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Recently, Clint Eastwood has been focused on bringing real life heroes to the big screen with movies such as Sully and American Sniper. But in each instance, Eastwood has understandably turned to Hollywood A-listers such as Tom Hanks and Bradley Cooper, respectively, to take on the hero roles. However, he’s going a different route for his next film, The 15:17 to Paris.
This time around, Eastwood is casting the real life heroes on which the film is based.
Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos and Spencer Stone will play themselves in the upcoming film about their real-life thwarting of a terrorist attack in Paris, France.
While traveling in Europe, the three boarded a train from Brussels to Paris and were soon forced to subdue a man armed with an AK-47 with intentions of attacking the 500-plus passengers on board. The story received international news coverage and the three friends – one of which was in the Oregon National Guard and the other in the U.S. Air Force, were celebrated for their bravery.
Joining the real-life heroes in the film will be Jenna Fisher, Judy Greer and Ray Corasani. Taking on the younger versions of the three leads will be Paul-Mikél Williams, Max Ivutin, Bryce Gheisar, Cole Eichenberger and William Jennings.
This isn’t the first time Hollywood directors have turned to real soldiers. Michael Bay’s 2016 feature 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi cast real-life soldiers Mark “Oz” Geist, Kris “Tanto” Paronto, and John “Tig” Tiegen in three of the six lead roles. 13 Hours ended up being one of Bay’s more well-received movies in recent memory.
The Warner Bros. picture will be based on the book The 15:17 to Paris: The True Story of a Terrorist, a Train, and Three American Heroes written by Sadler, Skarlatos, Stone and Jeffrey E. Stern.
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