LoneSurvivor Tagged Articles at Cinematical

What do you get when you cross Citizen Kane with Ruthless People? Something that sounds like the greatest movie ever, right? Well, we'll see if that's really what we get when Peter Berg makes a movie about the kidnapping of teenage heir J. Paul Getty III. According to Variety, the actor/director is developing a project based on John Pearson's book "Painfully Rich: The Outrageous Fortune and Misfortunes of the Heirs of J. Paul Getty" (with that title, it sounds like another Bette Midler movie is thrown into the mix, too). For those who don't know the story, 16 year old Getty III was abducted in Rome and the kidnappers demanded $17 million. But his miserly grandfather -- the founder of Getty Oil -- initially refused to pay up. At first everyone thought the kid was pulling a prank. Eventually the poor teen's ear was mailed to the family. Finally, gramps paid, though he only did so with the assurance he'd be paid back by Getty II (his son) ... with interest. As for Getty III, well he became totally screwed up, turned to drugs and his life was ruined forever. Thanks grandpa!

The trade doesn't mention whether or not Berg, whose new film, The Kingdom, is now in theaters, will direct the pic; he's currently shooting the washed-up superhero movie Hancock, starring Will Smith, and then he's linked to a few other projects, including the true Navy SEAL story Lone Survivorr, the racehorse drama Gone Like the Wind, the Cheung fo remake The Mission and the fantasy Bran Mak Morn. He will definitely be involved in producing the Getty film, through his company Film 44, along with Working Title's Chris Clark (Catch a Fire). The adaptation of Pearson's book is being written by Robin Shushman, an apparent newbie (no IMDb listing) who is also currently writing the script for The Contortionist's Handbook. Hopefully she will make the thing twisted enough, and possibly add in some relevance to how good today's spoiled heirs have it.

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 *purple heart for bravery by President Bush.

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.