MLK
After the Holiday: DreamWorks Moves Forward With King Bio-Pic
DreamWorks' eagerly-anticipated Martin Luther King Jr. biopic took a step closer to the promised land with the announcement that Academy Award winner Ronald Harwood will pen the screenplay.
It's a fascinating choice for the project touted as "the definitive portrait of (King's) life." The picture will be the first theatrical motion picture to be authorized by the King estate and will utilize the Dr. King's intellectual property.
The critically-lauded Harwood is probably best known for his Oscar-winning screenplay for Roman Polanski's "The Pianist." But what makes this choice compelling is Harwood's consistent excellence over an incredibly diverse portfolio. First and foremost for this project is his many looks at the civil rights struggle in his native of South Africa. Works include the film "Mandela," written while the leader was still in prison, and an adaptation of the classic "Cry The Beloved Country." Harwood has two anti-apartheid plays to his credit ("Tramway" and "Another Time.").
But Harwood has also received Oscar nominations for "The Dresser," which showed backstage life in a World War II theatre, and for adapting "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly."
Steven Spielberg will co-produce the project, but no word on who will play the coveted role of the slain civil rights leader.
Harwood was mum on his direction for the project, only promising, "I will do my utmost to be true to truth," according to a DreamWorks release.
You Might Like
You have 2000 characters left
