14 Aug 2012 00:36:38
Sean Penn is in talks to direct an adaptation of the survival memoir Crazy for the Storm, according to the Hollywood Reporter. It's familiar territory for the actor and film-maker, whose last stint behind the cameras was the well-received Into the Wild, the story of a young man who isolates himself in the Alaskan wilderness.
Crazy for the Storm will be based on the book by Norman Ollestad, who in 1979 was the only survivor of a plane crash that claimed the life of his father, the pilot and his father's girlfriend. The senior Ollestad, also named Norman, was a keen "extreme" surfer and competitive downhill skier who introduced his son to the sports from the age of three. The two were flying on a chartered Cessna plane over southern California's San Gabriel mountains when the accident happened. Ollestad junior believes the skills his father taught him were the reason he survived.
Will Fetters, who is writing Clint Eastwood's forthcoming remake of A Star Is Born, is adapting the screenplay for Crazy for the Storm from Ollestad's book. Penn is said to be in talks to direct but is also considering other projects for his first film as director in five years. They include The Comedian, a comedy drama that may star Robert De Niro and Kristen Wiig.
