MLK to Get the Spielberg Treatment
It's the first time that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s estate has officially approved a movie project about the late civil rights leader, and the MLK biopic will be helmed by none other than mega-director Steven Spielberg, who has acquired the "life rights" to Dr. King's story, according to Variety.
It’s the first time that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s estate has officially approved a movie project about the late civil rights leader, and the MLK biopic will be helmed by none other than mega-director Steven Spielberg, who has acquired the “life rights” to Dr. King’s story, according to Variety.
WAIT BEFORE YOU GO...Variety:
King, who was assassinated in 1968 in Memphis at the age of 39, copyrighted his speeches, books and famous works during his lifetime. The DreamWorks project marks the first film to be authorized by King’s estate and gives the producers the right to utilize King’s intellectual property — including his famous “I Have a Dream” speech delivered during the 1963 March on Washington — to create the definitive portrait of his life.
“We are all honored that the King Estate is giving us the opportunity to tell the story of these defining, historic events,” Spielberg said. “It is our hope that the creative power of film and the impact of Dr. King’s life can combine to present a story of undeniable power that we can all be proud of.”
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DreamWorks Studios is moving forward with its planned Martin Luther King Jr. feature film after the project suffered a setback last year because of a dispute between members of the late civil rights leader's family. On Tuesday, the studio announced that it had hired screenwriter Ron Harwood, who penned the Oscar-winning script for "The Pianist," to write the screenplay for the MLK movie.
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