillenbrand, Unbroken tells the incredible true story of Louis Zamperini, a former Olympian and WWII bombardier whose plane crashed at sea in 1943.  Zamperini and two crewmates floated adrift for 47 days and 2000 miles, eventually finding themselves caught by the Japanese Navy and sent to a POW camp where Zamperini was targeted by a sadistic overseer.  Jack O’Connell (300: Rise of an Empire) landed the lead role of Zamperini, and now Variety reports that Hedlund—who has long been interested in the true story—has signed on to play fellow POW, Commander John Fitzgerald.

Joel and Ethan Coen wrote the most recent draft of the Unbroken screenplay, and Jolie has nabbed genius cinematographer Roger Deakins (Skyfall, No Country for Old Men) to act as the film’s director of photography, so things are off to a great start.  Filming begins next month in anticipation of a December 25, 2014 release.  Hit the jump for a synopsis of the book.

Here’s today’s casting news:

• Natalie Dormer (Game of Thrones) has officially joined director Francis Lawrence’s The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 & 2 as Cressida.
• Olivia Munn (Magic Mike) is in negotiations to join Johnny Depp, Gwyneth Paltrow and Ewan McGregor in David Koepp’s Mortdecai.
• Domhnall Gleeson (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 & 2) will join director Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken, the story of Olympian and prisoner of war, Louis Zamperini.

Hit the jump for more on each casting announcement.

While Angelina Jolie’s directorial debut In the Land of Blood and Honey earned a limited release when it first hit theaters, her next film is getting a very wide opening.  Universal Pictures announced today that Jolie’s Unbroken will hit theaters on December 25, 2014, just in time for the holiday (and awards) season.  Based on the non-fiction book by Lauren Hillenbrand, the film tells the incredible true story of Louis Zamperini, a former Olympian and WWII bombardier whose plane crashed at sea in 1943.  Zamperini and two crewmates floated adrift for 47 days and 2000 miles, eventually finding themselves caught by the Japanese Navy and sent to a POW camp where Zamperini was targeted by a sadistic overseer.

Embedded in the press release regarding the release date is the fantastic news that the immensely talented Roger Deakins (Skyfall, No Country for Old Men) will be acting as the director of photography on the pic, which boasts a screenplay by Joel and Ethan Coen.  Production on Unbroken should begin later this year.  The other films currently scheduled for release on Christmas next year are the Annie remake, Disney’s star-studded musical Into the Woods, and Night at the Museum 3.  Hit the jump to read the press release.  [Update: Variety reports that, after a screen testing process, Jack O'Connell (300: Rise of an Empire) has been tapped to lead the film.]

Development continues to move forward on Angelina Jolie’s next directorial effort, and the filmmaker has started zeroing in on the actor who will tackle the film’s lead.  Based on the non-fiction book by Lauren Hillenbrand, Unbroken tells the incredible true story of Louis Zamperini, a former Olympian and WWII bombardier whose plane crashed at sea in 1943.  Zamperini and two crewmates floated adrift for 47 days and 2000 miles, eventually finding themselves caught by the Japanese Navy and sent to a POW camp where Zamperini was targeted by a sadistic overseer.  The director’s chair was a highly coveted position, and Universal Pictures settled on Jolie last December.

The film gained even more prestige this past February when Joel and Ethan Coen agreed to rewrite the script, and now Jolie is reportedly looking at a trio of actors to possibly fill the young lead: Dane DeHaan (Chronicle), Alexander Dreymon (Resistance), and Jack O’Connell (Skins).  Hit the jump for more.

Angelina Jolie is heading to the top shelf for her next directorial effort.  Jolie signed on to helm Universal’s adaptation of author Laura Hillenbrand’s non-fiction bestseller Unbroken in December, and after a prolonged search to put a writer on the project, Jolie has roped in none other than Joel and Ethan Coen to rewrite the script.  The book tells the incredible true story of Louis Zamperini, a former Olympian and WWII bombardier whose plane crashed at sea in 1943.  Zamperini and two crewmates floated adrift for 47 days and 2000 miles, eventually finding themselves caught by the Japanese Navy and sent to a POW camp where Zamperini was targeted by a sadistic overseer.

Hit the jump for more, including a full synopsis for the book.

A feature film adaptation of author Laura Hillenbrand’s non-fiction bestseller Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption has been a coveted property essentially since the book hit shelves, and now it looks like the pic may finally be moving forward.  Universal Pictures acquired the book rights back in January of 2011 for Francis Lawrence to direct and Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart) set to write the script.  The studio subsequently brought on Richard LaGravenese (P.S. I Love You) to take over scripting duties the following March, but movement has been quiet ever since.

The book tells the incredible true story of Louis Zamperini, a former Olympian and WWII bombardier whose plane crashed at sea in 1943.  Zamperini and two crewmates floated adrift for 47 days and 2000 miles, eventually finding themselves caught by the Japanese Navy and sent to a POW camp where Zamperini was targeted by a sadistic overseer.  The project has now gained some strong momentum, as Angelina Jolie is being targeted to take the helm.  Hit the jump for more.

Universal Pictures has hired Richard LaGravenese (P.S. I Love You) to adapt the Laura Hillenbrand bestseller Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption.  Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend) is attached to direct, and last we checked, Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart) was in talks to write the script.  Deadline’s report doesn’t mention how it went down, but Lawrence and LaGravenese have established a prior working relationship: they teamed for the adaptation of Water for Elephants, which hits theaters April 22.

Unbroken tells the story of Louis Zamperini, a former Olympian and WWII bombadier whose plane crashed at sea in 1943.  Zamperini and two crewmates floated adrift for 47 days and 2000 miles — he was caught by the Japanese Navy and sent to a POW camp where he was specifically targeted by a sadistic overseer.  Read the full book synopsis after the break:

Universal Pictures has picked up the rights to Laura Hillenbrand’s bestselling non-fiction novel Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption.  According to Deadline, the studio is in talks with Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend) to direct and Crazy Heart director Scott Cooper to pen the script.  Universal also produced the adaptation of Hillenbrand’s previous book, Seabiscuit, and picked up $148 million worldwide plus seven Oscar nominations as a result.

Unbroken centers on Louis Zamperini, a former Olympian whose plane crashed at sea during World War II.  Zamperini and two crewmates floated adrift for 47 days and 2000 miles, he was caught by the Japanese Navy and sent to a POW camp where he was specifically targeted by a sadistic overseer.  Hit the jump for the synopsis of the book.