THE whirlwind visit by one of Hollywood’s most bankable stars to Werris Creek yesterday could trigger an avalanche of interest – and tourist dollars – to the town.
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While most were happy to simply bask in the glow of Angelina Jolie’s presence, others were predicting a tourism boom the likes of which the 1500-strong town had never seen.
Jolie has not confirmed she will shoot parts of the feature film Unbroken in the town but she told The Leader yesterday it was “looking likely”.
“The railway already brings people here, but this will bring a lot more people if the movie is shot here,” local woman Julie Cunningham said.
NSW deputy premier Andrew Stoner said the film was expected to create more than 300 jobs for the state and plough millions of dollars into the economy.
“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,” Mr Stoner said.
Unbroken, based on the best-selling book by Laura Hillenbrand, is Angelina Jolie’s second foray into directing after the critically acclaimed and Golden Globe-nominated In The Land of Blood And Honey.
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.
The film stars Jack O’Connell (300: Rise of an Empire) as Louis Zamperini plus rising stars Garrett Hedlund (TRON: Legacy), Domhnall Gleeson (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) and Finn Wittrock (All My Children).
