When athlete Louis Zamperini overcame all odds to qualify for the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, you might think that emerging with an impressive enough time to earn the attention of Hitler himself (whose personal flag Zamperini later stole) would be the ending of an odd, though inspirational, story. But no. Moreover, you’d think that after enlisting in the war effort and surviving a plane crash at sea, living for nearly two months on rainwater and fresh fish despite shark attacks and Japanese air-raids, would almost have to signal the story’s happy conclusion.
But no.
Having washed ashore on the Marshall Islands, Zamperini was captured by the Japanese Navy, held as a prisoner of war, presumed and pronounced dead by the US military, and was later rescued after the war’s conclusion in ’45. If all that sounds like a movie, it’s about to be. Angelina Jolie has just signed on to direct Universal’s telling of Zamperini’s life story, Unbroken, set to be produced by long-time Stephen King collaborator Mick Garris. [Deadline]
GIANT ROBOTS! With Guillermo Del Toro’s upcoming mech-vs-monster flick Pacific Rim preparing its summer debut, giant robots are making a bit of a comeback to the silver screen. So it’s no real surprise that Walking Dead, Terminator and Aliens producer Gale Anne Hurd is teaming with Toei Animation and All Nippon Entertainment for a big-budget version of Gaiking. A teaser for the eventual project was developed for the 2010 Tokyo International Anime Fair long before Hurd had ever come onboard. [The Hollywood Reporter]
Staying within the realm of high science fiction, Universal has finally set a date for the re-emergence of Vin Diesel’s Riddick character: September 6, 2013. Director David Twohy’s return to the more claustrophobic style of Pitch Black – as opposed to the epic sci-fi bent of The Chronicles of Riddick – will find the character trapped on an alien planet with his only hope of escape the ship full of mercenaries who are coming in search of him…the simply-titled Riddick will also debut on IMAX in post-summer blockbuster fashion. [The Hollywood Reporter]
Lastly, Radio Silence, the four-man directing team behind arguably the best segment in the horror anthology V/H/S, has been tapped to helm a female-skewed found-footage horror movie for Fox. While the project’s story is being kept under wraps, the notion of these impressive new talents bringing a largely female cast into the found-footage game should make horror buffs happy this holiday season. [The Hollywood Reporter]
Watch the trailer for del Toro’s Pacific Rim, and then let us know if you’re as interested in giant robot movies as we are in the comments below!
