Sean Penn returns to directing with “Crazy for the Storm”

PanARMENIAN.Net - Sean Penn is in talks to direct “Crazy for the Storm,” a film in development at Warner Bros. based on Norman Ollestad’s memoir of the same name, TheWrap said.

Will Fetters adapted the book, and if Penn officially signs on, it would mark his first directing gig since “Into the Wild,” another feature adaptation of a book chronicling a young man’s struggle for survival.

Though “Into the Wild” was based on a book written by Jon Krakauer-- protagonist Christopher McCandless died on his journey--this one is based on a book written by the main character.

Ollestad is the son of a daredevil, and when he was 11, a plane carrying him and his father crashed into a mountain. Ollestad’s father died, and Ollestad was stranded on the mountain more than 8,000 feet in the air. The story jumps between Ollestad's life before his father's death and his push to stay alive after the crash.

The New York Times’ Janet Maslin described "Crazy for the Storm" as “tragic and exotic” with a “nonstop emphasis on adrenaline-fueled excitement.”

Bill Gerber is producing the film along with Fonda Snyder and Rob Weisbach.

Penn will next appear on screen in The Weinstein Company's “This Must Be the Place” and Warner Bros.' “Gangster Squad.”

Variety first reported Penn's potential involvement in the project.