The director of The Bourne Identity and Mr & Mrs Smith has joined Attica , which offers an insider’s view into the prisoner rebellion that took place at the Attica state prison in 1971.
Doug Liman, who has just completed Fair Game with Naomi Watts and Sean Penn, calls Attica a “deeply personal” project. His attorney father served as Chief Counsel to the New York State Special Commission on Attica Prison, and contributed to the Commission’s report.
The prisoner rebellion, in which 32 inmates and 10 hostages were killed, is considered the “bloodiest prison confrontation in US history”.
“My father's report literally reads like a page turner,” says Liman. “It is filled with stories of guards and prisoners from vastly different backgrounds learning to trust each other in the face of real human tragedy.”
Sounds like a return to hard-edged thrillers after the silly likes of Mr & Mrs Smith and Jumper . And with a script by Precious scribe Geoffrey Fletcher, Liman should have some solid material to work with.
Could this be Prison Break on the big screen? Tell us your thoughts...
