EXCLUSIVE: The TV adaptation of John Ryan‘s non-fiction book America’s Trial: Torture and the 9/11 Case now has a writer.
British screenwriter Jack Cressall is writing a pilot for Camp Justice, which will be based on Ryan’s non-fiction book from last year. Naomi Harvey from Golden Possum Productions has developed the book for TV and is attached to produce, with a U.S. co-producer being sought. It was previously with Clockwork Films, as we reported last year when Ryan’s book published.
The series will explore the ongoing legal proceedings against the alleged architects of the 9/11 attacks at Guantánamo Bay, and per the synopsis will delve into “the complex legal and political landscape surrounding one of the most consequential cases in modern American history.”
Veteran legal affairs journalist Ryan wrote his book after spending a decade reporting from Guantánamo Bay in Cuba, exploring the post-9/11 interrogation program, the consequences of which are still playing out in court more than two decades after the events. The series will look into “justice and accountability and what happens when a nation’s pursuit of both becomes entangled with its own actions.”
Ryan said: “Having Guantánamo Bay as my second home for a decade has been the reporting experience of a lifetime. The setting is surreal and the events are the literal definition of stranger than fiction. That’s why I got hooked, despite the costs to my personal life. I’m excited that more people will have a window into what goes on behind closed doors and can experience this bizarre place through Jack’s writing.”
Scott Z. Burns’ film The Report, starring Adam Driver, covered similar ground, but was focused on the machinery of the interrogation program.
Cressall’s debut short film, My Type, starred Sadie Stanley and Jacob Ward, with Daniel Ruah directing. It premiered at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival this year. He is developing a slate of feature films, including Destemido, a biographical drama about Brazilian big-wave surfer Marcelo Luna, and Dream Car Wash, a coming-of-age drama.
For British producer Harvey and her Golden Possum operation, Camp Justice is the latest following an option for the life rights of Cuban baseball player Julio Estrada and development of a series based on John Romero, the godfather of first-person shooter whose titles including Doom, Wolfenstein 3D and Quake.
“John’s book offers a rare window into life at Camp Justice,” said Harvey. “In a world where almost everything is captured on camera and shared instantly, one of the most consequential murder trials in modern history is unfolding largely out of public view.
“John takes us inside a bizarre, almost surreal ecosystem where grieving families, defence lawyers, prosecutors and accused terrorists coexist on a tropical island where the makeshift court and camp x-ray co-exist with a crazy golf course, tiki bar and gitmo gift shop.”
Cressall is managed by Eric Ziech at Untamed Artists LA.