US film giant Columbia Pictures said on Tuesday it has won the US distribution rights for a film about the killing of Osama bin Laden, to be directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow.
Bigelow and journalist-turned screenwriter Mark Boal, who won Oscars for Iraq bomb squad movie The Hurt Locker in 2010, had already been working on a project about the Al Qaeda chief’s capture or killing, before his death on May 2.
Immediately afterwards there were reports they were scrambling to decide what to do with the project, but Tuesday’s announcement by Amy Pascal of Columbia’s parent company Sony Pictures Entertainment confirmed the plans.
“Bigelow and Boal have been developing the project since 2008 and plan to incorporate recent events into the film,” said a statement, adding that the film will focus on “the black ops mission to capture or kill” Bin Laden. Pascal added: “With the death of Osama bin Laden, this film could not be more relevant. Kathryn and Mark have an outstanding perspective on the team that was hunting the most wanted man in the world.”