Angelina Jolie is to Direct Her Film Unbroken in NSW

The production will film in NSW, with scenes to be shot in both Sydney and regional NSW. Unbroken is backed by Universal Pictures, one of Hollywood’s major studios. 

“Securing production of Unbroken in NSW will inject millions of dollars into the State’s economy and is expected to create more than 300 jobs for NSW-based crew alone, and more for cast and extras,” Deputy Premier and Minister for Trade and Investment Andrew Stoner said.

“This great news confirms NSW’s international status as Australia’s premier location for large-scale film production and demonstrates the world class standards of our film production industry,” Mr Stoner said.

“We’re expecting that some of the visual effects work for the film will also be undertaken by NSW companies.

“NSW is known for its leading edge creative and digital skills and technology. This was another significant factor in attracting Unbroken to the State.”

Mr Stoner said that Screen NSW had worked hard to bring the production to the State against strong competition from other possible locations around the world.

“Securing this production for NSW demonstrates the competitiveness of doing business here,” he said.

“It puts a global spotlight on NSW and on the strength of our digital economy - from smart networks and intelligent technologies to digital animation, visual effects, live action filming, and interactive content.

“This will be a great boost for our digital economy and creative industries, as well as our international reputation.”

Minister for the Arts George Souris welcomed the news that Sydney wouldn’t be the only part of the State to benefit from this production with other parts of regional NSW also included.

“I am pleased that Regional NSW will benefit with new jobs to be created and economic activity expected to increase in the towns where the filming is taking place,” Mr Souris said.

Originally published by Random House in 2010, Unbroken follows the incredible life story of Olympian and war hero, Louis Zamperini, 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.

Unbroken will be the latest in a series of large-scale productions wins for NSW, with other recent successes including The Wolverine, The Great Gatsby, and Lego.

The latest ABS figures for the Film, Television and Digital Games sector show that NSW continues to lead in this sector, with nearly 60 per cent of all people employed nationally in production and post-production businesses based in NSW.

More than half (55 per cent) of all Australian production and post-production businesses are located in NSW, with a total income of more than $1.58 billion in 2011-12.

For more information on Screen NSW’s support for the State’s screen industry, please visit www.screen.nsw.gov.au