DALTON TRUMBO'S JOHNNY GOT HIS GUN
Greenwood Hill Productions presents a new critically-acclaimed film adaptation of Dalton Trumbo's legendary anti-war novel, Johnny Got His Gun.
Ben McKenzie (Southland, The O.C., Junebug, 88 Minutes) stars in a 'Live on Stage, on Film' version of the award-winning Off-Broadway monologue, based on Trumbo's literary masterpiece.
The film takes place in the mind of an American soldier hit by an artillery shell on the last day of WWI; a quadruple amputee who has also lost his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Regaining consciousness, Joe Bonham discovers that while his brain is healthy and able to reason, the rest of his body is irreparably shattered, leaving him trapped forever within the confines of his own imagination. He struggles to find some way to communicate with the outside world. Tapping his head in Morse code, he breaks through and pleads with his caretakers to be put on display as a living example of the cost of war.
McKenzie currently stars as rookie cop 'Ben Sherman' on the hit TNT series, Southland. He also starred for four seasons as 'Ryan Atwood' on The O.C. His feature film work includes roles in the comedy Junebug, opposite Amy Adams, and the thriller 88 Minutes, with Al Pacino.
"What appealed to me about the project was the fact that the screenplay is very pro-soldier. While it does a great job presenting the book's most famous anti-war passages, it gets just as much power, if not more, from the main character's unflinching resolve to overcome his situation," said McKenzie. "Even though the story takes place in World War I, it is sadly still relevant today. The movie demonstrates so beautifully the fact that you can be both for the soldiers and against the war; that they are not two opposing points of view."
The filmed play is a very faithful, nearly word-for-word, theatricalization of the original 1939 novel, rather than a remake of the classic 1971 film, which Trumbo wrote and directed.
Written by Bradley Rand Smith, in the same stream of consciousness style as the book, it explores the interplay between science, medicine, religion, and politics.
Trumbo's award-winning novel has sold millions of copies, having been printed in more than 40 separate editions in 30 different languages, including a 70th Anniversary edition with a new forward by E.L. Doctorow. It is required reading at many high schools, colleges and universities around the world.
