Simon West to Direct Iraq War Book Thunder Run

Got an idea for an Iraq War movie? Or an Iraq War book? Well you’re in luck, because Hollywood can’t seem to get enough of the War — which is kinda strange for a group of people who seems to hate war so much, but never mind all that. In any case, director Simon West (”Con Air”) will be adapting the non-fiction book, “Thunder Run: The Armored Strike to Capture Baghdad” to the big screen, says The Hollywood Reporter. So what’s the book about? It was written by David Zucchino and Mark Bowden, and follows Zucchino, a journalist who originally embedded with the Army’s 101st Airborne Division, but found himself accidentally switched to 2nd Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division as it entered Baghdad in what the military calls a “thunder run.”

More:

The “Con Air” helmer will also produce the feature, adapted by Pulitzer Prize-winning Los Angeles Times correspondent Zucchino from his chronicle of the pivotal April 2003 Iraq War battle.

“When I first read Zucchino’s book, I realized immediately it was one of the great accounts of modern warfare: heroic, exciting, tragic and ultimately political,” said West. “I had the same feeling when I found and developed “˜Black Hawk Down’ with Jerry Bruckheimer.”

Simon West Productions’ Jib Polhemus acquired the project and will produce the film with Freedom head Brian Presley, Randall Emmett, George Furla, West, Vance J. Owen and Lawrence Abramson. David Zucchino will also pen the screenplay.

Another Iraq movie. Hurray!