The 3D film is based on the best-selling Ben Fountain novel and stars Vin Diesel, Chris Tucker, newcomer Joe Alwyn, Steve Martin, Garrett Hedlund and Kristen Stewart. It follows Bravo Company and 19-year-old private Billy Lynn, who survives a battle in Iraq that is captured on news cameras. The soldiers are brought home and sent on a promotional tour, culminating in the spectacular halftime show of a Thanksgiving Day football game in Dallas. Unbeknownst to all, there is turmoil as the group faces an imminent return to the war. The film unfolds during the game with flashbacks to Billy’s heroism under fire.
Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk is in production, using new, high-res cameras with a frame rate that will give audiences a heightened sense of drama, including the sensation similar to what soldiers really feel on the battlefield and on the home front. Producers are Marc Platt, Ink Factory’s Stephen Cornwell, Rhodri Thomas and Simon Cornwell, and Ang Lee. The project is a partnership between TriStar, Studio 8, Bona Film Group and Film4.
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Tristar Pictures has set a November 11, 2016 release date for Ang Lee‘s “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk,” the studio announced Friday.
Based on the bestselling novel by Ben Fountain, the story follows 19-year-old Texas-born infantryman Billy Lynn (played by newcomer Joe Alwyn) and his fellow U.S. servicemen who survive a firefight in Iraq in 2005.
The Bush administration brings the veterans home for a victory lap that leads them to the Dallas Cowboys’ football stadium where they’re honored during the team’s Thanksgiving halftime show before they return to war in Iraq.
The cast also includes Kristen Stewart, Garrett Hedlund, Steve Martin, Vin Diesel and Chris Tucker.
Jeff Robinov’s Studio 8 and Chinese distribution company Bona Film Group are onboard alongside TriStar and Film4. Production is slated to start this month.
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Simon Beaufoy, who won an Oscar for writing “Slumdog Millionaire,” adapted the book for Film4 and The Ink Factory. The film will be produced by Marc Platt, Ink Factory’s Stephen Cornwell, Rhodri Thomas and Simon Cornwell, as well as Lee.
