Paul Greengrass offered Somali pirate project at Sony
Apparently this week is all about the offers.
With various players being offered gigs with respective projects, be it writing, directing, or acting, one of the directing world’s biggest names has found himself in the eyes of one of the biggest studios around. Deadline is reporting that Sony Pictures has offered the director’s chair on their upcoming Somali pirate project to one Paul Greengrass.
The film will star Tom Hanks as Richard Phillips, and is based on the Captain’s memoir, A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea. The film will follow Phillips, who was “the skipper of the cargo ship Maersk Alabama who gave himself up as a hostage to Somali pirates to keep his crew from having to leave the ship with them. After three days of being held hostage alone with the armed pirates in a small lifeboat, Phillips was saved by Navy SEALs who staged a dramatic rescue that left the captain unharmed, three captors dead and another in custody.”
Always one to take on topical subjects, this is right in Greengrass’ wheelhouse, and sounds like the perfect gig for the filmmaker. As a fan of both Greengrass and Hanks, this film sounds like a real winner. I think the premise is ripe for a big screen version, and could make the most of Greengrass’ patented filmmaking style.
What do you think?
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