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Marc Forster & Gerard Butler Taking on Machine Gun Preacher?

by Ethan Anderton
December 16, 2009

Once Gerard Butler fought for Sparta in 300 his career took off from what was previously spotted with brief appearances in films, to starring roles in blockbusters. His recent bouts in romantic comedies like The Ugly Truth show that Butler isn't ready to be pigeonholed into one genre just yet, and it looks like he might be  diversifying even more as the gossip blog Oh No They Didn't snagged a story from a local Pennsylvania website about Butler potentially starring in a film called Machine Gun Preacher. Said to be directed by Marc Forster the story chronicles the life of real life minister, biker and soldier Sam Childers. Read on!

After time spent riding his Harley-Davidson, doing drugs, and enjoying women, somehow Childers found comfort in God, and now he spends his time helping oppressed and threatened children in African countries like Sudan. Machine Gun Preacher, being written by Jason Keller, chronicles the ups and downs of Childers life as well as the work he does today, taking cues from his book =Another Man's War: The True Story of One Man's Battle to Save Children in the Sudan. Here's Amazon's take on Childers and his page turning story:

Sam Childers has always been a fighter. Born to a violent father and a mother of great faith, his life was a contradiction. With an affinity for drugs and women, the angry young man grew into a drug-dealing biker. But that was then. Nowadays Sam-along with the cadre of Sudanese soldiers he employs-spends his time in the most dangerous parts of Sudan and Uganda rescuing the youngest victims of war, orphans and child-soldiers. His mission is simple: save the children, no matter the cost.

Though it sounds a bit heavy handed and melodramatic at first, the fact that a man can turn his life around so drastically, whether it be because of religion or not, is certainly an intriguing story at least. And when you look at Childers, seen above, you can definitely see Gerard Butler putting on the chops and stepping into those shoes. However, I wonder how much of the film will focus on the more struggled aspects of his life like overcoming drugs, finding religion and so on, over the time he spends in Sudan operating a small militia. That will be the key factor in figuring out exactly what kind of movie we can expect Marc Forster. We'll be waiting to hear an official announcement sometime in the future so keep your ears open for more details.

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