I bet no one here forgot the tremendous numbers that BATTLESHIP brought in. Oh no, that was backwards. You could see that ship sinking from a mile away. Peter Berg is better than that, and poor Taylor Kitsch went down with him.
Their fates may have changed in a big way though. Berg’s Afghanistan war drama LONE SURVIVOR based on the best seller Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account Of Operation Redwing And The Lost Heroes Of SEAL Team 10 by Marcus Luttrell and Patrick Robinson might be a game changer.
The film starring Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster and Eric Bana (Wow!) centers on, “a riveting story of four Navy SEALs involved in an ill-fated covert mission to thwart a high-level Taliban operative when they are ambushed by enemy forces in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan. Notwithstanding some of the most intense and realistic battle scenes in recent memory, it goes beyond the average war film in fleshing out real three-dimensional human beings caught up in the moral consequences of war.”
Here’s where it gets interesting: the flick was bumped up to a 12/27 limited release which puts it in contention for Oscar and other award recognition. If it’s as emotionally moving and realistic as early buzz gives it credit for then it could be a shoe-in. During Universal’s presentation at April’s Cinemacon, Chairman Adam Fogelson said, “We have seen the first cut of (Peter Berg’s) next film Lone Survivor and it is soulful, gritty, tough, emotional and, quite frankly, remarkable.” It’s being said that if the grittiness, which translates into the film’s display of unrelenting graphic violence brings the already much hyped tale to a new level then audiences will have no choice but to pay attention.
Battleship to possible Oscar winner, or hell even nominee? What a turn around indeed.