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Peter Jackson and Universal Team for "Dambusters"

Peter JacksonAccording to Variety, Universal and StudioCanal have started development on "Dambusters," a WWII action film produced by Peter Jackson and his WingNut Films shingle.

The project is based on the 1943 Allied air raid on three German dams essential to the Nazi steel industry. "Dambusters" centers on a group of airmen drawn from across the ranks of the Royal Air Force for a top-secret mission to fly deep into Germany.

The film is based on the book by Paul Brickhill, who also wrote the novel "The Great Escape."   The story previously received the big screen treatment in the 1955 film "The Dam Busters" and the 2001 British documentary "The Dambusters Raid."

"This is one of the most remarkable true stories to come out of WWII," Jackson said. "When Michael Anderson made his thrilling version of this story in 1955, many details of the dams raid were still a closely guarded secret. It has since been declassified by the British government, making the dynamics of the story and the people involved even more intriguing."

Longtime Jackson collaborator, Christian Rivers will make his directing debut.  Rivers has worked with Jackson for more than 17 years as storyboard artist, animator, previsual supervisor and second unit director.  He was also animation director on Jackson's "King Kong."

For those of you aching for another Jackson helmed project, never fear. He is currently writing/producing/directing "The Lovely Bones" based on the acclaimed Alice Sebold novel.

The studios are aiming to launch production for "Dambusters" next summer and release the film by 2008. -- Shannon Nolley

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Posted by Shannon on September 1, 2006 11:44 AM
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