Introduction
The Outpost is a 2020 American war drama film directed by Rod Lurie, based on a 2012 non-fiction book, The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valour by Jake Tapper about the Battle of Kamdesh.
It stars Orlando Bloom, Scott Eastwood, Caleb Landry Jones, Milo Gibson, and Jack Kesy.
Outline
The film tells the story of the 53 US soldiers who battled a force of some 400 enemy insurgents in north-eastern Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom.
Originally built to engage the locals in community development projects, Combat Outpost Keating – located at the bottom of three steep mountains just 14 miles from the Pakistani border – faced a constant threat of being attacked by the Taliban, putting the US soldiers stationed there at significant risk.
When the Taliban heard of US military officials intentions to close the outpost, they decided to make a statement.
Cast
- Orlando Bloom as Captain Benjamin D. Keating.
- Scott Eastwood as Staff Sergeant Clint Romesha.
- Caleb Landry Jones as Specialist Ty Michael Carter.
- Milo Gibson as Captain Robert Yllescas.
- Jack Kesy as Sgt. Josh Kirk.
- Will Attenborough as Ed Faulkner.
- Taylor John Smith as First Lt Andrew Bundermann.
- Cory Hardrict as Sgt. Vernon Martin.
- Celina Sinden as Cpt. Katie Kopp.
- Trey Tucker [3] as Captain Stoney Portis.
- James Jagger as Chris Jones.
- Alfie Stewart as Pfc. Zorias Yunger.
- Marin Rangelov as Nasir.
- Jack Kalian as Ssg. Shane Courville.
- Ernest Cavazos as Sgt. Armando Avalos.
- Jacob Scipio as Staff Sgt. Justin T. Gallegos.
- Jonathan Yunger as SFC Jonathan Hill.
- Kwame Patterson as Sylvanius Broward.
- Jeremy Ang Jones as PFC. Jordan Wong.
Trivia
- After acquiring the rights to Jake Tapper’s book, screenwriters Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson, as well as producer Scott Stuber, originally had a deal in place with Universal Pictures to produce the film, with Sam Raimi slated to direct.
- After the plan with Universal and Raimi fell through, producer Paul Merryman then hired Rod Lurie, a former West Point-turned-film critic and director, to helm the project.
- The film was officially announced alongside the casting of Eastwood and Bloom in May 2018, and in August 2018 Milo Gibson joined the cast.
- Because Clint Romesha had written a book on the conflict that had in-turn been optioned by Sony Pictures, the producers rushed to get The Outpost made, and contact between Romesha and Eastwood (who depicts him in the film) was limited after a legal letter from the studio.
- Three weeks before filming was set to begin, Eastwood broke his ankle, causing a two-week delay, rewrites, and re-choreographing of the fight sequences.
- Filming took place mostly in Bulgaria, wrapping in mid-October 2018.
- In October 2019, a rough edit of The Outpost was screened for the depicted soldiers and their families in Washington, D.C., which Stoney Portis, who was the commander of the unit at the time, called “part of the healing.”
- The film was scheduled to premiere at the 2020 South by Southwest Film Festival, but the festival was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- It was released via video on demand, as well as in select theatres, on 03 July 2020.
- The film received positive reviews from critics, with praise for the battle sequences and respectful depiction of the soldiers.
Production & Filming Details
- Director(s): Rod Lurie.
- Producer(s): Jeffrey Greenstein, Paul Michael Merryman, Marc Frydman, Paul Tamasy, Les Weldon, and Jonathan Yunger.
- Writer(s): Eric Johnson and Paul Tamasy.
- Music: Larry Groupe.
- Cinematography: Lorenzo Senatore.
- Editor(s): Michael J. Duthie.
- Production: Millennium Media and York Films.
- Distributor(s): Screen Media Films.
- Release Date: 03 July 2020 (US).
- Running time: 123 minutes.
- Country: US.
- Language: English.
Video Link
Military Gogglebox 
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