Washington enlists for Iraq War drama

By Tatiana Siegel and Borys Kit

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Denzel Washington will produce and may star in a movie inspired by the writings of a soldier killed in Baghdad.

The project, "Journal for Jordan," is based on a New York Times essay by Dana Canedy, who described a 200-page journal written by her fiancé, 1st Sgt. Charles Monroe King, for their son. The 48-year-old soldier was killed in Baghdad in October, one month shy of finishing his tour of duty. He had left for the Middle East before his son was born. The journal aimed to impart words of wisdom to the son on how to live a proper life and to prepare him for a life without his father.

Crown will release a book based on the journal.

Columbia Pictures-based production house Escape Artists acquired the life rights to the couple and their baby. The essay was published in January. Washington most recently starred in "Deja Vu" and next appears in director Ridley Scott's "American Gangster," which opens in November through Universal.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter