The guys here at THN Towers have always thought of Aaron Eckhart as a modern-day Bill Pullman. And much like Pullman, Eckhart is about to play the ‘Commander in Chief’ in the upcoming OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN, directed by TRAINING DAY’s Antoine Fuqua. Fans of INDEPENDENCE DAY will remember Bill Pullman as cinema’s greatest ever US president. Not only an inspirational leader of men, he wasn’t afraid to jump in a jet fighter, mix it up a bit, and ‘whoop E.T.’s ass.’ According to the rumour mill, Eckhart will play a similarly action-based president, as OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN will see the White House come under attack from terrorists. Eckhart will, however, play second fiddle to action man Gerard Butler, cast as a former secret service agent charged with defending the Prez and his hood from the terror-fiends.
If this all sounds a tad familiar, it’s because Fuqua’s OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN on paper reads exactly like Roland Emmerich’s WHITE HOUSE DOWN, set to star Channing Tatum. But before the finger pointing starts, let’s be serious – the ‘Die Hard in a (insert location/building/vehicle/mountain range)’ has been doing the rounds for years – since DIE HARD, in fact – and it was only a matter of time before someone thought of placing the action in the White House. It’s actually strange that it’s taken Hollywood so long to cotton on to the premise, particularly after Gary Oldman hijacked Air Force One in… erm, AIR FORCE ONE.
Regardless of similarities between the two projects, THN is excited to see both. Besides, everyone enjoys a bit of DEEP IMPACT Vs ARMAGEDDON-style competition…
Source: Variety
