A group of highly trained military veterans is invading Tinseltown, on a mission to conquer America’s growing taste for military-themed movies, books and TV shows.
The would-be producers dubbed their company Zulu 7, in hopes of becoming the go-to guys for vets who want to parlay their high-security experiences into big-dollar storytelling, according to The Hollywood Reporter magazine.
“We’re the funnel for operational and intelligence people,” said a Zulu 7 member that the magazine dubbed “A.K. Waters.”
The group includes Waters, former Navy SEAL Kellen Kent, Delta Force vet Dale Comstock and super-secret agent “Mike Smith” – a man who would not give his real name or identify his former military role.
“We’re providing a clearinghouse,” said Kent, who is working with former CIA operative F.W. Rustmann to pitch his new book “The Case Officer” into a screen production.
The market for spy and military thrillers has rarely been this high, with critically acclaimed movies “Argo,” “Zero Dark Thirty” “and “The Hurt Locker” garnering so much attention in recent years.
Zulu 7 is working to option rights to the Esquire magazine article about the SEAL who blew away Osama bin Laden during the famed May 2, 2011 raid in Pakistan.
But not everyone in Hollywood is convinced a special forces vet, with good stories to tell, needs this kind of Zulu 7-style middleman to make a studio pitch.
“What exactly is top secret today? The Navy SEALs are supposed to be confidential, yet books are being written by former SEALs,” said Nicolas Chartier, producer of “The Hurt Locker” and “Seal Team Six: The Raid on Osama Bin Laden.”