Denzel Washington has lined up a writer for Brothers In Arms, his long in-development directorial project about the only African-American tank unit to fight in Europe during World War II. Matthew Sand will write a new version of the script on what sounds like a an interesting true story.
The 761st Tank Battalion overcame prejudice and became a key part of the post-D-Day offensive move east through Europe, spearheading the Battle of the Bulge and proving themselves to their comrades and a more racist era. Their story was captured in a non-fiction book by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (yes, the NBA star best known around these parts as the co-pilot in Airplane!) and Anthony Walton.
John Sayles and David Chisholm previously wrote a draft of the script, with Sand now lined up to work on a new version. Sand recently worked on Ninja Assassins for the Wachowski brothers and director James McTeigue, and has two other films in development: the rather intriguing sounding American By Blood, about the hunt for Sioux leader Crazy Horse following Custer's disastrous last stand, and The Red Star, based on Christian Gossett's graphic novel with Timur Bekmambetov set to direct.
Meanwhile, with Red Tails moving towards production, the Tuskegee Airmen also appearing in Night at the Museum 2, last year's Miracle at St. Anna focusing on black soldiers in World War II Italy and even Quentin Tarantino talking about a similarly themed prequel to Inglourious Basterds, it seems like the African-American contribution to the War, long overlooked, is receiving some attention at last.