Kathryn Bigelow’s movie about the finding and killing of Osama Bin Laden has signed on three new cast members. Jessica Chastain, Edgar Ramirez and Mark Strong will be joining Chris Pratt and Jason Clarke in the film that has been in the works for years. The film started development after a failed attempted to capture Bin Laden in 2001. Read more after the jump.
Julie1205
Kathryn Bigelow’s film about the military’s hunt for Osama Bin Laden is on the verge of enlisting three new stars.
According to a number of reports, including one by The Hollywood Reporter, Jessica Chastain, Edgar Ramirez and Mark Strong are all in talks to join the long-gestating project. On Thursday, it was reported — and seemingly confirmed by production company Annapurna via Twitter retweet — that Joel Edgerton had joined the picture. Chris Pratt and Jason Clarke were already part of the cast.
In development for years, the film had to retool after Bin Laden was killed by the Navy’s SEAL Team 6 early in 2011.
“The attempt to kill Bin laden in the Tora Bora mountains in 2001 was no longer as relevant a story as what had just happened,” Edgerton told Indiewire last year, “but then what had just happened was so fresh and as we all know, history often needs time and perspective to kind of settle in everybody’s minds, you can’t just go and start shooting the movie in the next month and assume that you’re going to get everything right and have all of the information. So the project was put on hold for a while while Mark and Kathryn kind of gathered information.”
That information gathering also made headlines on Thursday; Rep. Peter King, chair of the House’s Homeland Security Committee, announced that the CIA and Department of Defense would be honoring his request for an investigation into alleged secret sharing by the White House with the producers of the film. In November, a CIA spokeswoman said that they would be working on refining the process for sharing information with filmmakers.
“CIA has been open that as part of our public outreach, the agency has over the years engaged with writers, documentary filmmakers, movie and TV producers, and others in the entertainment industry,” Jennifer Youngblood said in a statement. “Our goal is an accurate portrayal of the men and women of the CIA, their vital mission and the commitment to public service that defines them. And it is an absolute that the protection of national security equities is an integral part of our mission.”
In August, Bigelow and writer/director Mark Boal defended their film against King’s initial call for investigation.
“The dangerous work of finding the world’s most wanted man was carried out by individuals in the military and intelligence communities who put their lives at risk for the greater good without regard for political affiliation,” they said in a statement. “This was an American triumph, both heroic and non-partisan, and there is no basis to suggest that our film will represent this enormous victory otherwise.”
Chastain had a massive breakout year in 2011, starring in six films. She was nominated for the Golden Globe for her work in “The Help,” and featured in “The Tree of Life,” “The Debt,” “Take Shelter,” “Coriolanus,” “Salome” and “Texas Killing Fields.” Her turn in “The Tree of Life” earned her an award from the New York Film Critics’ Circle.
She’ll also feature in “Wettest County,” “Tar” and “Mama” in 2012. She’s also slated to star in “Horizons” with Tom Cruise, though the Bin Laden movie may conflict with that film. On Thursday it was announced that she would be making her Broadway debut in “The Heiress.”
Ramirez has plenty of military intelligence film experience already. He starred in 2007’s “Bourne Ultimatum.”
Bigelow’s Bin Laden film is set to hit theaters on December 19th
HP
