A Boston Marathon Bombing Movie Will Be Produced

The Boston Marathon bombing is turning into a movie. Boston native Mark Wahlberg will produce Boston Marathon movie Patriots’ Day alongside 60 Minutes senior producer Michael Radutzky and several others. Patriots' Day will document the bombings that claimed the lives of three people and injured hundreds more in 2013. A specific focus is placed on the immediate aftermath, starting with the search for alleged suspects Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev that led to an area-wide lockdown and shootout in Watertown, Massachusetts. Former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis allowed his life rights to be used, so the film will most likely take place from Davis' perspective.

Currently a security analyst for Boston CBS affiliate WBZ, Davis previously spent his entire 36-year career in law enforcement in the Boston area. He's a local boy from Lowell, Massachusetts, and first joined the police force in 1978, ascending the ranks and serving as Lowell police captain from 1992 until 2006, when he became the Boston police commissioner. Davis was in close proximity to the marathon bombings themselves and helped immensely with local, state, and federal law enforcement in tracking down the Tsarnaev brothers in Watertown, where Tamerlan was shot and killed and Dzhokhar, who is currently awaiting a jury decision, was detained. It's rumored that Wahlberg is eyeing the role of Davis when the cameras start rolling, according to Deadline.

In a Boston Magazine feature on Davis written shortly before his resignation later in 2013, David S. Bernstein described the commissioner as an imposing but affable man:

It’s hard not to like Ed Davis. At 6-foot-6, his sheer size and self-assurance instill confidence, while his soft, puppy-dog face and earnest manner convey empathy.

Could Wahlberg skillfully play Davis' part? His past works include copious films about law enforcement, and if he is chosen for the role, he'll have expert guidance in the form of Radutzky as well as other 60 Minutes resources. The film marks the first collaboration between CBS Films and 60 Minutes and is set to be written by British screenwriter Matt Charman, whose past works include Suite Française and the forthcoming Steven Spielberg thriller Bridge of Spies.

CBS Films President Terry Press says she is confident in the personnel involved in this forthcoming film, and with the combination of all the producers on this sensitive and tragic story, the film will hopefully turn out well. Press says:

There is nothing more compelling than a real story populated by real heroes. The team that we have assembled for this project is determined to give audiences a very personal look at what occurred during the days when the eyes of the world were on the city of Boston and how a group of contemporary patriots faced this crisis.

In addition to Wahlberg and Radutzky's involvement, Stephen Levinson, Dylan Clark, and Scott Stuber will also serve as producers, with Nicholas Nesbitt serving as executive producer.

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