ROSEBURG, Ore. — The wait is almost over to see Roseburg hero Alek Skarlatos on the big screen in “The 15:17 to Paris.”
Skarlatos plays himself in the film, as he and two friends reenact the day they saved hundreds of lives by thwarting a terrorist attack on a Paris-bound train.
“The 15:17 to Paris” was produced and directed by four-time Oscar winner Clint Eastwood. It premieres Feb. 9.
Alek and his father, Emanuel Skarlatos, attended an early screening of the film in Los Angeles.
Alek’s stepmom Karen Skarlatos was at home ill and didn’t see the film.
“We hope for all three of the boys the movie’s a big success,” she told The News-Review.
The movie tells the story of Alek’s childhood friendship with the other men who helped subdue the terrorist.
Skarlatos, a former member of the Oregon National Guard’s Charlie Company, has been friends with former U.S. Air Force Airman First Class Spencer Stone since the two were children. They became friends with Anthony Sadler when they were all in middle school. Skarlatos moved to Roseburg when he was 16 and graduated from Roseburg High School.
All three men play themselves as adults, including portraying the events that took place during the trip they took together to Europe in 2015. On Aug. 21 of that year, Stone and Sadler left Berlin to meet Skarlatos in Amsterdam. From there, the trio boarded a train headed to Paris at 3:17 p.m. (or 15:17 in military time).
Skarlatos and his friends jumped into action after Ayoub El Khazzani of Morocco opened fire on the train. The three men subdued the shooter, with the help of Briton Chris Norman, who also plays himself in the film.
Karen Skarlatos said Alek recently bought a home in Roseburg, and she thinks he will settle down back home.
She feels thankful Alek and his friends remain standing to tell their story.
“Things could have turned out very different. We thank God every day that it turned out the way it did,” she said.
