John McCain, the late Arizona Senator and Navy veteran who challenged Barack Obama in the 2008 United States presidential election, will be the subject of an upcoming biopic. It is now being reported that Stampede Ventures has optioned the rights to Mark Salter’s book The Luckiest Man: Life With John McCain with plans to adapt it as a movie. Salter will co-write the script with TV producer Craig Turk (The Good Wife), and the movie will be made with the family’s blessing as John’s widow, Cindy McCain, will executive produce.
Turk, who is also producing the project with Greg Silverman, also knew McCain personally, served as chief legal counsel to the Senator in his original 2000 presidential campaign. “Working for John McCain was one of the great honors of my professional life,” Turk said in a statement. “Having the opportunity to bring his life to the screen – and to do it with people I admire as much as Greg, Mark, and Cindy – is an incredible privilege.”
Silverman adds, “It has been a long time wish of mine to collaborate with the brilliant Craig Turk, and it seems more fitting than ever that we tell the story of one of America’s greatest public servants and believers in our democratic system. It is Stampede Ventures’ honor to celebrate the valor and character of John McCain, working with his family and loved ones to produce this inspiring American story.”
“I’ve been helping to tell John McCain’s story for three decades,” Salter said. “It will be a special privilege to work with Craig, Greg and the McCain family to tell it in film.”
“John’s story is one of incredible heroism, of serving causes greater than his own self-interest,” Cindy McCain also said in a statement. “There is no better time to tell it. I’m excited to share his life and legacy, and know this film will be a tremendous inspiration to people all over the world.”
A naval aviator, McCain nearly gave his life when he served in the Vietnam War. He was severely wounded when he was shot down by a missile over Hanoi in 1967 and was held captive as a prisoner of war until 1973, enduring unspeakable treatment by his captors. He retired from the Navy as a captain in 1981 to begin a new career in politics.
McCain became a Senator in 1987 and would be reelected five times in the years to come. He first ran for president in the Republican primaries in 2000, though he is much better known for securing the nomination and running against Barack Obama in 2008 with Sarah Palin as his running mate. After losing the presidential election, McCain continued to work in the Senate until he was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2017 and died the following year.
Certainly, McCain’s life story would make for an incredible movie, so there’s a lot of potential with his project. As of now, there’s no word yet on who might be playing McCain in the movie, or who will be handling the directing duties. This news comes to us from Variety.
