Michael Bay’s “Drone Warrior” biopic finds scribe

PanARMENIAN.Net - Screenwriter Andy Bellin will adapt the military action movie “Drone Warrior” for Michael Bay and Paramount, Variety said.

Variety first reported last year that production company Bay Films was developing a biopic of former U.S. Army intelligence analyst and drone warfare expert Brett Velicovich for Paramount Pictures, in a story of how the Iraq War vet and one-time U.S. intelligence specialist used his drone skills to fight terrorists. Paramount optioned Velicovich’s life rights and upcoming memoir, co-written with Pulitzer Prize-winning Wall Street Journal reporter Christopher S. Stewart, for Bay Films to develop.

The book — titled “Drone Warrior: An Elite Soldier’s Inside Account of the Hunt for America’s Most Dangerous Enemies” — will be published by Dey Street Books on June 27. Velicovich spent nearly a decade as a member of Delta Force, the U.S. Army’s most elite unit.

The project doesn’t currently have a director attached. Paramount’s Geoff Stier is overseeing production.

Bay’s fifth film in the “Transformers” franchise, “Transformers: The Last Knight,” opens on June 23. He’s directed all five films. Bay also directed last year’s “13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi” for Paramount.

Bellin’s feature credits include “Lovelace” and “Trust.” His TV credits include the drama “Think Aaron” for HBO and “New York, New York” at Paramount Television. The news was first reported by Deadline Hollywood.