I am writing to you to ask for your permission in turning your book, American Sniper, into a movie. There are 3 main things I wish to discuss with you.
1. I want this movie to remain as close to your actual experience in combat as possible, with that being said I want to omit Taya's thoughts from the movie. I want to solely focus on what you experienced- not your wife. I hope to offend neither you or your wife, I just picture this film showing the life of war as precisely as it actually happens. While I want to let the audience relate to you as well as they can, I want them to relate to the war within you, not the war within Taya.
2. I wish to keep the movie as close to accurate as I possibly can. With that I would like to do filming, if possible, in any of the exact buildings you remember. I always want the actors we pick to have a deep understanding of the life of a SEAL so they can correctly portray the role, with that I want you and any SEAL buddies to be on set to help with the structure of filming. I want it to look as if my actors went through the same training as you. I want it to be as real as possible. Also with this I am asking you to be apart of the casting. I want you to help us pick the actors that are like the men you served with.
3. I will show all of your confirmed kills. Any kill that was confirmed will be in the movie. I want to include all 160. I understand that some may have happened at the same time and multiple people in a short time, but if you killed 4 men in 47 seconds, we will show 4 men falling in 47 seconds. It might be something only those of us involved in production notice, but like I said- this needs to be as accurate as possible and even if we are the only people who know that 160 people "died" in this movie than so be it. But I will have 160 actors fall.
I greatly appreciate any help you wish to give us. If none at all I understand that too.Thank you for your service to our country.
Sincerely,
Erin McElhenny
I agree with all of these especially #2. I think having SEAL members on set during filming would be a great way to keep the movie true to the book and accurately portray the characters! Good job
ReplyDeleteI agree that the movie should be as accurate as possible when it comes to the confirmed kill scenes and also that it would be really cool to include some of the actual settings that Chris experienced while stationed.
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ReplyDeleteI love how close you want to keep the movie to the truth... I hate movies that embellish the truth. Although, I would want to keep Taya, because I love the balance she brings. I do see where you're coming from, focusing on Chris would make a huge impact on the viewers.
ReplyDeleteI agree with number two because having SEAL members on set will help keep the movie as accurate as possible. I never thought about number three but that is a great idea. Even though few may notice it, it keeps the movie special.
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