A spec script based on the true story of a female solider who fought in the Revolutionary War just scored a major deal. Amy Pascal’s Pascal Pictures has acquired Christopher Cosmos’ “American Rebel,” a spec script centered on Deborah Sampson, who disguised herself as a man to join the Continental Army. Adam Kolbrenner of Madhouse Entertainment is also set to produce.
According to Deadline, Pascal Pictures spent in the high six figures to secure the script, which “reads like an American version of ‘Mulan.’” The outlet predicts that “American Rebel” will land at Sony Pictures, since Pascal has a deal with the studio. The script has generated a great deal of buzz among directors and actresses who are no doubt interested in working on the project.
Sampson was born in Massachusetts in 1760, and enlisted in 1781. She managed to keep her identity a secret for nearly two years. Sampson was so determined to avoid examinations by doctors that she refused treatment after being slashed with a sword and shot in the thigh. She removed the bullet herself. Sampson was eventually found out in February 1783 after she passed out in a hospital during an illness.
Deadline writes, “She eventually was honorably discharged, had a family and children, and went on a lecture tour. Her husband was awarded her soldier pension after her death …. with the Army concluding the war ‘furnished no other similar example of female heroism, fidelity, and courage.’”
For more information on Sampson’s incredible story, check out the Women’s History Museum’s website.
A number of films based on female soldiers are in the works, including Teyonah Parris in Christine Swanson’s “Buffalo Soldier Girl,” Ellen Page in Reed Morano’s “Lioness,” and “Ashley’s War,” produced by Reese Witherspoon and Bruna Papandrea.
