A few years back, Warner Bros. wanted David O. Russell to direct a hostage movie starring Brad Pitt. After circling the project, O. Russell chose instead to work on The Silver Linings Playbook, while Pitt busied himself with World War Z. Now, after a long hiatus, the film is moving on, and we have details on its development.
Variety reports that British helmer David Mackenzie (Starred Up, Perfect Sense) is in negotiations to direct The Mission, an action thriller set in Colombia. Based on the true story of Operation Jaque, the film centers on a U.S. Special Advisor who devotes years of his life to save 15 hostages captured by the Marxist–Leninist guerilla group FARC. After being cut loose from the U.S. embassy, he teams up with a Colombian intelligence agent to pull off the rescue. Mackenzie will direct off a script by Peter Landesman (Parkland), with a rewrite by The Town scribe Peter Craig.
Transformers and G.I. Joe producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura will produce the film along with Scott Burns and Thomas McLarty. No word yet on casting, but we’ll provide updates as they come.
Do you think David Mackenzie is a good choice for The Mission?