Jolie stops traffic in Sydney - Ninemsn

They gathered around Sydney's Pitt Street which was, quite literally, at a standstill for the actress-turned-director Angelina Jolie.

Not many women can stop traffic but the normally busy thoroughfare in the heart of the city was closed off on Friday afternoon so the Hollywood star could direct a scene from her upcoming film, Unbroken.

Flimsy bollards cordoned off two ends of a street block as people respectfully waited behind them, cameras at the ready, for a glimpse of Jolie.

On the road, a period scene that lasted about 10 seconds was filmed. Cars from the 1940s lined up along the street while people, dressed in clothes from the era, stood on the footpath ready for action.

Then the scene was acted out: an army truck with actors dressed as soldiers standing inside, drove down the street while people in costume were directed by crew to walk up and down on the footpath, as though they were just casual passers-by on what appeared to be a Japanese street.

The cars were emblazoned with some Japanese writing, and one building had the large letters "JOAK WVTR" written across the top. WVTR was the first Armed Forces Radio Network, which took over the facilities used by the former Radio Tokyo, Station JOAK.

That was about the extent of the scene's action, but for about an hour the short sequence was repeated several times.

The crowd waited patiently for Jolie, occasionally whispering, "Have you seen her?" and "Is she there". And soon enough they were rewarded with a glimpse of the star - a diminutive figure in a black jersey dress, flat shoes and dark sunglasses. Her long, highlighted hair was swept back into a ponytail.

Jolie smiled and chatted with crew, then ducked back inside the lettered building. The crowd got a few more glimpses of the superstar before Mother Nature intervened and the rain came.

Throughout the scene, the crew had waited on the sidelines with buckets filled with water, ready to drench the road to give it the appearance of a wet day in between takes. Ironically, when the real downpour happened, it was time to wrap up.

Jolie had just returned from Los Angeles, where she received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the Governors Ball on Saturday.

That star-studded event was the first time that Jolie and fiance Brad Pitt have been in the spotlight together for three months.

Sydney is likely to be on Jolie-watch for some time as filming continues on Unbroken. Jolie has been causing a buzz in Australia since touching down in the Harbour city with her brood of children - Maddox, Shiloh, Pax, Zahara, Vivienne and Knox - in September.

After landing in Sydney in September she was spotted with the children at the Sydney Aquarium, Taronga Zoo and Luna Park.

Filming is understood to also be taking place on Sydney's Cockatoo island next week. Post-production will take place in NSW, at Sydney's Fox Studios.

The film is the survival story of US Olympic athlete Louis Zamperini, who became a Japanese prisoner-of-war after his plane crashed in the Pacific.