Will Smith and James Lassiter's Overbrook Entertainment has teamed up to buy the life rights to the story of John Keller, one of the heroes of the Hurricane Katrina disaster that struck New Orleans in 2005. Keller, a 6'7" ex-Marine, kept the 150-odd residents of his building safe for five days during the disaster, helping to get the old and disabled residents out of the affected area as the waters began to go down. You can read more about Keller here - and wonder whether Smith's just producing, or if he'll be tempted to star as well.  John Lee Hancock, of The Rookie and The Alamo fame, will write and direct, although the studio has also bought Adetoro Makinde's script about Keller to work from.

Helen O'Hara

Have Your Say...
We want to know what you think? To have your say on this, and all of Empire's news stories, register here or login now.

Previous Story Farinelli Director Making Opera Film Written especially for the big screen

Next Story Writers On Board For Nick Ratchet Stan Lee project takes shape

Advertisement

Your Comments

Given his height and obvious build, why dont they get Kevin Durand to play him? They could give him a Lazarus makeover and everything ... Read More lona_no_friends About me
17:50, 21 May 2009 | Report This Post
A superhero directing a film? Got a chuckle out of that, but lost it when I read on. It seems just like the kind of film/role Smith would go for and frankly I'm completely fed up of them. Y'know, the so-called "inspirational" ones. Bah humbug. ... Read More AYBGerrardo About me
17:06, 21 May 2009 | Report This Post
After reading through most of that article, it definitely sounds like an exciting enough story to warrant a movie. When reading the description of John Keller's personality, Will Smith seems to be the obvious choice. In fact, I really can not think of a better actor for the part. ... Read More Chris Kay About me
16:57, 21 May 2009 | Report This Post