I Am Legend director Francis Lawrence is getting ready to release his next feature Water For Elephants (whose trailer we debuted last month), but Deadline reports Universal Pictures has acquired the rights to a possible future project. Laura Hillenbrand’s (who also wrote Seabiscuit) latest novel is Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption. The studio has picked up the rights and is looking at Crazy Heart helmer Scott Cooper to adapt the script.
The novel is currently #2 on the NYTimes Bestseller list, but it is a story Universal has been wanting to make for half-a-century. The story follows Louis Zamperini, a “former Olympic track prodigy who endured unimaginable hardship as a WWII POW.” They bought his life rights in 1957 along with his memoir, Devil at My Heels, but it has taken this long, and a new novel, for a more secure outlook. Back then Tony Curtis was interested in doing it after Stanley Kubrick‘s Spartacus. For the novel, Hillenbrand has “exhaustively researched and written over seven years.” Check out the official synopsis below:
From Laura Hillenbrand, the bestselling author of Seabiscuit, comes Unbroken, the inspiring true story of a man who lived through a series of catastrophes almost too incredible to be believed. In evocative, immediate descriptions, Hillenbrand unfurls the story of Louie Zamperini–a juvenile delinquent-turned-Olympic runner-turned-Army hero. During a routine search mission over the Pacific, Louie’s plane crashed into the ocean, and what happened to him over the next three years of his life is a story that will keep you glued to the pages, eagerly awaiting the next turn in the story and fearing it at the same time. You’ll cheer for the man who somehow maintained his selfhood and humanity despite the monumental degradations he suffered, and you’ll want to share this book with everyone you know.
Were you a fan of Seabiscuit? Are you looking forward to this adaptation from Scott Cooper and Francis Lawrence?