kimberlypierce.jpgKimberly Pierce, who hasn't made a feature since Boys Don't Cry, her 1999 debut, has signed on with Paramount to direct Stop-Loss. Pierce co-wrote the script for the $25 million film (named after the Army loophole which has as of late been extending combat time for enlistees), about a soldier who is recalled back to Iraq shortly after coming home to Texas and refuses to leave. Pierce was initially inspired to make a documentary by her brother's own experience in the military (he was called back to battle shortly after returning from a year in Fallujah); after shooting a few interviews, she and writing partner Mark Richard decided to turn the project into a narrative script. Paramount snatched their spec script up after watching five minutes of Pierce's initial interviews. "The thing that drew us to the project is what appealed to studios," Peirce told Variety. "This is a story about great guys who do the right thing by fighting for this country, and are then done wrong. The fatality rates for second and third tours are very high, and you understand why these guys feel like they've being asked to play another round of Russian roulette." The trade is contextualizing the film as part of a "controversial" streak of projects in the works at the new, Brad Grey-led Paramount, following, as it does, the studio's launch into production on Oliver Stone's 9/11 pic. But Pierce has been attatched to many, many projects since Cry made its mark six years ago; it's worth wondering whether this film will even get made.