Hollywood heavyweights will help tell the fictional tale of an Iraq War hero's return from war this November, but it's unclear how well that story will line up with the satirical novel of the same name.
"Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk" hits theaters on Veterans Day. The book on which it's based, by Ben Fountain, tells the story of Lynn, a Silver Star recipient, as he's honored during a super-sized NFL halftime ceremony in Dallas.
The book was a finalist in the fiction category of the 2012 National Book Awards; the award citation reads, in part: "Obscured by the agendas of others, the soldiers' reality is neither seen nor understood except through the powerful art of Fountain's intricately orchestrated portrait." Amazon.com review
The movie's trailer, posted Thursday on Sony's YouTube channel, lacks the satirical bent readers may have expected. The A.V. Club's trailer review said the clip "makes [the movie] look like a higher-budget version of one of those Christian-marketed films, all pomp and circumstance and serious as a heart attack."
The tone may be a mystery, but outside of newcomer Joe Alwyn in the title role, the cast and crew are anything but:
- Director Ang Lee ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"), who said Fountain's story "immediately gripped me," per Deadline.com.
- Steve Martin as a fictionalized version of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
- Kristen Stewart ("Twilight") as Lynn's older sister.
- Chris Tucker ("The Fifth Element," "Rush Hour") as a Hollywood producer trying to land the rights to a movie about Lynn's unit.
- Vin Diesel as one of Lynn's battle buddies who weighs heavy on the main character's conscience.
Fountain told author Mary Beth Keane that the idea for the novel came when he saw a Cowboys' halftime show in the mid-2000s and was "mightily impressed with the utter insanity of it."
Kevin Lilley is the features editor of Military Times.
