It took him a little while to decide, but earlier this year it was confirmed that Steven Spielberg’s next directorial gig would be an adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s acclaimed children’s novel “War Horse.” Already set for release on August 10, 2011, the film follows a young man named Albert and his horse, Joey, and how their bond is broken when Joey is sold to the cavalry and sent to the trenches of World War One. Despite being too young to enlist, Albert heads to France to save his friend. As it might sound, the book’s a real tearjerker, and a stage version (which the film will also be based on) has been playing to full houses in London since 2007.
We received word from sources close to the picture late yesterday that Spielberg has found his Albert in Eddie Redmayne. We’ve been told by our reliable tipsters the actor is pretty much “locked” for the role, and with just over a year until the film is supposed to hit theaters it makes sense that Spielberg is beginning to firm up his cast for the film which will most likely start shooting soon.
So just who is Redmayne? He’s a twenty-eight year old Brit actor who has had roles in a handful of productions both on the small and big screen, but got his breakthrough part in 2007’s “Savage Grace” starring alongside Julianne Moore (at the time, we called him “an incredible discovery and one to watch for [in] the future”) and has had notable roles in “The Yellow Handkerchief” with Kristen Stewart and in “The Other Boleyn Girl.” He also is starring in the upcoming historical mini-series “The Pillars Of The Earth” where he will star alongside side Ian McShane, Matthew Macfadyen, Hayley Atwell and Sam Clafin (who was recently cast in the Orlando Bloom role in “Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides”).
Spielberg tends to play it safe with his male leads, going for bigger names to carry his films, but his casting of Redmayne here feels reminiscent of entrusting a young Christian Bale in his 1987 WWII epic “Empire Of The Sun.” No, Redmayne isn’t green nor as young as Bale was at that time, but it does feel like a similarly big step for the actor.
Earlier this year Spielberg wrapped the first installment of “The Adventures Of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn” which is now undergoing extensive post-production work in time for its December 23, 2011 release date. And with “War Horse” gearing up for production, it looks like another double whammy year of Spielberg films hitting theaters, not unlike 2005 when he dropped the popcorn film “War Of The Worlds” and the Oscar bait “Munich” within months of each other.
Update: Risky Business Blog have contacted DreamWorks who say “that the rumor is not true, and that while Spielberg is in fact casting the movie right now, he has yet to settle on anyone.” We reached out to our sources and they are confident about the tip, and figure until ink is dry on contracts, the studio is playing coy. We’re sticking by our news on this one.