Osama bin Laden Movie already in Works

As news of Osama bin Laden's death circulates, it has emerged that an action thriller about the Al Qaeda leader had already been in the works.

Kathryn Bigelow, the Oscar-winning director of the 2009 Iraq war movie The Hurt Locker, and her screenwriting collaborator Mark Boal were meeting with actors for an Osama Bin Laden assassination project, when they learned US forces had killed the Al Qaeda leader in a Pakistani compound.

How this will impact on the project is yet to be seen. Bigelow and Boal, the director and writer of the 2009 best picture winner were already working on an action thriller tentatively titled Kill Bin Laden.

The movie is to be based on a failed Black Ops mission by the US military to capture the Al Qaeda leader.
Michael Fassbender was one of the actors in contention to star, but he is no longer in the running.

Joel Edgerton is the latest to be circling the project, and sources say he is likely to attach himself now that his association with Universal studio's Snow White And The Huntsman seems to have waned.

Edgerton was until about a week ago a strong contender to play the Huntsman, a role Viggo Mortensen was once interested in playing.

The real-world development could impact on the bin Laden project in several possible ways: The movie could stay more or less the same, gaining momentum as Sunday's events give its subject matter added weight, context and timeliness.

Or perhaps the project will do a 180-degree turn, with a new story line and focus. After all, it's hard to imagine the events surrounding bin Laden's ultimate killing not being incorporated into the script in some fashion.

Bigelow could also lose interest in the subject matter altogether, especially given all the other bin Laden projects that will likely be fast-tracked to capitalise on the intense worldwide interest in this subject.

Paramount Pictures in 2006 optioned Jawbreaker, a book written by intelligence operative Gary Bernsten, about a 2001 hunt for bin Laden during the opening stages of the war in Afghanistan.

The next few weeks will likely see a tonne of new bin Laden projects surface, especially as the details of the US mission to kill him become known.

The Hollywood Reporter hears Bigelow and Boal are digesting the news and will spend the week figuring out their next move.

Boal, who has extensive intelligence connections, will likely be trying to get the inside information on the mission.

If they do move forward with the project, the final film will no doubt be authentic and timely.
- *Reuters*