Is it too soon to be making a big screen film about this tragedy? People are still mourning the victims, and the war on terror is still raging. Bin Laden is still at large.

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July 08, 2005 - Paramount Pictures has announced that Oscar winners Oliver Stone and Nicolas Cage are teaming up to make a film about the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The untitled project will focus on the rescue of Port Authority police officers Will Jimeno and John McLoughlin from the ruins of the World Trade Center.

Stone will direct the film, his first effort behind the camera since helming last year's Alexander, and Cage will play McLoughlin. Andrea Berloff penned the screenplay. Michael Shamberg, Stacey Sher and Moritz Borman will produce.

Jimeno and McLoughlin had rushed into the smoldering Twin Towers to help save victims, only to end up trapped under the rubble when the skyscrapers collapsed. Miraculously, they survived, thanks in part to rescuers who reached them before their air supply was exhausted. They were the last two survivors discovered at Ground Zero. Paramount says the film also focuses on their rescuers and their families, who are attempting to find out what happened to the trapped men. The film is a portrayal of how the human spirit rose above the tragic events of that day.

Oliver Stone said in a statement, "Andrea Berloff's screenplay is one of the best that's ever come to me out of the blue – I guess like that day. It walloped me – and many others – with its emotion and simplicity. Clearly, it's a work of collective passion, a serious meditation on what happened, and carries within a compassion that heals. It's an exploration of heroism in our country – but is international at the same time in its humanity."

McLoughlin said, "It needs to be told how this horrific tragedy brought Americans and the world together to help those in need. The people involved in putting this movie together are truly making an extraordinary attempt to tell those stories and the stories of those who are no longer with us."

"This film is also a testament to the good that we as human beings are capable of. I have all the confidence in the world that with such a great script that was written by Andrea Berloff and having one of the world's greatest directors, Oliver Stone, who has served his country and knows the price of freedom, this film will be one that will live on for generations to come, not only in America but the world," said Jimeno.

Variety says the film is on the fast-track, with pre-production already underway in New York.