Universal Gets 'Unbroken'

Ever hear of a film project more than 50 years in the making?  Read on and I'll explain.  TOLDJA! is reporting Universal Pictures has purchased the film rights to Laura Hillenbrand's new bestselling book, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption.  Hillenbrand is the author of Seabiscuit, which Universal adapted into a major motion picture back in 2003, and well, you're well aware of the critical and commercial success that followed.  Sounds like they're gunning for the same scenario here.  They've got Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend, the upcoming Water for Elephants) attached to direct and are hoping to get Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart) to write the script.

Unbroken centers on the true story of Louis Zamperini, a one time Olympic track prodigy who endured tremendous hardship as a POW during WWII.  His story [via TOLDAJA!]:

Hillenbrand's Random House book, currently number 2 on The New York Times bestseller list, fleshes out Zamperini's survival story in remarkable detail. As a youth, Zamperini transformed from a Depression Era troublemaker into the “Torrance tornado,” a world class runner who became the youngest American to compete on the U.S. team. He ran in the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games and though he didn’t medal, Zamperini ran a final lap so fast that Adolph Hitler asked to meet him. Expected to mature into gold medal form--and a threat to break the 4-minute mile--by the 1940 games set for Tokyo, Zamperini 's dreams were dashed by WWII. By the time he crossed the Pacific en route to Japan, Zamperini was an Air Force bombardier. After emerging unscathed after several dangerous bombing runs, Zamperini crashed in the Pacific while on a rescue mission. Most of their crew-mates dead, Zamperini and two others floated in a raft for 47 days. After surviving hunger, thirst and incessant shark attacks in a raft that drifted 2000 miles, Zamperini was caught by the Japanese Navy and then the hardship really began. First dispatched to a hellhole called Execution Island (named because Japanese guards routinely beheaded prisoners), Zamperini's Olympic feats got him transferred to another POW camp where he could have lived in relative comfort. But when he refused to read anti-American propaganda statements over the radio, Zamperini was sent to serve hard time. Starved, subjected to medical experiments, slave labor, and brutal beatings by guards, Zamperini was specifically targeted by a sadistic overseer named Mutsuhiro Watanabe.  Called “The Bird" by the POWs, Watanabe made it his mission to break Zamperini’s spirit with brutal beatings and mental and physical torture. Zamperini would not break, but the guard kept trying right up until the war ended and the war criminal slipped away and eluded manhunts. The Bird lived on in Zamperini’s nightmares, though. After once waking to discover he was choking his terrified wife, Zamperini was convinced his freedom depended on returning to Japan to kill his tormenter. On the verge of divorce, alcoholism and a total breakdown, Zamperini discovered another way. Dragged by his wife to a tent where Billy Graham preached, Zamperini embraced his message and decided to forgive all of his captors. The nightmares ceased. Zamperini even traveled to Japan and met most of the guards  to forgive them in person. When The Bird finally resurfaced, Zamperini returned to Japan and prepared to meet and forgive him, too. Watanabe refused, but Zamperini outlived The Bird, who died in 2003.

Universal originally bought the writes to Zamperini's life back in 1957, however, efforts to get the film made remained idle until 1998.  That year, during a segment broadcast on CBS for the Nagano Winter Olympics, Zamperini carried the Olympic torch, striking interest in his story yet again.  Nicolas Cage was in talks to star along with Anoine Fuqua to direct, but the project yet again fell through.

Now, Universal once again has the film on the fast track, with a seven-figure deal to get the movie made under the guidance of Hillenbrand's bestseller.  We'll see if they finally succeed in bringing this amazing man's story to life.