'Last' is first for Schepisi

Fred Schepisi is set to direct his long-mooted Vietnam War drama "Last Man" this summer, with ContentFilm handling worldwide sales. The £20 million project is based on the true story of five soldiers from Australia's Special Air Service operating behind the lines in Vietnam.

The story is told from the p.o.v. of these men many years later as they gather for the funeral of their sergeant.

Schepisi, who won a Golden Globe for his recent HBO telepictelepic "Empire Falls," has adapted the screenplay with war veteran Graham Brammer, based on Brammer's own book, "Uncertain Fate."
Pic will shoot in Australia, with an ensemble of young Oz actors who are yet to be cast.

It's produced by Martin Brown ("Moulin Rouge," "Romeo+Juliet"), Warwick Young and George Mannix.

This will be Schepisi's first war film in his 30-year career, and his first AussieAussie movie since "A Cry in the Dark" in 1988.

"'Last Man' is a powerful fusion of epic drama and intense action. It's about the reality of combat, about courage under fire and the emotional collateral damage," said the 66-year-old helmer.