It remains one of the greatest unsolved cases in FBI history. Dan “D.B.” Cooper hijacks a Boeing 727 in mid-air in 1971, holding the plane’s crew and passengers hostage until he collected $200,000. After obtaining the cash, Cooper demanded to go back up into the air, where he parachuted to safety and disappeared. He was never heard from again.
Cooper’s crime has been documented in the compelling book “Skyjack: The Hunt for D.B. Cooper,” penned by Geoffrey Gray. And now that book, according to Deadline, is making its way to the big screen. And rightfully so. The Cooper case has so many elements of a riveting thriller, we’re thoroughly shocked it hasn’t been adapted into a movie countless times already.
CBS Films acquired the rights to Gray’s book, and is setting the project up as a directorial task for Easy A director Will Gluck. Keith Bunin (HBO’s In Treatment) is being eyed for screenwriting duties, though he’s currently hard at work on the Dr. Seuss biography Johnny Depp hopes to make at Universal.
Deadline describes the tone of the pitch as “an action-comedy” that would tell Cooper’s story from the perspectives of three different people who are claiming to be the uncaught criminal. Gluck’s a decent choice. He’s coming off Friends With Benefits with Justin Timberlake, but showed a real nose for quick comedy in Easy A, and could tap into a fun vibe for this true-crime story if given the time to properly develop it.
