Clint Eastwood’s last couple films have all taken inspiration from true events or people.J. EdgarsawLeonardo DiCaprioas the first director of the FBI,American SnipersawBradley Cooperas Navy S.E.A.L. sniperChris Kyle, and his most recent,Sully, sawTom Hanksas the Miracle on the Hudson pilotChesley “Sully” Sullenberger. It looks like Eastwood is sticking with this trend and going after the story surroundingJessica Buchanan, the American aid worker kidnapped by Somali pirates in 2011.
According toTHR, Eastwood is eyeing this as his next project with Warner Bros., who distributedSully,American Sniper,Jersey Boys, and more of his films. The film is based on Buchanan’s memoir calledImpossible Odds, which she worked on with her husbandErik Landemalm.
Buchanan, then 27, and her colleague were kidnapped by pirates while working in Somali, having been sold out by their escort. For the next three months, they were terrorized and forced to live in the desert, while Buchanan’s husband worked through what channels he could to rescue them. They eventually were whenPresident Barack Obamagreen lit Seal Team 6 to parachute in January 2012.
If you consider Eastwood’s most recent work,The Impossibleadds to his pattern of stories about American heroes or figures that’ll relate more to domestic audiences — and so far it’s been paying off handsomely.American Sniperwas the highest-grossing film in the U.S. in 2014 with a worldwide total of $547 million.Sullyhas grossed more than $167 million worldwide.
Here’s part of the lengthy synopsis ofThe ImpossiblefromAmazon:
In riveting detail, this book chronicles Jessica and Erik’s mutual journey during those torturous months. Together they relate the events prior to the kidnapping, the drama of Jessica’s fight to stay alive, and Erik’s efforts to bolster and support the hunt for her while he acted as liaison between their two families, the FBI, professional hostage negotiators, and the United States government. Both a testament to two people’s courage and a nail-biting look at a life-or-death struggle, this is a harrowing and deeply personal story about their triumph over impossible odds.
Watch some of60 Minutescoverage of her story in the video below.
