Suddenly, it looks like everybody wants to be a mountain climber. With Tom Hardy already set to play Sir George Mallory in a film titled Everest for Doug Liman, now Christian Bale finds himself attached to another with the same title and essentially the same subject matter.
Deadline reports that Bale is in talks to star in Everest, with Contraband's Baltasar Kormakur in line to direct. The film details the disastrous 1996 expedition to scale the mountain, which was hit by sudden, blinding storms leading to the deaths of eight climbers. It's a familiar story, notably recounted in Jon Krakauer's book, Into Thin Air, based on his own experiences. A 1997 television movie was released based on the book.Justin Isbell wrote the script, and one has to expect this to be a grueling shoot. Probably the most grueling of Bale's career if the deal goes through. Kornakur seems like a nice fit for the material, recently directing The Deep, which deals with the true story of the lone survivor of an Icelandic fishing vessel that went down. He recently wrapped up 2 Guns, the action flick starring Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington.
