At Monday night’s Unbroken world premiere she revealed she feels closer than ever to her husband Brad Pitt, after they wed in an intimate ceremony in France earlier this year.
And speaking at the film’s press conference at Sydney’s Opera House on Tuesday, Angelina Jolie, 39, said that while the pair were separated – Angelina in Australia for Unbroken, and Brad in the U.K for war movie Fury – the devoted twosome employed an old fashioned way of communicating.
‘We wrote letters back and forth, 1940s-style,’ she said.
Elegantly dressed in a simple, dove-grey dress, the director appearing on the panel alongside the film’s leads Japanese musician Miyavi and British actor Jack O’Connell, as well as producer Matt Baer, when she delivered an impassioned speech about her husband.
Talking about how Oscar-winner Brad had influenced her second directorial project Unbroken – she said his advice came less from words and more from the example he sets as a person.
Almost overcome with emotion she spoke eloquently of her partner of almost a decade.
‘It [Unbroken] is an epic about the human spirit, so I think certainly in knowing, less about the technical aspect of shooting a war film, but more what I know of him [Brad] as a man and living with this great man.
‘Seeing the choices he makes with our family, our children… the way he treats me and the values he holds and learning from my sons.
‘These are things I think I brought to the film that I understand about men, and what I love about men, and what I think I’d want our generation to be reminded of.
‘The great men who came before them and the greatness in them now and how to rise up to it.’
Last year the couple relocated the entire Brangelina brood, Maddox, 13, Pax, 10, Zahara, 9, Shiloh, 8, Knox, 6 and Vivienne, 6, Down Under to film Unbroken – with Brad visiting in between shooting his war flick Fury.
Whilst in the country, Angelina managed to pick up a couple of local phrases and slang words, such as ‘too easy’ and ‘no worries’.
Clearly delighted by the addition to her vocabulary she said: ‘”No worries” is a great thing to hear from your crew!
‘When you’re in the middle of 200 extras and there’s a lot to do sinking planes in the water in a very very stressful shoot and you say, “Can we do this?” and they say, “No worries”.’
Reunited with many of the crew members who helped make the film possible, Angelina was glad to return to Australia for the world première.
‘We’re so happy to bring the film back,’ she said.
‘It was very important for us to bring the film back here.’
The World War II biopic tells of the strength and perseverance of late Olympic runner Louis Zamperini, who was taken prisoner by Japanese forces during the war, a lesson Angelina believes is needed now as much as ever.
‘We all look at the news, read the papers, we see so much hate, so much violence so much war and so much that could really make us wonder what is the future going to be.
‘Are we going to be alright? How are we going to take care of each other as a human race and what’s going to pull us through these dark times?
‘I wanted to make this film because I wanted to put something out in this world that reminded us all of the strength of the human spirit and brotherhood and faith and all of the things that will in the end get us through these dark times,’ she continued.
The passionate director has previously spoken about the relationship and respect she developed for Louis Zamperini, calling him her ‘best friend’, and once again, Angelina sang the praises of the late, great man.
‘Louis is one example [of strength] but when we said to Louis that I want to make this film to show how extraordinary you are he said no, make the film to tell everyone how extraordinary they are.
‘They say don’t meet your heroes because you’ll be disappointed but I met mine and he was truly extraordinary.’
Source: dailymail.co.uk