Colombian hostage rescue heads to big screen

By Borys Kit LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Colombian movie director Simon Brand is teaming up with producers in Hollywood and his native country to bring to the big screen the story of last week's dramatic rescue of Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages in Colombia. Brand, whose credits include the 2006 crime thriller "Unknown" and Colombia's highest-grossing movie, romantic drama "Paradise Travel," is one of many filmmakers inside Hollywood and elsewhere vying for rights to the rescue mission. He is working with Los Angeles-based production company Vertigo Entertainment ("The Departed," "The Grudge") and Colombian TV network and production outfit RCN, the latter of which is seen as giving their project the inside track on securing rights. Vertigo previously teamed up with RCN to clinch remake rights to the Colombian... [read full story]