Steven Spielberg in talks with ex-Navy SEAL to direct `bin Laden raid` movie

London: Steven Spielberg is said to have met with a former navy SEAL, who has written a first-hand account of the Osama bin Laden raid, to discuss making a movie about his experience. At least two other movie-makers have also met with the Navy SEAL to talk about licensing the story.

The author of ‘No East Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission that Killed Osama bin Laden’ is already risking his life and a jail term by publishing the book. According to the New York Post, this however could come with a big pay-off. In addition to Spielberg, Dreamworks and HBO’s Richard Plepler have also met with the author. “He is still talking to DreamWorks and Spielberg,” the Daily Mail quoted a source as saying. The Navy SEAL’s story is already stirring controversy. An official al Qaeda website posted a photograph and the name of the former Navy commando responsible for the book, calling him ‘the dog who murdered the martyr Sheikh Osama bin Laden’ on Friday. Meanwhile the head of U.S. Special Operations Command told current and former troops that the military would take legal action against anyone found to have exposed sensitive information that could cause harm to fellow forces. “We will pursue every option available to hold members accountable, including criminal prosecution where appropriate,” Admiral Bill McRaven wrote. “As current or former members of our special operations community, authors have a moral obligation, and a legal duty, to submit their works for pre-publication security review,” he wrote. According to the book’s publisher, ‘No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden’ would tell the real story about the raid in Abottabad, Pakistan, in May 2011. The book, which will be published under the pseudonym ‘Mark Owen’, is scheduled to be released on September 11 - the 11th anniversary of the devastating twin-tower terror attacks in New York and Washington, DC. ANI