Real-life stories that end in tragedy are tricky things to adapt, with all sorts of issues about which the filmmakers must be careful. Niels Arden Oplev and the team behind Daniel are making sure they get the elements right, and have added Toby Kebbell to play ill-fated journalist James Wright Foley.
The story itself follows Danish photographer Daniel Rye (to be played in the film by Esben Smed), who is captured while working in Syria and held hostage with other 23 others, including Foley, by ISIS for 398 days. While Rye was able to escape, Foley was infamously beheaded on a YouTube video posted by the militant group.
Anders Thomas Jensen wrote the screenplay, based in part on Puk Damgård’s bestseller Ser du månen, Danielr, and the film is already underway, one portion having been filmed in Sweden, with the filmmakers heading to Denmark next month and Jordan in January. There's no UK release date on the books yet.
Kebbell will be seen in Destroyer, out on 25 January and has been at work on comics adaptation Bloodshot.
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