20th Century Fox has hired Back to the Future director Robert Zemekis to direct a crime drama thriller based on the true story of the Barefoot Bandit called Taking Flight: The Hunt for a Young Outlaw.
Do you remember the Barefoot Bandit? The 18-year-old named Colton Harris-Moore who became "a cult hero for a string of crimes that baffled local police, Homeland Security and the FBI." He was called the Barefoot Bandit because he would commit his crimes without shoes. He's is considered a modern-day Robin Hood who ended up stealing a small aircraft, a boat, and two cars as well as at least 100 burglaries of private residences in various locations around the Pacific Northwest of the United States and Canada.
Zemekis is also overseeing the screenplay development, which is currently being written by Milk scribe Dustin Lance Black. David Gordon Green was originally attached to the project but left it to focus on his remake of Suspiria.
Zemeckis most recently directed the live-action film Flight with Denzel Washington. The director disappeared for a while in the world of mediocre CG animated motion capture movies, but I'm happy to see him take on another live-action film. Zemeckis is a great filmmaker and storyteller, and I think this is a great film for him to develop! What do you think about Zemekis taking on the story of the Barefoot Bandit?
Here's some more information Colton Harris-Moore:
Colton Harris-Moore is an American criminal and former fugitive from Camano Island, Washington. He was charged with the thefts of small aircraft, a boat, and two cars and in the burglaries of at least 100 private residences in various locations around the Pacific Northwest of the United States and Canada. He fled to the Bahamas on July 4, 2010, allegedly in a plane stolen from Bloomington, Indiana.[10] He was indicted on July 6, 2010, by a U.S. Federal Court in Seattle, Washington, on charges of transporting another stolen aircraft in that state. Harris-Moore was arrested in Harbour Island, Bahamas, on July 11, 2010, after police shot out the engine of the boat in which he was attempting to flee. Two days later, he was deported from Nassau, Bahamas, to Miami, Florida, and transferred on July 21 to the Federal Detention Center, SeaTac in Washington State. On December 16, 2011, Harris-Moore was sentenced to more than seven years in prison for dozens of consolidated charges brought against him from three different counties. On January 27, 2012, he was sentenced to 6 and a half years for related federal crimes.
He became known as the "Barefoot Bandit" by reportedly committing some of his crimes barefoot, once leaving behind 39 chalk footprints and the word "c'ya!". Despite the widely-reported nickname, officials said that he more often wore shoes.
Source: THR