In the last few hours Eastwood
has apparently confirmed his next project. It was first announced by Deadline
Hollywood, followed by Variety.
Clint Eastwood has confirmed the
next film he will direct. He’ll helm a drama based on the book The 15:17 To
Paris The True Story Of A Terrorist, A Train, And Three American Heroes. The
book was written by Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos, Spencer Stone and Jeffrey
E. Stern; the life rights of the heroes Sadler, Skarlatos and Stone are part of
the package. Newcomer scribe Dorothy Blyskal wrote the script, and Eastwood
will begin casting right away to start production later this year. Eastwood
will produce with Tim Moore, Kristina Rivera and Jessica Meier. This keeps Eastwood on the track of building crowd-pleasing movies out
of true stories about ordinary men in extraordinary situations. That included
Sully, the hit film about Chesley Sullenberger (Tom Hanks), the heroic airline
pilot who landed US Airways flight 1549 in the Hudson River after the engines
were damages by birds right after takeoff. Before that, Eastwood directed the
blockbuster American Sniper, about Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper)
and the toll his precise shooting in Iraq took on himself and his family.
Here, Eastwood makes room for a trio of heroes in Sadler, Skarlatos
and Stone. In August 2015, anISIS terrorist boarded train #9364 from Brussels
to Paris. Armed with an AK-47 and enough ammo to kill more than 500 people, the
terrorist might have succeeded except for three American friends who refused to
give in to fear. Stone was a martial arts enthusiast and airman first class in
the U.S. Air Force, Skarlatos was a member of the Oregon National Guard, and
all three pals proved fearless as they charged and ultimately overpowered the
gunman after he emerged from a bathroom armed and ready to kill. They most
certainly averted a mass tragedy.
Eastwood had been previously
linked to “Impossible Odds” which followed humanitarian worker Jessica
Buchanan, who was kidnapped while working in Somalia and later rescued by a
group of Navy Seals.
Amazon’s synopsis on the book The 15:17 to Paris
An ISIS terrorist planned to kill more than 500 people. He would have
succeeded except for three American friends who refused to give in to fear. On
August 21, 2015, Ayoub El-Khazzani boarded train #9364 in Brussels, bound for
Paris. There could be no doubt about his mission: he had an AK-47, a pistol, a
box cutter, and enough ammunition to obliterate every passenger on board.
Slipping into the bathroom in secret, he armed his weapons. Another major ISIS
attack was about to begin. Khazzani wasn't expecting Anthony Sadler, Alek
Skarlatos, and Spencer Stone. Stone was a martial arts enthusiast and airman
first class in the US Air Force, Skarlatos was a member of the Oregon National
Guard, and all three were fearless. But their decision to charge the gunman,
then overpower him even as he turned first his gun, then his knife, on Stone, depended
on a lifetime of loyalty, support, and faith. Their friendship was forged as
they came of age together in California: going to church, playing paintball,
teaching each other to swear, and sticking together when they got in trouble at
school. Years later, that friendship would give all of them the courage to
stand in the path of one of the world's deadliest terrorist organizations. The
15:17 to Paris is an amazing true story of friendship and bravery, of near
tragedy averted by three young men who found the heroic unity and strength
inside themselves at the moment when they, and 500 other innocent travellers, needed
it most.
