‘Armageddon Time’s James Gray To Direct Biopic Of Young John F Kennedy For Mad River Pictures
to direct its untitled John F. Kennedy biopic, which will focus on JFK’s evolution from an unremarkable young man desperate to prove his mettle to his powerful father, into a WWII hero whose triumph over adversity-hardened leadership skills that forged his path to the White House.
Gray will rewrite a script that was first penned by Samuel Franco & Evan Kilgore, and the plan is to get underway next year. This comes as Focus Features today opens, Gray’s coming of age film that premiered at Cannes last May and at the Telluride and New York Film Festivals. Gray and the film just got a Gotham Awards nom for Best Screenplay. Eddie Redmayne Honored By Zurich; Applause Unveils Indian PM Assassination Thriller; Warner Bros.
MadRiver Pictures’ Marc Butan will produce with Anthony Katagas, marking their sixth collaboration with Gray. Jacqueline de Croÿ will be executive producer under her Dear Gaia Films banner, which partnered on the development with MadRiver. Kennedy was the commander of a patrol torpedo boat on the prowl for Japanese destroyers in August 1943. After a battle with several Japanese ships, PT 109 was inadvertently rammed by the Japanese destroyer , and that was the beginning of a harrowing week for the future president.
After the vessel went down, Kennedy organized his men for a three-mile swim to an island. His experience as a Harvard swim team member came in handy as he lugged an injured shipmate kept afloat with a life preserver. After finding the island, Kennedy swam to another island looking for rescuers, nearly drowning on the return leg. He made several harrowing trips before he and his shipmates engaged friendly locals and after scrawling an SOS on a coconut, they were finally located by rescuers.