I wasn’t able to get around to another 2014 Oscar prediction update today as a result of a movie screening and writing my review of The East, but perhaps that’s for the best as I was planning on taking a look at the Best Actor category and we just may have another name to add to the list… Mark Wahlberg.
Yes, the star of Contraband, Pain & Gain and the forthcoming Transformers 4. The very actor that was nominated for his role in Martin Scorsese‘s The Departed and starred in films such as Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights and was part of the nominated producing team that made The Fighter, which he also starred in.
This time around we’re looking at Wahlberg as the lead actor in Lone Survivor, a true story feature based on the failed mission “Operation Red Wing” which will see Wahlberg as Marcus Luttrell, a member of SEAL Team 10 who, on June 28, 2005, were tasked to kill Taliban leader Ahmad Shah. They were quickly compromised and under attack. The title of the film, which is adapted from Luttrell’s book gives you a pretty good idea of how it all turned out.
Peter Berg (The Kingdom, The Rundown) wrote and directed the film, which co-stars Taylor Kitsch as Mike Murphy, Eric Bana as Lt. Cmdr. Erik S. Kristensen, Emile Hirsch as Danny Dietz and Ben Foster as Matt Axelson.
Universal previously scheduled the film for a January 10, 2014 release, but has now scheduled a limited release on December 27, 2013. While the original date made it easy to look at the film as another dumping ground actioner, it appears it was only step one as the studio sought the best date to give it an early, Oscar qualifying peek.
Deadline brings the news along with a quote from Universal Chairman Adam Fogelson who told theater owners at April’s Cinemacon presentation, “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.”
Is Best Picture possible? Best Director? My curiosity is piqued.
Here’s the synopsis from Luttrell’s book, which you can purchase [amazon asin=”B000QRIGLC” text=”right here”]:
On a clear night in late June 2005, four U.S. Navy SEALs left their base in northern Afghanistan for the mountainous Pakistani border. Their mission was to capture or kill a notorious al Qaeda leader known to be ensconced in a Taliban stronghold surrounded by a small but heavily armed force. Less then twenty-four hours later, only one of those Navy SEALs remained alive.
This is the story of fire team leader Marcus Luttrell, the sole survivor of Operation Redwing, and the desperate battle in the mountains that led, ultimately, to the largest loss of life in Navy SEAL history. But it is also, more than anything, the story of his teammates, who fought ferociously beside him until he was the last one left-blasted unconscious by a rocket grenade, blown over a cliff, but still armed and still breathing. Over the next four days, badly injured and presumed dead, Luttrell fought off six al Qaeda assassins who were sent to finish him, then crawled for seven miles through the mountains before he was taken in by a Pashtun tribe, who risked everything to protect him from the encircling Taliban killers.
A six-foot-five-inch Texan, Leading Petty Officer Luttrell takes us, blow-by-blow, through the brutal training of America’s warrior elite and the relentless rites of passage required by the Navy SEALs. He transports us to a monstrous battle fought in the desolate peaks of Afghanistan, where the beleaguered American team plummeted headlong a thousand feet down a mountain as they fought back through flying shale and rocks. In this rich , moving chronicle of courage, honor, and patriotism, Marcus Luttrell delivers one of the most powerful narratives ever written about modern warfare-and a tribute to his teammates, who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
