military Tagged Articles at Cinematical

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.

Because you can never have enough movies set in Iraq, Universal has picked a spec script called Last Man Home about, yes, American soldiers in Iraq. The movie takes place way back in the days before we launched a full-scale war against the Iraqi government, and "revolves around a covert U.S. military unit that is on the hunt for an AWOL American soldier in Iraq." As you might expect, the guy went AWOL not because he's a pathetic coward or, worse, someone who opposes US actions in the country, but because he's a really, really huge hero, and is trying to find his brother, who vanished while serving the first Gulf War. What do you think? Colin Farrell as the lead? Oh, or maybe Ashton Kutcher, in his first big move away from comedy? I smell Saving Private Ryan-style Oscar bait!

The frighteningly successful team of Ron Howard and Brian Grazer are the primary names currently associated with the project; as usual, Howard will direct while Grazer produces.

Listen up, Iraq.

There's a man, a very important man, and he's got a message for you. It's one I believe you should heed well. This man, a well-respected journalist in San Francisco, has just two words for you to live by: "Stay classy."

It seems the legendary anchorman himself, Ron Burgundy, has brought his own brand of smarmy machismo to the people of Iraq, or at least to the side of a plane that's in Iraq. His sentiment is simple, and yet so very universal.