DreamWorks acquires rights to Michael Morpurgo’s War Horse
Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Revel Guest are producing are taking on the Great War by acquiring the rights to Michael Morpurgo’s novel War Horse. Billy Elliot scribe Lee Hall has been approached to write the screenplay.
Michael Morpurgo biography, bibliography and book reviews
In War Horse, Michael Morpurgo tells an incredibly moving story about one horse’s experience in the deadly chaos of the first world war. In 1914, Joey, a young farm horse, is sold to the army and thrust into the midst of the war on the Western Front. With his officer, he charges towards the enemy, witnessing the horror of the frontline. But even in the desolation of the trenches, Joey’s courage touches the soldiers around him.
“From the moment I read the book, I knew this was a film I wanted DreamWorks to make. Its heart and its message provide a story that can be felt in every country,” said Spielberg.
War Horse was first published in 1982 when it was a runner-up for the prestigious Whitbread Award.
About Michael Morpurgo
Born in 1943 Michael Morpurgo describes himself as ‘oldish’. Married to Clare, father to three children and grandfather to six he has written over 100 titles for children over the course of his career. Honoured with an MBE in 1999 then Children’s Laureate from 2003-2005 and recipient of an OBE in 2006, Morpurgo is also a patron of countless charities, and in 1976 began, with his wife, the Farms For City Children charity which aims to relieve the experience of poverty in inner cities and urban areas by giving children the opportunity to live and work on a real farm for a week. He has received critical acclaim for many of his books, nationally and internationally and counts Ted Hughes, Rudyard Kipling and Robert Louis Stevenson as his favourite authors.
Posted: December 18th, 2009
Author: Lee
Categories: Michael Morpurgo
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