Pitt fills in for 'scratchy' Jolie at 'Unbroken' premiere

LOS ANGELES — When there is a person down in the Pitt-Jolie household, the others stand up.

So when Angelina Jolie was not able to make it to the Hollywood premiere of her movie Unbroken on Monday night due to chickenpox, husband Brad Pitt stepped in.

Pitt was not alone. He attended the Hollywood black carpet with their sons Maddox, 13, and Pax, 10, and daughter Shiloh, 8. Pitt's parents Jane and William also attended.

It was a Pitt-Jolie show of force.

Pitt did not speak to USA TODAY on the carpet. But he did greet the family members of Louis Zamperini, the World War II war prisoner on whom the inspirational movie is based. (Zamperini died in July at age 97.)

Pitt spoke to Zamperini's son Luke and daughter Cynthia Garris, explaining that Jolie was "scratchy," "itchy" and "scabby" but generally in "good spirits" despite missing the event.

Jolie announced on Friday that she was going to miss the premiere and other Unbroken events due to chickenpox.

"You have to laugh at the timing," Jolie said in a statement last week "I was sure nothing could stop me from supporting Unbroken. I am heartbroken to miss our premiere."

It came on the heels of a rough week for the uber-star. Last Tuesday, she was pulled unwittingly into the Sony hacking scandal when emails from producer Scott Rudin to Sony Pictures co-chairman Amy Pascal leaked, calling her a "minimally-talented spoiled brat." Rudin has since apologized.

Unbroken, an epic film with awards buzz, was also shut out of the Golden Globe nominations last week.

When news of the chicken pox broke, Garris said she immediately e-mailed Jolie.

"I told her how much I loved her and how I couldn't believe what a crazy week she had," Garris said. "But she handles things with such serenity. She said she was going to hang out during the premiere with my Dad's portrait. Just alone. And she was going to raise a glass to him."

"And with Brad, his parents and the kids here, she's covered," Garris said.

"We wanted our father and Angelina here. But neither of them could come," Luke Zamperini said. "We're sad for her. But we got Brad, and that's a pretty good consolation prize."

Inside the theater, the Jolie-Pitt clan took up an entire theater row. Pitt did not speak, but warmly stood to hug Jack O'Connell, the star of the movie.

Universal Studios chairman Donna Langley expressed Jolie's "disappointment" about missing the event. Langley read a letter from Jolie:

"When I imagined this night in my mind, I always imagined I'd be sitting in a theater with Louie," the letter said. "But if Louie taught me anything, it was to see the positive and take what comes."