Lou Zamperinis 'Iron Man' Gets A ReWrite

[Tuesday, November 19th, 2002]
Neil Tolkin is negotiating to rewrite "Iron Man," Universal's biopic about Olympian athlete and track star Lou Zamperini, reports Variety

He earned his nickname by withstanding the cruel torture of a Japanese POW guard during two years of internment during WWII.

Universal drafted Tolkin because the studio is high on his screenwriting work on "The Emperor's Club," which opens Friday. Nicolas Cage has pined to star in the film, and directors including Antoine Fuqua have circled it.

Tolkin, in fact, tried to buy the rights when the world was alerted to Zamperini's story during a feature that was broadcast during the 1998 Winter Olympics, when Zamperini was invited to carry the torch for the U.S. in Nagano.

Zamperini was a track star who appeared in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. He was in the Army Air Force when his plane crashed in the Pacific. He and another soldier survived with virtually no food and water for 47 days, only to land on a Japanese island and be taken prisoner. Zamperini was targeted by a cruel guard, who tortured and humiliated the athlete but could never break his spirit.

Zamperini said during that broadcast that he had forgiven his captors. The network had actually tracked down his main tormentor, who declined an offer for a reunion with the willing Zamperini.

Zamperini will be in the news again next year, when William Morrow publishes "Devil at My Heels," a memoir he wrote with David Rensin.

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