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Clooney Wants to Direct Damon in 'Hamdan v Rumsfeld'
September 21, 2009
Source: Boston.com
by Alex Billington
Just when George Clooney was having a good year in front of the screen, he wants to return back behind the camera to direct once again. He last directed Leatherheads, which didn't do too well at the box office, and according to a Bang Showbiz story, now wants to return to direct Hamdan v Rumsfeld. You probably haven't heard of Hamdan v Rumsfeld and that's because it was previously called The Challenge. Or rather, the book that Aaron Sorkin adapted is called The Challenge, but it's mainly about the Hamdan v Rumsfeld trial. "It's about the so called 'War On Terror', but set in a courtroom," Clooney explained to Bang Showbiz.
The book is a non-fiction story about the lengthy campaign waged by US Navy lawyer Charles Swift and Georgetown law professor Neal Katyal to ensure a fair trial for Salim Hamdan, the bodyguard and driver of Osama bin Laden. The film will follow the plight of the "chauffer," who was captured in Afghanistan and shipped to Guantanamo Bay. Matt Damon would supposedly play his lawyer, who eventually managed to take his case as far as the Supreme Court. Apparently Clooney gave the part to Damon because he recently "complained" publicly at TIFF that Clooney gets all the best roles. What an intriguing reason to cast him.
This news is all a bit sketchy, considering none of the trades (Variety or THR) have reported it yet. It's not that I don't think it could be true, but rather, Clooney is hard to pin down, and who knows what he'll direct (or star in) next. We do know that Aaron Sorkin (of Charlie Wilson's War) was hired to write the script. But beyond that, well, we'll wait for confirmation that both Clooney and Damon have signed contracts and are ready to go. Especially considering that Soderbergh just confirmed that Damon would be starring in Liberace next summer and Clint Eastwood just cast him in his upcoming supernatural thriller Hereafter.
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Reader Feedback - 6 Comments »
1
Gonna bomb, just like Green Zone will.
Antioch on Sep 21, 2009
2
Lol, go ahead and make this movie Clooney. Another block in your bridge to career suicide. How about you make a movie people want to see? Whatever happened to that? "So called War on Terror", ok no matter what you think about Bush or the war, we can all agree that Clooney and the author of the book are probably lacking any signifcant information on the subject.
Shane on Sep 21, 2009
3
Shane, there is so much wrong with your post that I'm not sure where to begin.
Firstly, maybe you don't know this, but all of George's serious films have made back their budgets. Plus, he's well-off enough that he doesn't care. I'd rather he made the films he wanted to make, not the kind wanted by knuckle-draggers.
Secondly, the author of the book, Jonathan Mahler, is probably more informed about the war on terror than you could ever be. He researched the topic for four years in writing the book, in addition to covering it as a reporter for Time Magazine.
Corran Horn on Sep 21, 2009
4
@3 - I'm actually a big fan a Clooney and yes, HIS movies have made back their budget, but political movies like this almost never ever do- #2 is right in his assertion that most people don't want to see movies like it. He's alienating half his audience right out of the gate. Not that it matters - he doesn't need the money
Antioch on Sep 21, 2009
5
#2 um no…i have a feeling the author has some pretty sufficient information on the subject. the war on terror was a joke. like the war on drugs.
me on Sep 22, 2009
6
Yes Shane. You are retarded. Along with the War on Terror and Drugs, I'd like to wage the first official war on morons, which would unfortunately target 75% of the American population including the irrelvant Republican Party.
Lokiluvcocky on Sep 24, 2009