LOS ANGELES-British filmmaker Sam Mendes is to direct and co-write the World War I film ‘1917’.
Sam Mendes is to direct and co-write the World War I film ‘1917’.
The 52-year-old director is developing the project for Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners, with the movie marking something of a reunion for Mendes, who made his feature debut for Spielberg’s DreamWorks Pictures with ‘American Beauty’.
During that production, Spielberg was a hugely supportive influence for the young filmmaker, whose effort went on to claim a series of Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Actor.
Specific details of ‘1917’ are being kept secret for the time being, but Spielberg has teased the project, revealing it is ‘’hugely daring’’ and ‘’ambitious’’. Meanwhile, Sam - who is widely regarded as one of the movie industry’s most accomplished directors - previously admitted that being a filmmaker seemed like a ‘’preposterous dream’’ during his younger years. However, Sam took inspiration from the likes of Sir Kenneth Branagh and Danny Boyle.
He shared: ‘’There were moments when I was at university when I absolutely knew I wanted to direct movies, but I didn’t want to admit it because it seemed like a preposterous dream, and the journey into it was a very circuitous one. And then of course theatre became my home, and for 15 years that’s what I did. ‘’Then gradually I came back to the possibility of doing movies, mainly because at that time there were fellow theatre directors who had made that step. The Ken Branaghs and Nick Hytners and Roger Michells and Danny Boyles, those people showed that it was possible.’’
