Entertainment One
The hunt for Osama bin Laden was so significant that we’ve already had a few movies about missions to find and/or kill the al-Qaeda leader. Most famously, of course, is Zero Dark Thirty, which dramatizes the operation that resulted in bin Laden’s death. Before that was the comedic documentary Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?, in which director Morgan Spurlock jokingly travels through Africa and the Middle East in search of the wanted terrorist.
Spurlock wasn’t the only “regular guy” on the hunt, though, as we’ll see soon enough in the comedy Army of One. Described as a satire, the movie will also be based on a true story of the “Rocky Mountain Rambo,” Gary Faulkner, a Denver-based construction worker who in 2010 went to Pakistan armed with a pistol, a knife and a samurai sword to take out bin Laden all by himself. Who could possibly play such a crazy man? Nicolas Cage has been cast, of course.
Directing Army of One is Larry Charles, of Borat, Bruno and the Bill Maher-led comedic documentary Religulous. The Hollywood Reporter describes the project as “semi-scripted,” with writing credits going to Draft Day’s Scott Rothman and Rajiv Joseph and a “GQ” article by Chris Heath. “GQ,” by the way, is a Conde Nast publication and this movie will be produced by Conde Nast Entertainment. The Weinsteins have already picked it up for distribution, possibly for a late 2015 release even though it won’t begin shooting until March.
If Charles needs an actor to play bin Laden, I wonder if he knows Larry Thomas, who played the figure in Uwe Boll’s Postal and also appeared in Zero Dark Thirty, both long after playing the Soup Nazi on Seinfeld. Charles left his gig as a writer, director and producer for that show just before Thomas’s famous episode, but perhaps they’re acquainted anyway.
Check out an appearance by the real Faulkner on Late Night With David Letterman below. Cage is absolutely perfect to play this role.
Related Topics: Nicolas Cage
