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.
@ Kevin – I think you have knocked 10 years off his age. He was born in 1982.
I tipped Jamie Bell. Close enough I guess.
He had a major role in De Niro's The Good Shepherd. Bigger film than both of the others.
A couple of things about this article: What an easy and fruitless line to draw between "Empire of the Sun" and "War Horse." You admit there's not a correlation beyond a supposed "big step" for the actors (despite Spielberg supposedly playing it safe — yeah, since William Atherton, Henry Thomas, Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey, Sam Neill, Liam Neeson and the then unknown Ralph Fiennes, Djimon Hounsou, and much of the ensemble and non-star casts of "Saving Private Ryan" and "Munich" were all slam dunk casting that would draw audiences in on the actors alone).
So, Redmayne isn't young or green like Bale was in "Empire of the Sun," and he's held his own within strong casts under noted directors. What then, besides the surface connection between two stories about two young men in war, is the connection?
Finally, all film journalists should strike the phrase "Oscar bait" from their unimaginative vocabularies. It's a petty presumption of an artist's intent. Do you think for one moment that Spielberg spent years of his life, creative energy and millions of dollars on a non-commerical property like "Munich" just because he was baiting for another gold statue? Hasn't a filmmaker like Spielberg proven — more often than not, especially at this phase of his career — that the story comes first and foremost for him, and all other things like box-office and praise follow? To deny that just smacks of taking swipes at the easy target. That went out of fashion about 17 years ago.
Munich isn't Oscar-bait.