Is Homefront Based on a True Story?

An action-packed crime thriller, ‘Homefront’ is an enthralling film starring Jason Statham as a retired DEA agent Phil Broker, who shifts to Louisiana along with his daughter, Maddy (Izabela Vidovic). Louisiana also happens to be the hometown of Maddy’s deceased mother. Their idyllic life is jeopardized when an interaction between Maddy and a school bully, Teddy, goes awry. Maddy picks up a fight with him, to which Teddy’s father Jimmy raises strong objections. Jimmy tries to settle scores with Phil but gets defeated in the process. The ensuing humiliation forces Teddy’s mother, Cassie (Kate Bosworth), to ask her brother Gator (James Franco), a meth dealer, to teach Phil a lesson.

The ensuing events break the peace in the Brokers’ lives, and they find themselves in the center of dangerous situations. Phil’s quest to hold his family together forms the crux of this action film. The story resembles situations that can easily creep into one’s life and catch them off-guard. Paired with the idyllic locations, the film’s narrative gives a veritable sense of reality and thus got us curious about the story. We decided to look further, and here’s what we found.

Is Homefront Based on a True Story?

No, ‘Homefront’ is not based on a true story. Sylvester Stallone adapted the story for the screen from the eponymous novel written by Chuck Logan. Stallone was supposed to star in the film but later passed the role to Jason Statham. The novel deals with Phil Broker, a former undercover police officer, who tries to lay low after dismantling a drug operation. Stallone took some liberties while adapting it: he created an action-oriented version of Phil Broker quite different from his portrayal in the novel.

Among other changes, Nina Pryce (Phil Broker’s wife) is dead even before the happenings in the film take place. A major deviation from the novel is the location of its setting. The film depicts the happenings in Louisiana, whereas the literary version sets it in Northern Minnesota. The name of the daughter is also changed from Kit to Maddy in the film adaptation. Reportedly, Stallone had written the script several years ago, originally intending it to be a ‘Rambo’ sequel but never got around making it.

The script was updated and reframed, keeping in mind Jason Statham and his glowering screen-presence. Despite changes from the novel like replacing Phil Broker’s Northwoods characteristic with a British persona, Stallone kept the dynamics of the father-daughter duo intact to give an emotional edge to the film. In spite of having some reservations about the narrative deviations, Chuck Logan praised this fact. ‘Homefront’ proved to be a career resurgence for Chuck Logan, as his novels were not performing well in the market.

Logan admitted this fact when he said, “I caught a real, serious break. And the facts are there is a movie, and it has some star-power in it and as a result of the movie I have been rediscovered by my old publisher, which is always a fun thing, you know. And they are bringing out, they are re-issuing, the book it’s based on in three editions.” Even though ‘Homefront’ is not based on a true story, it surely touches an emotional chord and packs a heavy-handed punch in its action-oriented narrative.

Read More: Where Was Homefront Filmed?

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