Texas Woman’s University’s Katherine Sharp Landdeck’s upcoming book, which centers on the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) of World War II, has been optioned as a film by Fox 2000, the company behind the recent hit Hidden Figures.
Thomas Kail, director of Hamilton, will develop the project Silver Wings, based on Landdeck’s upcoming book The Women with Silver Wings. The book is the culmination of her 20 years of research on the Women Airforce Service Pilots, who were the first women to ever fly for the U.S. military, the university said in a news release.
Landdeck is an associate professor at TWU, and has taught history at the university since 2002. She recently sold her book to Penguin Random House’s Crown imprint. Publication is scheduled for 2018. Filming on Silver Wings could begin as early as next year.
“I am just thrilled that these amazing women, who are heroes in their own right as part of our ‘Greatest Generation,’ will finally get the recognition they have earned,” Landdeck said. “It has been the privilege of my professional and personal life to get to know these women over the years and to tell their stories. I can’t wait for the world to read, hear and see these amazing women in action.”
Silver Wings will be produced by Anonymous Content’s Michael Sugar, who won the best picture Academy Award for Spotlight, along with Kail and Kate Sullivan of Old 320 Sycamore production company. Fox 2000 President Elizabeth Gardner and Erin Siminoff will oversee the project. Angela Christian and Landdeck will serve as co-producers.
Texas Woman’s University, the nation’s largest university primarily for women, is home to the national archives of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). The WASP were the first women in history to fly for the U.S. military, serving between 1942 and 1944 at the height of World War II. – FWBP Staff
twu.edu/library/wasp.asp
twu.edu