The following article is provided by Rolling Stone.
Brad Pitt will star and produce the film adaptation of journalist Michael Hastings' 2012 book "The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America's War in Afghanistan," which gave a behind-the-scenes account of the recalcitrant General Stanley McChrystal from when Hastings was researching his award-winning Rolling Stone article "The Runaway General." Director David Michôd ("Animal Kingdom," "Hesher") will helm the movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Hastings traveled around Europe and Afghanistan with General McChrystal for a month in 2010 for his Rolling Stone article. While reporting, he found McChrystal and his staff badmouthing the White House and its handling of the war in Afghanistan. After "The Runaway General" was published, President Obama ordered McChrystal back to Washington, D.C., where the general tendered his resignation.
"The conduct represented in the recently published article does not meet the standard that should be met by – set by a commanding general," Obama said when he announced McChrystal's departure. "It undermines the civilian control of the military that is at the core of our democratic system."
The article was a finalist for a National Magazine Award and it won the 2010 Polk award for magazine reporting.
Pitt's company Plan B will produce the film alongside New Regency and Brett Ratner's RatPac Entertainment. Plan B and New Regency most recently collaborated on "12 Years a Slave," which won the Oscar for Best Picture in March. That film also topped Rolling Stone critic Peter Travers' list of the 10 Best Films of 2013.
Hastings died last June in a car accident. He was 33.