KJ Apa has landed a new role and I have to admit it is one that I never thought of him in. And no, we’re not talking about the fact that he’s going to be a Dad.
The actor has signed on for West Pointer, a drama written and to be directed by Rod Lurie for Lionsgate.
Erin Westerman, President of Production for the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group said: “We’re huge fans of KJ’s talent, and had a great experience working with him and his team on I Still Believe. This project is a perfect fit for him as a star, and we’re thrilled to be developing it with Rod, who envisions a film that captures what happens in a class of the world’s most elite military academy, where our best and brightest young people are supposed to be molded into tomorrow’s leaders.”
In the film, “set against the backdrop of the prestigious United States Military Academy at West Point. Apa plays a cocky plebe who graduated top of his class in high school but now must learn to navigate and compete at a storied place where every student was also the best in class.”
Writer/Director Lurie will be writing from experience. He graduated from the prestigious West Point Academy and also served four years as a Combat Arms officer in the U.S. Army.
“Ever since I was a cadet I daydreamed about one day making a movie set at West Point, which I believe to be the greatest college in the world,” Lurie said. “As they say, the history they teach there was made by the men and women they taught. A motion picture has not been shot at the Academy since the 1950s. It would be the honor of a lifetime to be granted that permission. I want the world to learn what I know about my alma mater.”
The production will ask to shoot on the prestigious campus. Production is set to start this summer.