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Has the Somali Pirate Rescue Gone Hollywood Yet?

Wed., Apr. 15, 2009 6:23 AM PDT by Leslie Gornstein

Captain Richard Phillips, Squidbeard Pirate

Reuters/Ho New, Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

The rescue of Captain Phillips from the Somali pirates really is a movie. So are Hollywood schlockmeisters already racing to get the first movie on the air?
—Scott, Tucson

I'm told by some of the most powerful dealmakers in the business that the answer is "probably," though calls to Richard Phillips' people (he has people now) were not immediately returned today.

I'm sure the only detail left involves whether Tom Hanks or George Clooney will play Phillips onscreen. Both definitely can grow some serious A-list hostage stubble.

So just how much cash is Captain Phillips likely to rake in from his dangerous encounter with Somali pirates?

The answer may shock you...

According to Candace Carlo of Greenburg Glusker, the same firm that reps Tom Cruise and other heavyweights, filmmakers don't have to pay the captain a single dime for the right to bring his story to the big screen.

Not. A. Single. Dubloon.

For the Josh Hartnett movie Black Hawk Down (also based on real events in Somalia), none of the surviving soldiers got paid by moviemakers, says Carlo, who was involved in those negotiations.

How can this be? Well, if a story is both newsworthy and not defamatory—if, in other words, everything in a movie portrayal is well reported and accurate and about clearly famous people—the law allows filmmakers full freedom, Carlo says.

Those legal protections have not stopped people from suing studios, of course. The plaintiffs usually lose, but the court cases cost studios time and money they'd rather not part with.

The solution, Carlo says: Producers probably will offer Phillips a pile of cash, just to be safe.

"I would offer him perhaps $50,000 up front," says Carlo, who is not involved in any Phillips negotiations. "And then, if a film were actually made, he would get something more, probably in the six figures."

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