Spielberg to direct and produce "War Horse"

By Siewaun
Reference: Variety

Steven Spielberg has finally decides to direct World War I epic "War Horse" after all.

Steven Spielberg and his DreamWorks partner, Stacey Snider, have acquired the feature rights to Michael Morpurgo's novel "War Horse" last fall.

Screenwriters Lee Hall "Billy Elliot" and Richard Curtis has been hired to write the adaptation of Morpurgo's novel of the same name.

The movie tells of an the the extraordinary bond between a young boy named Albert and a horse named Joey that are separated but whose fates continue to be intertwined over the course of WWI.

Spielberg will co-produce the adventure drama with Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Revel Guest.

Spielberg was quoted as say, "From the moment I read (the book), I knew this was a film I wanted DreamWorks to make. It's heart and it's message provide a story that can be felt in every country."

"War Horse" is a children's fiction novel by Michael Morpurgo, first published in Great Britain by Kaye & Ward publishers in 1982, and was runner-up for the prestigious Whitbread Award in the same year.

The epic feature will be released by Disney and DreamWorks on the 10th of August, 2011.