Last fall it was confirmed that Ang Lee's next film would be an adaptation of the Iraq War novel "Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk" by Ben Fountain. Today THR brings us news of some rather interesting casting choices; both Vin Diesel and Chris Tucker are in negotiations for roles in BILLY LYNN'S LONG HALFTIME WALK. Diesel is course hot off the success of FURIOUS 7 while Tucker is…apparently still acting.
Here's the book synopsis from Amazon:
A razor-sharp satire set in Texas during America's war in Iraq, it explores the gaping national disconnect between the war at home and the war abroad. Ben Fountain’s remarkable debut novel follows the surviving members of the heroic Bravo Squad through one exhausting stop in their media-intensive "Victory Tour" at Texas Stadium, football mecca of the Dallas Cowboys, their fans, promoters, and cheerleaders.
Vin Diesel's role would be that of a professional soldier while Chris Tucker would play a movie producer who want's to make a movie about the soldiers. Joe Alwyn is stated to star as the title character while Steve Martin, Kristen Stewart, and Garrett Hedlund are also in negotiations for roles in the picture.
Production is set to get underway next month with a screenplay by Simon Beaufoy and the studio is planning to shoot the film in native 3D and 4K with an ultra high frame rate. Pardon? Apparently Ang Lee wants to create "a new way for audiences to experience drama, including the heightened sensation that soldiers really feel on the battlefield and on the home front." Lee has definitely proven that he knows how to shoot 3D with LIFE OF PI but despite his statement I'm still not certain why a film like this requires 3D, much less HFR.