John Patton Ford Writing To Direct Netflix Drama On Union Spy Whose Hijacking Of Confederate Locomotive Hastened Civil War’s End
deadline.comEXCLUSIVE: John Patton Ford is writing to direct an untitled film for Netflix with 21 Laps producing. Ford wrote and directed the Aubrey Plaza-starrer Emily The Criminal.
Here, he will tell the Civil War story of a Union spy named James Andrews who, with infantry volunteers, conspired to hijack a Confederate locomotive named the General.
Racing along at speeds up to 60 MPH, they destroyed track to the main southern supply route behind them and shut down communications by cutting telegraph lines, all to disrupt the Confederacy’s supply line to end the war.
The six surviving raiders became the first to receive the Medal of Honor, awarded by Abraham Lincoln. The caper would also be the historical basis for Buster Keaton’s silent film The General.
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