Angelina: The Hardest Thing I've Ever Done

Angelina Jolie sat down with Tom Brokaw on TODAY, and had two shocking revelations about her upcoming movie Unbroken.

The film chronicles the life of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner who was taken prisoner by Japanese forces during World War II. "[The world] can seem hopeless and it can seem very overwhelming," she said of the movie. "But the resilience and the strength of the human spirit is an extraordinary thing."

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It just so happens that director Jolie is neighbors with her movie muse. "I imagine that for the last 10-something years, (Zamperini has) been sitting there having a coffee in the morning and wondering who's going to make this movie," the 38-year-old Oscar winner told TODAY. "And I've been sitting in my room laying there thinking, 'What am I supposed to be doing with my life? I wanna do something important ... I need some help. I need some guidance. Where is it?' And it was right outside my window."

Zamperini joined the A-list star in the interview and referred to her as "honey" and "my gal."

The actress admitted that she felt the pressure to depict her friend's life in the right way. "(I feel) such a huge responsibility to get it right, because I love (Zamperini) so much, and because he's helped me so much in my life," she said.

Jolie quipped that it wasn't easy to get this movie made. "This has been the hardest thing I've ever done. ...I pitched my butt off."

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Adding of why she's chose to do this film, "It had to be something I would love and care about. Cause it takes much more time away from your family and much more effort than acting."

This is Jolie's third directorial effort, following the 2007 documentary A Place in Time, and the 2011 drama In the Land of Blood and Honey.

Unbroken is scheduled to hit theaters Dec. 25, 2014. Will you watch?