Variety says Screen Gems is looking to be the first out of the gate with a film based on the recent headline-making Colombian hostage rescue.
Operation Checkmate will be told from the point of view of the Colombian military rescuers, who infiltrated the intelligence network of FARC (the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) and freed Ingrid Betancourt and 14 others. The final 22 minutes of the film will unfold in real time, depicting the dramatic release as the rescuers tricked the kidnappers into thinking they were a humanitarian group.
L.A.-based Colombian director Simon Brand is in negotiations to direct the film for the Sony genre label.
Operation Checkmate will receive the cooperation of the Colombian government and have access to RCN footage that was never made public.
