Screenwriter Mark Boal of New Bin Laden Movie Coming to D.C. as Awards Presenter for PenFed Foundation Gala
Oscar winner to attend event recognizing wounded soldiers and military medical community
WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mark Boal, journalist and Hollywood writer and producer of an upcoming film about the capture of Osama bin Laden, is coming to Washington, D.C., later this month to attend the Pentagon Federal Credit Union Foundation’s (PenFed Foundation) annual Night of Heroes Gala on May 19 as a special guest and awards presenter. Boal won two Academy Awards for writing and producing “The Hurt Locker,” which was based on his experiences as a journalist embedded with an explosive ordnance disposal unit in Iraq.
“We are very excited to once again have Mr. Boal attend our event as an honored guest, especially for our biggest annual gathering, the Night of Heroes Gala,” said Christopher Flynn, president and chief executive officer of the PenFed Foundation. “His commitment to sharing the stories of the military community is genuine and heartfelt and we look forward to seeing his upcoming film about the hunt for bin Laden.”
Together with multiple Oscar-winner Kathryn Bigelow, who directed and produced "The Hurt Locker," Boal has been working on a film about the elite units tracking down the terrorist leader. The announcement last week of the death of bin Laden came early enough in the movie-making process that it will be incorporated into the final script, which Boal is currently rewriting.
Later this month, he will be in Washington to attend the PenFed Foundation’s annual Night of Heroes Gala as an awards presenter and special guest alongside General James N. Mattis, the current commander of the United States Central Command; General (Ret) Barry McCaffrey; and author and co-founder of the Bob Woodruff Family Foundation, Lee Woodruff. The event will recognize wounded military heroes and those of the medical community who provide the continuum of care from the battlefield to the home front.
Last spring, Boal attended a PenFed Foundation fundraising dinner as a special guest to support the organization’s new Defenders Lodge project, a planned $12.5 million facility to provide free short-term housing to thousands of veterans and wounded soldiers undergoing care at the Palo Alto Veterans Hospital in California. The project is slated to break ground this summer. Many wounded soldiers travel from all over the United States to receive outpatient treatment at the hospital and end up staying at a lodging facility that is no longer able to accommodate the increase in patient volume and isn’t compliant with the American Disabilities Act.
This year’s Night of Heroes Gala will begin at 6 p.m. at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington on Thursday, May 19. Along with corporate, political and military guests, wounded patients from Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Bethesda National Naval Medical Center will be in attendance.
“The theme of this year’s gala honors a very special part of the military community,” adds Flynn. “Hollywood makes a lot of movies featuring the military, but only a few get it right. We’re honored to have Mr. Boal attend this year’s event as a special guest because he’s one of the few who does get it right and tells the story as it is.”
To learn more about the 2011 Night of Heroes Gala, visit: www.penfedfoundation.org/NightofHeroes2011
About the Pentagon Federal Credit Union Foundation (PenFed Foundation)
The PenFed Foundation is a nationally recognized nonprofit organization working to meet the unmet needs of military personnel and their families through supporting wounded soldiers, providing financial management assistance and home ownership aid. The foundation is also the primary sponsor of the new $12.5 million Defenders Lodge supported by donated land from the government and financed entirely through private donations. The Pentagon Federal Credit Union covers all labor expenses for the foundation so every dollar donated goes directly to supporting its programs.
To learn more about the foundation, visit: http://www.pentagonfoundation.org/
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