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Billy Ray Continues His "Ripped From the Headlines" Directorial Career With Somali Pirates Drama
:: The Playlist :: —
Some of us are relatively big fans of filmmaker Billy Ray (not Cyrus). And one thing's for sure — as a director he's got a knack for dramatizing real life events in ways that don't seem hokey or TV movie-ish. His previous films as a writer-director were the strong drama "Shattered Glass" (the story of disgraced New Republic fraud Stephen Glass) and the woefully underappreciated spy movie "Breach" (about the plot to ensnare FBI double agent Robert Hanssen). He seems to be continuing this trend, and has just signed on to direct ...
Billy Ray To Pen Somali Pirate Film
Cinema Blend News —
... from South Park to refresh your memory). It only took Columbia Pictures a few weeks to secure the film rights to the story, and now a writer has been attached to the project. According to Variety , Billy Ray (not Cyrus) has been tapped to write the script based on the experience of Richard Phillips, the rescued ship captain, based on Phillips' memoir, which is due out next April. Ray's previous works range from the overlooked State of Play , the mediocre Flightplan and the utter-waste-of-time Suspect Zero (but blame should probably go to Zak Penn for that one). As far ...
Breach Director Billy Ray Tackles Somali Pirates
/Film —
The movie of the week business used to be the province of television and cable, but with these tougher economic times, big studios are getting into the game, too. Or trying to. Earlier this year Columbia bought the rights to the story of Richard Phillips, the captain held hostage by Somali Pirates this past May before being rescued by Navy Seals. Now the film finally has a writer.
The good thing is, the writer is Billy Ray, and if there’s anyone who can make this thing work as something more substantive than a movie of the week that’s 18 months too late, it might be him. ...
Somali Pirates Plan On Boarding A Theater Near You
Film School Rejects —
Is there any more exciting film staple than pirates? Pillaging, raping, kidnapping, cannon-firing, parrot-owning, Sicilian-beating, Keith Richards-loving, one leg missing, singing and dancing pirates!
And now we can add real-life pirates to the list thanks to those pesky Somalian rapscallions who’ve been terrorizing the coast of Africa for the past several years. Per Variety, Columbia Pictures has hired Billy Ray to write a film based on the five-day hostage drama that played out earlier this year. More specifically, the film will center on Captain Richard Phillips whose life story rights as well as the rights to his ...
Billy Ray Taking Turn At Gears of War Screenplay
/Film —
Earlier today, Russ told you that Billy Ray will be writing a ripped-from-the-headlines movie about Captain Richard Phillips vs. Somali Pirates. That’s not Ray’s only new writing gig, however, as he’s also taking a crack at the Gears of War movie. Last we heard, director Len Wiseman was collaborating with Wanted scribe Chris Morgan on the project, superceding an ill-liked Stuart Beattie draft. Like that fellow with his One Red Paperclip, this sounds like a constant series of uptrades.
So, how did Billy Ray get the gig? ...
Billy Ray Signs On For Gears of War
Screen Rant —
On Thursday, Variety shared the news that screenwriter Billy Ray (State of Play) was set to take on the real life story of Captain Richard Phillips, the man who was held captive by Somali pirates for five days earlier this year. As interesting as it would be to see Captain Phillips’ dramatic escape brought to the big screen, there was a line at the bottom of the Variety article that was far more interesting: “He [Ray] is currently writing “Gears of War” for New Line.”
Wait? Gears of War? Last time we heard, that movie was ...
