Paramount is getting topical – and controversial with Stop-Loss.
It doesn’t sound like a hot-button issue, but it refers to a law used by the US Defence Department to extend soldiers’ combat time and keep numbers up, particularly in a casualty heavy conflict such as the current Iraq troubles.
Boys Don’t Cry director Kimberly Peirce will handle the film, which follows a soldier who returns home to Texas but is then recalled via the stop-loss procedure. Trouble is, he refuses to return. Peirce has a personal connection to the story – her brother was recalled to Iraq under the same policy. She was preparing a documentary about the subject, but turned the idea into a script.
"You're always surprised by that kind of reaction, but the thing that drew us to the project is what appealed to studios," Peirce told Variety. "This is a story about great guys who do the right thing by fighting for this country, and are then done wrong. The fatality rates for second and third tours are very high, and you understand why these guys feel like they've being asked to play another round of Russian roulette."
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