12 Things You Didn't Know About December's Biggest Movies

11. Universal Have Owned The Rights To Louis Zamperini's Life Story Since 1957 (Unbroken)

This Christmas finally sees the release of Unbroken, Angelina Jolie's adaptation of Laura Hillenbrand's book, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption based on the life of Olympic athlete Louis "Louie" Zamperini. Believe it or not, before Jolie was finally confirmed to direct in September of last year, the project bounced around numerous writers and directors, and has in fact been in the making ever since Universal first acquired Zamperini's life rights in 1957. That's right, this movie took 57 years to finally make it to cinema screens, and was originally envisioned with Tony Curtis taking the lead role ultimately filled by the brilliant Jack O'Connell. However, no writer or director seemed to be able to "crack" a cinematic take of Zamperini's tumultuous life until now, and so expectations have rightly been high that it might be a sure-fire contender for next year's Best Picture Oscar. In an unexpected turn of events, the movie is receiving relatively mixed reviews from critics so far, though given the pic's inspirational appeal and lineage of more than half a century, it's still going to drum up a lot of business this holiday season.