‘The Outpost’ becomes surprise on-demand hit after production nightmare

Rod Lurie’s film “The Outpost” is a success story that almost never was. It’s based on Jake Tapper’s book “The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor.” It was released to video on demand on July 3.

The film follows a group of soldiers at Combat Outpost Keating in Afghanistan just before a deadly attack on the base. Lurie, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, was brought onto the project partly because he had military experience. He sought to include as many service members as possible in the film, including some of veterans of the attack.

The film currently sits at 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, and it appears to be a commercial success. During the Fourth of July weekend, the video on demand streamer was the number one movie on iTunes, and FandangoNow ranked it as the top movie in total revenue.

But during production, the film faced difficulties that nearly torpedoed it. There were budget constraints, an actor’s broken ankle, and difficulties finding a distributor. Lurie’s son Hunter, also a filmmaker, died unexpectedly while Lurie was in production in Bulgaria.

Lurie and Tapper talk about how they still made sure this film saw the light of day.