A fully detailed book-length account is sure to surface in the very near future, but in the interim Nicholas Schmidle's August 8th article in The New Yorker gives us a fascinating and detailed account of the before, during, and after of the raid that led to the death of Osama bin Laden.
The narrative is tailor-made for a film, and Schmidle's details about the risky mission that almost went totally wrong are gripping. The best part of the article is the description of the post-mission meeting at Fort Campbell in Kentucky that President Obama had with the men who pulled off the attack.
I can see it already: a big-budget film up for a bunch of awards. The movie poster just a giant picture of bin Laden's freaky, smiling face. It's the perfect balance of poignant plot-line and stunning action. You're right, this is tailor-made for film, already over ten years in the making.
ReplyDeleteSchmidle's story has even more details than what we heard from the twenty-four-hour news stations, so there's no room for the distracting plot holes that usually come with high-action films. The narrative is gripping, and (unlike the average action movie that you know will be ridiculous but you go to see anyway for Jake Gyllenhaal or Bradley Cooper) the movie will feature great dialogue taken right from the true story. Narration from one of the SEALs will bring the personal touch that allows it to speak for a generation. This will be a nice contrast to the sounds of gunshots and likely some hardcore hip-hop soundtrack (I hear several tracks off of Eminem's Encore). Plus think about how many movies with touching voiceovers become instant classics. Kids of the future can watch it in APUSH class after Forrest Gump.
Anyway, these guys like "Brian" and "James" are our leading characters. America will love them and Hollywood can fill the set with young, handsome actors who would otherwise be making sequels to superhero movies (e.g. Chris Evans.. though Capt. America gets two thumbs up). Also there's a great character in Cairo the dog. America will love him too.
The AK-47s and MP7s and M4 rifles will grab the eyes of those uninterested in the handsome SEALs. Will also need to find some new politician look-alikes. Hollywood's crazy for those, and the contrast btwn the Washington shots and action shots will look great.
They can just call it Geronimo. It's got a ring to it and anything's better than oh say "Operation Iraqi Freedom." "Neptune's Spear" is alright, but it reminds me that I should be reading Mythology... ah how I spend my time.
(I did enjoy this article. Also enjoyed "Safari" 7/14.)