Bradley Cooper is turning into a very busy man lately. He’s just gotten all plagiaristic in The Words, is currently busy plotting murder with Jennifer Lawrence in Serena, is flirting with joining Woody Allen’s next film and is also looking to get all drunk and amnesiac again for The Hangover 3 later in the year.
And now he’s also looking to produce and probably star in an adaptation of American Sniper, real life Navy SEAL Chris Kyle’s autobiographical account of how he goes from being a Texas rodeo riding native to officially becoming the most lethal sniper in US Military history, so feared by the Iraqi insurgents that they gave him the nickname al-Shaitan (“the devil”).
THR reports that Jason Dean Hall will be penning the script, which won’t just be all about bullets and headshots, but will incorporate emotional passages from Kyle’s wife “who slowly watches as her husband’s affection turns from her to the SEALs and war.” If they don’t lay on the gung-ho cheesy American patriotism too thickly, this could be a very interesting film, as it examines the mindset of a man who became a living war-time legend, and the tolls that took on him and the people around him.
Here’s the synopsis of the book taken from Amazon:
He is the deadliest American sniper ever, called “the devil” by the enemies he hunted and “the legend” by his Navy SEAL brothers . . .
From 1999 to 2009, U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle recorded the most career sniper kills in United States military history. The Pentagon has officially confirmed more than 150 of Kyles kills (the previous American record was 109), but it has declined to verify the astonishing total number for this book. Iraqi insurgents feared Kyle so much they named him al-Shaitan (“the devil”) and placed a bounty on his head. Kyle earned legendary status among his fellow SEALs, Marines, and U.S. Army soldiers, whom he protected with deadly accuracy from rooftops and stealth positions. Gripping and unforgettable, Kyle’s masterful account of his extraordinary battlefield experiences ranks as one of the great war memoirs of all time.
A native Texan who learned to shoot on childhood hunting trips with his father, Kyle was a champion saddle-bronc rider prior to joining the Navy. After 9/11, he was thrust onto the front lines of the War on Terror, and soon found his calling as a world-class sniper who performed best under fire. He recorded a personal-record 2,100-yard kill shot outside Baghdad; in Fallujah, Kyle braved heavy fire to rescue a group of Marines trapped on a street; in Ramadi, he stared down insurgents with his pistol in close combat. Kyle talks honestly about the pain of war—of twice being shot and experiencing the tragic deaths of two close friends.
American Sniper also honors Kyles fellow warriors, who raised hell on and off the battlefield. And in moving first-person accounts throughout, Kyles wife, Taya, speaks openly about the strains of war on their marriage and children, as well as on Chris.
Adrenaline-charged and deeply personal, American Sniper is a thrilling eyewitness account of war that only one man could tell.
Last Updated: May 25, 2012
James Francis
May 25, 2012 at 15:01
Interesting. The book isn’t written in any narrative that would resemble a script, so this is likely to be very… creative in its execution. I’m sure someone out there could figure out how this book translates into a movie, but I’m not one of them.
Still, I’d watch it for the beach ball scene…
mornelithe
May 25, 2012 at 20:34
Haven’t read Kyle’s book myself, but it sounds similar to Notes of a Sniper, by Vasili Zeitzev (The movie Enemy at the Gates was based off of him).
James Francis
May 27, 2012 at 12:27
I haven’t read that, but this was one of the most unusual soldier biographies I have read. It’s very matter-of-fact and during the middle-portion, which covers his tours of duty, events tend to be revealed by theme, not along a timeline. He also discusses stuff like gear, his preferred weapons, marine tactics and so forth. Best of all, he’s not very apologetic about what he does. It might shock some, but the candid nature at least feels honest.
mornelithe
May 28, 2012 at 20:36
It’s a very very simple read, fairly short too, but kind of expected given I can’t imagine a sniper sitting there writing a huge novel while he’s out in the field. Definitely a good book read though, and I definitely want to get my hands on Mr. Kyles book now also.
James Francis
May 29, 2012 at 08:20
I’ll find that book – would be interesting to compare. But, if you like the theme, you must read this.
Justin Hess
May 25, 2012 at 15:51
Look, I imagine it makes for interesting subject matter, but I can’t be the only one who cringes at reading
“more than 150 of Kyles kills (the previous American record was 109)” which seems to gleefuly treat someone being killed as if it’s equal to batting in goals for Manchester City.
I find that a bit disasteful
James Francis
May 25, 2012 at 16:59
I’d say any quote from the book risks throwing it out of context. He is pretty unsympathetic about many of the combatants he shot, but he also goes to great pains explaining that each kill was legit and documented. It’s an interesting read if you enjoy military biographies.