Hollywood Producer Jerry Bruckheimer plans to adapt Steven Pressfield’s World War II novel Killing Rommel for the big screen. Screenwriter Randall Wallace, known for writing Braveheart, Pearl Harbor and We Were Soldiers, will write the screenplay for Jerry Bruckheimer Films and Disney. IMDB reports that the novel contains “the same edge-of-your-seat drama, remarkable battle scenes, and strong characters” that Bruckheimer is known for in his films and television series.
Published in May 2008, Killing Rommel focuses on British officer R. Lawrence “Chap” Chapman, his brigade and their plot to assassinate the German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel during late-1942/early-1943 in North Africa. Amazon reviews Pressfield’s novel saying, “Pressfield expertly juxtaposes the personal with the historical, with authentic battle descriptions.” The novel also centers on Chapman’s relationship with Rose McCall.
World War II is a hot topic in Hollywood these days. Other big name writer/directors are working on or planning to work on war biographical pictures, including Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Bastards, Spike Lee’s Miracle at St. Anna and Bryan Singer’s Valkyrie.
Bruckheimer is currently producing feature film Prince of Persia, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, which is due for release in 2011, along with upcoming seasons of “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” with new lead actor Laurence Fishburne and “Without a Trace.”
