Universal Has the 'Lone Survivor'
Filed under: Drama, Deals, Universal, War
Deadline Hollywood Daily is reporting that Universal has won the rights to the life story of decorated NAVY Seal Marcus Luttrell. Last June Mr. Luttrell had published Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10. The book had garnered praise from military blogs and conservative critics. Published by Little, Brown & Company, the book has quickly risen to the top spot on the New York Times best-seller list. An earlier report on Deadline had news of a bidding frenzy between studios to secure the rights to the "patriotic property".Luttrell began his military career as part of the elite SEAL unit in 2002. In June 2005, he and four other members of his unit were dispatched to Afghanistan to execute a Taliban leader. The unit was ambushed by Taliban soldiers and after an intense firefight, Luttrell was the only member of the team left alive. He was taken in by a small village who later crossed the Taliban by refusing to hand the soldier over, starting a battle that almost wiped out the village and was awarded the *
According to Deadline Hollywood, the title was purchased with Peter Berg in mind to direct. Berg has just finished filming the political thriller The Kingdom for Universal. But if the studio wants to wait for him, it could take awhile. Berg is filming the superhero drama Hancock with Will Smith and Charlize Theron. As soon as that film wraps, he is set to direct The Mission, which is a remake of the 1999 Johnny To flick Cheung fo. So if Universal is half as eager to put the project into production as they were to secure the rights, I hope they have a Plan B.
*Correction: Marcus Luttrell was awarded the Navy Cross for combat heroism.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-21-2007 @ 11:33AM
bongo123 said...
you left out the bit where his unit was ambushed because they ran into a kid and 2 adults whom Luttrell decided to let live and who subsequently informed the local talibans who then killed his squad... whats with Americans movie studios glorifying in my opinion a typical u.s. forces failure
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8-30-2007 @ 9:59PM
Starfish said...
You are missing the point here Bongo123...no one ever said this was a perfect mission!...even Marcus will tell you that this mission was not perfect and mistakes were made...nevertheless....these men fought until the end...doing what they loved...the usual combat on the battlefield may last 2 min...these men fought for close to 40min...you tell me if that doesn't sound out of a Hollywood movie?...these men were incredible..so it makes sense that a movie would follow the book...it has all the ingredients of a patriotic war movie..with incredible Heroes that went out and fought...while most of us sat back in our homes safe!!!
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10-16-2007 @ 2:45PM
wtell said...
A typical US force failure? What the heck does that mean. The rules of engagement (ROE) made up by our politicians, in addition to the one sided reporting of the war by our media, which results in our troops being accused of committing atrocities and ending up in jail, are the reasons for the five seals letting them go. Marcus Luttrell was the deciding vote to let them go because the press would have had a field day if they would have killed so called "innocent civilians", which in the end were responsible for having four seals killed.
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11-14-2007 @ 3:05PM
Steve Skeete said...
This story is incredible!
I do not think the ROE had anything to do with the way the unit handled the civilian intruders. American soldiers are naturally humane and the story would probably not have turned out any other way.
These men sacrificed their lives. I admire and commend them for that. Each one of them deserves the highest honour. It was not just the way they fought since these are elite soldiers, it was their respect for human life, their dedication to duty and their total support for each other which led to at least one of them having the chance to get out alive.
This is a remarkable story but one that in all likelihood occurs daily in Iraq and Afghanistan and go unreported. What a lost!
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11-16-2007 @ 9:06PM
Colin said...
About halfway through the book I started thinking 'They MUST make a movie out of this. And not a B movie, not a rock n roll war movie but a movie that is filmed with excellent care and quality.' I couldn't help but think of Saving PR, BlackhawkD and the rest. Also, I hope this Berg guy doesnt direct the movie. It needs to be someone like Speilberg in my opinion. It needs to be someone who can make a movie that will leave you speechless, crying... The kind of movie that makes you re-examine your life. The kind that makes you wonder if your life is worth anything at all when you realise what other have done and do on a daily basis.
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