Screen Media has picked up the U.S. distribution rights to the action thriller, The Outpost. Directed by Rod Lurie (The Contender), The Outpost is based on Jack Tapper’s bestselling non-fiction book, The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor.
Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson (The Fighter) adapted Tapper’s book for the screen.
The Outpost was originally supposed to premiere at the South by Southwest Festival. Unfortunately, SXSW was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The film will now premiere around the 4th of July weekend, according to Screen Media.
“The true story depicted – and incredibly executed – in The Outpost, is one of the most heroic stories of American triumph. Rod Lurie, the terrific cast and crew did an amazing job bringing Jake Tapper’s book to life. We couldn’t be more honored to be working with everyone involved to bring this film to audiences this summer,” stated Seth Needle and Mike Messina of Screen Media, announcing the acquisition.
“I wish upon every director a movie so suited to their emotional needs,” said director Lurie. “It was an honor and a duty to tell the story of my brothers in arms. I can think of no modern story that so beautifully displays the spirit of the American soldier. What we are willing to die for tells us so much more about ourselves than what we are willing to kill for. You’ll understand what I mean after you see the film.”
The cast includes Scott Eastwood, Caleb Landry Jones, Orlando Bloom, Jack Kesy, Taylor John Smith, Jacob Scipio, and Milo Gibson. Paul Merryman, Marc Frydman, Jeffrey Greenstein, Jonathan Yunger, Paul Tamasy, and Les Weldon served as producers. Avi Lerner, Jake Tapper, Trevor Short, Eric Johnson, Boaz Davidson, Robert Van Norden, John Kalafatis, Joanna Kalafatis, Mark Rhino Smith, and Tommy Vlahopoulos executive produced.
“I couldn’t be prouder to bring to even wider audiences the story of the selflessness and sacrifice, the courage and determination, of the troops who served at COP Keating,” said author Jake Tapper. “Rod, the producers, and the actors did an incredible job re-creating the outpost and the battle and perhaps most importantly the essential truths of the experience and the heroes there.”
The Outpost Plot:
“In this military thriller, a tiny unit of U.S. soldiers, alone at the remote Combat Outpost Keating, located deep in the valley of three mountains in Afghanistan, battles to defend against an overwhelming force of Taliban fighters in a coordinated attack. The Battle of Kamdesh, as it was known, was the bloodiest American engagement of the Afghan War in 2009 and Bravo Troop 3-61 CAV became one of the most decorated units of the 19-year conflict.”
