Bin Laden's death gets Hollywood calling

Notwithstanding the faliure of Hollywood war movies like Rendition, Green Zone and even the Oscar-winning The Hurt Locker, comes yet another movie post Osama killing -- Act of Valor.

Earlier this month, Ryan Kavanaugh's Relativity Media announced the movie apparently to cash in on a sudden rise in demand for themes based on U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The movie, which is directed by Bandito Brothers Mike Mouse McCoy and Scott Waugh, will star actual Navy SEALs for the first time involving a reported production cost of $15 million to $18 million.

The negative roles are played by actors, including Emilio Rivera, and Roselyn Sanchez. But, the SEALs play themselves in starring roles, a report in Hollywood Reporter said.

The project which began in 2007 as a simple promo-movie assignment was liked by Banditos and the Navy so much that they turned it into a full-length documentary. They later decided to expand it to a feature, hiring screenwriter Kurt Johnstad to create a fictional story about a SEAL squad that goes on board to recover a kidnapped CIA agent.

Act of Valor won't be about the hunt for bin Laden, which Hurt Locker director Kathryn Bigelow intends to portray in her planned SEALs movie for Sony.

The film-makers met with officials of Imax in 2010, but could not strike a deal then. Once Bin Laden was killed, Hollywood came calling.

Rarely do you find a movie that's different from every other movie out there, says Relativity president of production Tucker Tooley. It's very much a military story and a patriotic story, but it isn't a one-quadrant movie.

A veteran distributor who has seen Valor says the action in the movie is incredible and authentic.

According to Tooley and McCoy, it has broad appeal.

We believe the authenticity of Act of Valor will transcend demographic, race and political lines, McCoy told THR. We hope viewers will get a rare glimpse into the SEAL community and that their lives will be as enriched by the experience as ours have been.

The reason for Navy to support the project is because it considers Valor a powerful recruitment tool. The Navy will not be getting proceeds from the movie, but the film-makers will make a donation to armed-forces charities.

The film is set for a Feb. 17, 2012 release, the report said.