There's a biopic in the works about Senator John McCain from Stampede Ventures. The company has optioned the right to three McCain books by McCain biographer Mark Salter titled "The Luckiest Man: Life With John McCain", "Faith of My Fathers" and "Worth the Fighting For".
The film will be written by Salter, alongside Craig Turk, Chief Legal Counsel to McCain's 2000 presidential campaign, and whose credits include "FBI", "The Good Wife" and "The Code".
"Could there be a bigger contrast in how two people exited public life than the way John McCain left it and the way that Donald Trump is doing it now? It's just worlds and universes apart," Salter asked.
Turk commented, "To me, John's voice, his take on the world, his humor, and his convictions were so incredibly specific and unique to him. He was incredibly smart and informed and knew as much or more than you did on any topic you hit. When I read Mark's book The Luckiest Man, it captured John so sell. We are going through an incredibly painful period now and I recalled that when things got bad, he would often joke, ‘well, things are always darkest before they are totally black.' Then he would smile and get about doing what needed to be done, no what the work was and how hard it was or the sacrifice. I've felt his absence more profoundly in the past year. Mark and I spoke about that a lot and it just felt like a good time to try this."
Salter told Deadline, "It's an unprecedented time we're in and this is the memory of a guy we witnessed who put America first. He was funny, profane, with all these dualities to his nature. He was romantic and cynical, an exhilarating guy to be around. He would be the first to tell you that he screwed up a lot in public and private life, but when the real crunch moments came, and his political career was where most got to see this, he would put the country ahead of himself. You never saw that more than in the last years of his life. Where did that begin and what informed those choices? It's his story in Vietnam. Fifth from the bottom of the class in the Naval Academy, bemoaning to a good friend in the Navy he wasn't going to get anywhere in the Navy, he didn't think." He went on to say, "He goes to prison, gets the chance to go home, and says, no. Again and again, you saw that courage and selflessness on John McCain's part, even when you didn't expect it. I spent 30 years trying to tell his story and I think at this juncture in politics, when nothing even seems familiar, it is worth remembering his example of statesmanship, courage, and selfless patriotism. Not tribal patriotism, not geographic patriotism, but a patriotism of values and courage and honor. That is his story and never was it more timely than now."
The film is being made with the full support of the McCain family and the Senator's widow, Cindy McCain, will serve as executive producer.
Editorial credit: Alan Freed / Shutterstock.com
