edonline
07-07-2005, 02:24 PM
http://film.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,12589,1523114,00.html
Eastwood to fly Flags of Our Fathers
Staff and agencies
Thursday July 7, 2005
Guardian Unlimited
Fresh from his success with the gritty Million Dollar Baby, Clint Eastwood is poised to embark on an altogether bigger project. The two-time Oscar-winner is to direct the second world war epic Flags of Our Fathers, about the 1945 campaign to secure the island of Iwo Jima.
The story is based on the best-selling book by James Bradley and has been adapted by Million Dollar Baby screenwriter Paul Haggis.
Iwo Jima was a turning point in the American struggle in the Pacific, and resulted in the loss of 22,000 Japanese soldiers and 26,000 US servicemen. Its conclusion was marked by an iconic photograph of six American soldiers raising the Stars and Stripes on Mount Suribachi. One of the soldiers was John Bradley, the father of the book's author.
Bradley Jr started researching the story following his father's death in 1994 and his story focuses on the six soldiers who feature in the photograph - tracing their humble origins, their involvement in the bloody 36-day campaign and their subsequent return to civilian life.
Flags of the Fathers is backed by DreamWorks and Warner Bros, with Steven Spielberg set to share a co-production credit with Eastwood. Ryan Phillippe has signed on to play the role of John Bradley, while Adam Beach will co-star as Ira Hayes, a Native American servicemen who became an alcoholic in the aftermath of the war. Production begins next month at locations in Iceland, Chicago and Los Angeles.
Eastwood to fly Flags of Our Fathers
Staff and agencies
Thursday July 7, 2005
Guardian Unlimited
Fresh from his success with the gritty Million Dollar Baby, Clint Eastwood is poised to embark on an altogether bigger project. The two-time Oscar-winner is to direct the second world war epic Flags of Our Fathers, about the 1945 campaign to secure the island of Iwo Jima.
The story is based on the best-selling book by James Bradley and has been adapted by Million Dollar Baby screenwriter Paul Haggis.
Iwo Jima was a turning point in the American struggle in the Pacific, and resulted in the loss of 22,000 Japanese soldiers and 26,000 US servicemen. Its conclusion was marked by an iconic photograph of six American soldiers raising the Stars and Stripes on Mount Suribachi. One of the soldiers was John Bradley, the father of the book's author.
Bradley Jr started researching the story following his father's death in 1994 and his story focuses on the six soldiers who feature in the photograph - tracing their humble origins, their involvement in the bloody 36-day campaign and their subsequent return to civilian life.
Flags of the Fathers is backed by DreamWorks and Warner Bros, with Steven Spielberg set to share a co-production credit with Eastwood. Ryan Phillippe has signed on to play the role of John Bradley, while Adam Beach will co-star as Ira Hayes, a Native American servicemen who became an alcoholic in the aftermath of the war. Production begins next month at locations in Iceland, Chicago and Los Angeles.