Granite Mountain beckons for Geoff Stults.
According to Deadline, Stults – best known for roles across Enlisted and, more recently The Odd Couples – has inked a deal to charge into the fiery mouth of madness as one of Lionsgate’s Hotshots, a group of seasoned firefighters who tragically lost their live three years ago during the Yarnell Hill wildfire.
Adapted for the big screen by Penned by Black Hawk Down scribe Ken Nolan and Eric Warren Singer, Granite Mountain has already enlisted the likes of Jennifer Connelly, Josh Brolin, Bleed for This star Miles Teller, Jeff Bridges, Taylor Kitsch, Ben Hardy and James Badge Dale. But arguably the most notable talent can be found behind the lens – Joseph Kosinski.
Having made his break in Hollywood through cutting-edge science fiction (see Tron: Legacy and the Tom Cruise-fronted Oblivion), Kosinski is embarking on a marked creative shift with Granite Mountain and we couldn’t be more excited.
For context, Lionsgate’s awards-tipped feature chronicles one of the deadliest wildfires in American history, when lightning struck Arizona’s Yarnell Hill sparking a blaze that would go on to span 8,400 acres. During peak time, more than 600 firefighters were dispatched to battle the blaze; however, Kosinski’s piece is a more intimate affair, centring on the 20-strong crew of Mountain Hotshots who threw everything on the line to curb the blaze. Only one firefighter from that esteemed crew walked out alive.
Lionsgate is yet to nail down a production timeline for Granite Mountain, but we assume that Joseph Kosinski’s true-life tale will be aligned for 2017’s award race.