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Gavin Hood in Talks to Direct Epic Alaskan Dog Sledding Film

by Ethan Anderton
January 26, 2010

If there are any plans to get Gavin Hood to return to direct a sequel to X-Men Origins: Wolverine, it's unlikely that it'll actually happen because he's going to be quite the busy guy over the next couple years. In addition to directing an upcoming TV series for Fox, THR reports Hood is negotiating to sign on to direct an adaptation of Gay and Laney Salisbury's book The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race Against an Epidemic, about the mind-blowing 674-mile journey undertaken by 20 men and 200 dogs who endured grueling forces of nature as they rushed a diphtheria antidote to Nome, Alaska, in 1952.

This epic mission captivated the rest of the United States in its day as the group encountered temperatures of -60 degrees, a phenomenon known as ice fog and other natural dangers. Apparently one of the lead dogs even has his own statue in New York's Central Park. Sean O'Keefe and Will Staples (who are also working Bruckheimer's Apaches) adapted the script, which is set to go into production sometime this summer. Tales like this of regular people overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles in the face of danger and death are awe-inspiring. I can't stand when it snows a few inches let alone tolerating -60 degree temperatures, but I'll definitely sit in a warm, cozy theater and see how these brave people survived the frigid environment.

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