Clint Eastwood to tackle film about the kidnapping of Jessica Buchanan

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Although he's not quite up to Woody Allen levels of productivity, Clint Eastwood's directing output over the past forty years has been pretty damn consistent, which is why it's no surprise that he's added another new project to his slate. While it's not absolutely concrete just yet, it's been reported that Clint Eastwood is looking to base his next movie on the real-life story of the kidnapping of American aid worker Jessica Buchanan and her colleague Poul Hagen Thisted by Somali pirates in 2011.

Warner Bros. have optioned the rights to "Impossible Odds: The Kidnapping of Jessica Buchanan and Her Dramatic Rescue by SEAL Team Six" for Eastwood. The autobiography by Jessica Buchanan, Erik Landemalm and Anthony Flacco tells the story of Buchanan and Thisted's kidnapping at gunpoint and the three months which they spent in captivity. After negotiations with the pirates were becoming increasingly fruitless and Buchanan's health had drastically deteriorated, President Obama ordered Navy SEAL Team Six to attempt a rescue operation. Under the cover of darkness, the Navy SEAL's attacked the killed the heavily armed pirates and were able to rescue both hostages. "Impossible Odds" also recounts how Buchanan's husband, Erik Landemalm, worked tirelessly with various agencies in order to get his wife home safely.

There are several Clint Eastwood directed films which I count among my favourites, but I haven't exactly been overwhelmed by his work in the past few years. Still, I enjoy his work enough, both in front of and behind the camera, to check this out. Eastwood's latest, SULLY, hit theaters just last month and our own Chris Bumbray called it his "best movie since MILLION DOLLARY BABY."