TwitterGood news for Al Roker: Angelina Jolie is no longer contagious!
In her first television interview since contracting chickenpox, the Unbroken director spoke to Today's weather anchor about the illness that forced her to cancel her appearance at the film's premiere late last month. "It was so absurd. What was even stranger was, I think, during the day before. I was trying to do interviews and I was like, 'What's happening to me? Strange,'" the 39-year-old actress recalled. "Of course it was really fun that my kids took the mantle. They took it very seriously when I said, 'You've got to represent mom. You've got to do this for me.' My kids knew and loved Louis, so I was like, 'You've got to do this for Louis, you know? You've got to get out there.' So, they were excited about the mission."
While Jolie rested, her husband, Brad Pitt, took three of their six children—Maddox Jolie-Pitt, Pax Jolie-Pitt and Shiloh Jolie-Pitt—to the film's Dec. 15 premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX in Hollywood.
"I love Shiloh wearing the suit and tie," Roker said.
"Yeah," a beaming Jolie said, "and she had [Louis Zamperini]'s shoe on, that he won in 1940."
Recalling the film's late subject, she added, "He will forever be that inspiration to us all."
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Jolie said she grew quite close to Zamperini while she was directing Unbroken, and she was relieved that the movie was received well. "Oh, it's the most wonderful feeling—and not as a filmmaker, as someone who really loves and believes in Louis. I loved him so much," she told Roker. "He was so funny. He was really one of the funniest people you'd ever meet. So full of life. So aware of the hardest aspects of life. And through that embraced every day with this fire and this humor and this love that was infectious."
Capturing Zamperini's spirit was no easy task.
"It's a huge responsibility. [I had] sleepless nights and so many moments of self-doubt because...when somebody is your own actual hero and it's my second film—and it's a huge film—and there were so many things, from shark attacks to plane crashes, and I've never directed anything like that. I often thought, 'This is too important. This is too big. I don't know how I got here and I don't want to fail him.'"
During one scene, Roker thought, "That almost looks like Angelina Jolie making the gnocchi!"
"My kids would disagree," she said, laughing. "I don't think they've ever seen me make gnocchi, but I think they'd love that image. I should try that. I would love to think of myself as the classic mom at home being able to...I'm one of those people that I'll learn this random exotic meal from...I can do a really interesting Afghan dish with eggplant but I don't know how to do basic spaghetti. I'm just that person."
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