The tale of the just-caught Barefoot Bandit has captured the attention of many in America, and now it’s set to be made into a movie, which 20th Century Fox is currently developing. Even though it’s a story that’s still unfolding (Fox actually started developing the film in April, before the Bandit’s July 11th arrest), Variety reports that they’ve now hired Oscar-winning Milk screenwriter Dustin Lance Black to come up with the script, while Pineapple Express helmer David Gordon Green is in talks to direct.
In case you don’t know about the Barefoot Bandit, his real name is Colton Harris-Moore, a troubled young man from Washinton State with numerous theft and other convictions. He came to people’s attention after he fled a three-year sentence in 2008, at the age of 17, and went on the lam. While that wasn’t particularly notable in itself, he then started stealing light aircraft to help him aid his escape. If a teen with no flight training stealing airplanes wasn’t enough in itself to interest people, he also developed a large internet following after he posted pictures of himself on Facebook, and started leaving clues at burglaries that he was the one who did it. His nickname came from the fact it appeared that he committed some of his many thefts with no shoes on.
The teen’s outlaw notoriety grew through 2009, and he became a bit of a cult outlaw hero, something he seemed to encourage even if he was a fugitive and one of the most wanted men in America. However, after stealing another plane on July 4th and crash landing it in the Bahamas, Carlton was eventually caught in dramatic fashion on July 11th when police shot out the engine of a stolen power boat he was hoping to use to escape to Cuba. He’s now being held in Federal Prison awaiting trial.
It’s certainly a strange and interesting story that could make for a great film, especially as it was his growing fame that he appeared to be most interested in, deliberately cultivating it and presenting himself almost like a Butch and Sundace figure on the run from the posse. As screenwriter Black says, “It’s clear there’s a reason the coutnry has become so enamoured with the story, and that’s worthy of investigation. Like any great outlaw story, it speaks to the social and political mood of a generation.”