Steven Spielberg Plans Movie of War Horse, with Screenplay by Lee Hall

Steven Spielberg has bought the film rights to Michael Morpurgo’s novel War Horse and has tapped Tony-winning and Oscar-nominated Billy Elliot scribe Lee Hall to write the screenplay for a feature film version of the wartime tale, according to The New York Times. An award-winning stage adaptation by Nick Stafford is now playing at the New London Theatre in London’s West End, with plans for a Broadway transfer in 2011.

War Horse centers on a horse named Joey, sold to the cavalry and shipped to France at the outbreak of World War One. Joey’s owner, Albert, is not old enough to enlist but embarks on a treacherous mission in the trenches to find his beloved horse and bring him home. The Olivier Award-winning stage production includes life-sized puppets created by the Handspring Puppet Company.

A statement from DreamWorks Studios didn’t specify whether Spielberg will direct the film version of War Horse himself. “Its heart and its message produce a story that can be felt in every country,” the director said.