Spielberg developing Pirate Latitudes

The last time Steven Spielberg worked from a Michael Crichton story, he brought us Jurassic Park and The Lost World and scored blockbuster successes.

So it makes sense that he's currently developing a movie based on Crichton's last published work - Pirate Latitudes, which is arriving on shelves after his death.

And to keep the old team together, Spielberg's roped in Jurassic scribe David Koepp to adapt the book.

According to DreamWorks, the book - which won't be for sale until November features "a daring plan to infiltrate Port Royal, one of the world's richest and most notorious cities, and raid a Spanish galleon filled with treasure."

"It's a mission movie, and we see it through the prism of what it might have been like to live on the island during that time," DreamWorks CEO Stacey Snider tells USA Today.

"Anything that Michael wrote, Steven would be keenly interested to read. But without Michael knowing it, or even me knowing it, it turns out Steven always wanted to direct his own pirate film." (Nobody mention Hook, okay?)

"Michael wrote a real page-turner that already seems suited for the big screen," The Beard himself adds.

"Michael and I have had almost two decades of solid collaborations. Whenever I made a film from a Michael Crichton book or screenplay, I knew I was in good hands. Michael felt the same, and we like to think he still does."

With DreamWorks now partnering with Disney, you might be thinking that the companies could be afraid of a clash with the Mouse House's own, slightly successful pirate franchise.

But Snider's quick to dispel the idea, pointing out that Latitudes would be based in reality. "We would only pursue this if it was wonderful in its own way, and didn't interfere with their films."

We'll also have to wait for it - with no script in place yet and Spielberg's development plate as busy as ever, it won't leave port for a while...

[Source: USA Today ]

Excited for a new collaboration? And is more pirate fare a good idea?

James White is a freelance journalist who has been covering film and TV for over two decades. In that time, James has written for a wide variety of publications including Total Film and SFX. He has also worked for BAFTA and on ODEON's in-cinema magazine.