Oliver Stone Takes on the My Lai Massacre with Bruce Willis & Channing Tatum
Filed under: Drama, Casting, Scripts, War
First, there was Platoon, the 4-Oscar winner classic about the horrors of war. Then there was Born on the Fourth of July -- a double Oscar winner about the life of paralyzed Vietnam vet Ron Kovic. Finally, there was Heaven & Earth, a Golden Globe winner about the true story of a Vietnamese girl struggling during and after the war. Now Variety is reporting that after almost fifteen years, Oliver Stone is heading back to Vietnam -- and he's taking the Live Free or Die Hard Bruce Willis and Channing Tatum (who just completed an Iraq film called Stop Loss) with him.This time around, the flick is called Pinkville, and it's an upper of a drama about the investigation of the 1968 My Lai massacre -- the mass murder of hundreds of defenseless Vietnamese people -- mostly women and children. (Some of whom were also tortured and mutilated.) Willis will calm his adventurous ways down a bit and play Army General William R. Peers, who supervised the investigation into the massacre, and Tatum will play defiant hero Hugh Thompson. Thompson was a helicopter pilot who spotted what was happening and landed his copter between the soldiers and remaining villagers before airlifting the remaining people to safety and reporting the atrocity. (Which, of course, didn't make him too popular amongst his fellow US forces.) We might also see a young Colin Powell, who was involved in the investigation of a letter from another soldier.
The script was written by Mikko Alanne, and will be his first feature film -- he previously penned a number of short films and most recently wrote Notorious, about the murders of Tupac and Biggie Smalls. The feature will go into production next year, and I'm sure that it is going to rile up a bunch of people. While it's a true story, there will be those war tensions to deal with, but it's not like that would deter Stone.
Tom Cruise and J.J. Abrams Reunite for 'Mission Impossible 4'
'Big Top Pee-Wee': The Original Benicio Del Toro Wolfman
Spin-ematical: New on DVD and Blu-ray for 2/9
Watch This: Brilliant Oscar-Nominated Short 'Logorama'
Chris Nolan to Lead 'Superman' Reboot!?
_thumbnail.jpg)
_thumbnail.jpg)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-29-2007 @ 11:03AM
Jay said...
There has not been a more brave man than
Hugh Thompson. His actions were heroic
and human.
Reply
10-18-2007 @ 4:59PM
Thomas j. Kinch said...
I was at My Lai AKA Pinkville. An Oliver Stone will never tell the true story of "Why My Lai" I am trying to get to talk Oliver Stone but don't how ? If anyone can help ? THANK YOU I have been in hideing for 40 years now And would like to get a lot out that Mr. Stone will not put in PINKVILLE .
Reply
11-14-2007 @ 4:23PM
William Kaseberg said...
After the Calley massacre [at My Lai(4)] in '68, the Army moved the survivors, as well as the people in My Lai (5) and (6) and other nearby hamlets on the Batangan Peninsula into re-settlement villages under the protection of Marine Cap Teams. Cap Team 146, at Hill 85 about 1/4 mile South of My Lai(4), was where many of the massacre survivors were living at the time of Peers' investigation and was where Peers' tour of the massacre site originated. Peers' 1/1/70 aerial recon of My Lai(4) and his on-the-ground inspection and interviews of the survivors at My Lai(4), itself, would not have taken place but for the squad of Marines at 146, their reinforcement by 2d Platoon, B Co., 5th Bn., 46th Inf., 198th Bde., and the support fires of the Citadel mortar crew, all of whom defended and secured the re-settlement village and My Lai(4) during the week prior to Peers' arrival and during his tour of the site. During that time the VC, abetted by local District and Province authorities with whom Peers had been meeting at Quang Ngai City for several days prior to his team's tour of My Lai(4), tried to disrupt the investigation and take revenge for the people murdered by Calley by attacking and killing all the US forces there, on 1/1/70, destroying the village and scattering the people. Instead, the VC lost about 35 killed, plus wounded and three who surrendered, while the US forces incured 0 casualties, and Peers' investigation went off without a hitch at a safe secure site.
Thanks, guys and God bless you! I'll always remember your hard work, good spirits and honorable service.
Reply