MGM has acquired a ‘hot package’ deal which will see “Extraction” director Sam Hargrave team with actor/producer Jake Gyllenhaal in the true story war hero feature “Combat Control”.
The film tells the true story of Medal of Honor recipient John Chapman and is based on the book “Alone at Dawn” by Dan Schilling and Lori Chapman Longfritz.
In 2002 just below the peak of a mountain in eastern Afghanistan, Air Force Combat Controller Chapman and a handful of SEALs struggled to take the summit in a desperate bid to find a lost teammate.
Chapman was gravely wounded in the initial assault. Believing he was dead, his SEAL leader ordered a retreat. Chapman regained consciousness, alone with the enemy closing in on three sides, beginning the fight of his life to save the lives of an incoming rescue squad.
The story is juxtaposed with events fifteen years later when Air Force Captain Cora Alexander is tasked with the nearly impossible job of investigating whether Chapman is a worthy recipient of the medal – despite no eyewitnesses to his actions and the top-secret world surrounding clandestine operations.
She has to uncover the truth, and in revealing Chapman’s sacrifice to the world she forges her own path to self-forgiveness and personal redemption. Producers are now beginning their search for the actress that will play Alexander.
Hideaway Entertainment will back the project, marking a reunion of Gyllenhaal with Hideaway’s president Matthew Rhodes – the pair previously worked together on the Oscar-nominated “Nightcrawler”.
Rhodes, Jonathan Gray, Ron West and Kristy Grisham produce while Gyllenhaal is executive producing. Michael Russell Gunn is attached to adapt the script.
Source: Deadline
