5/18/2009

in

Deal worked out between studio, King family.

John Winn

According to *Daily Variety*, DreamWorks has acquired the rights to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s likeness, ahead of a planned biopic on the theologian and civil rights leader.  
  
Steven Spielberg, Suzanne de Passe, and Madison Jones will produce the film. De Passe previously worked on the miniseries, *Lonesome Dove*.  
  
Jones, who has spent a career managing the intellectual property of the King family, previously worked on two King documentaries, *King: Montgomery to Memphis* for CNN, and *Assassinated: Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King* for TBS.  
  
"We are all honored that the King family is giving us the opportunity to tell the story of these defining, historic events," Spielberg said in a statement. "It is our hope that the creative power of film and the impact of Dr. King's life can combine to present a story of undeniable power that we can all be proud of."  
  
A King film has long been a dream for Spielberg and Dreamworks CEO and co-chairman Stacey Snider, who has been working to acquire the rights to King's intellectual property since leaving Paramount Pictures and setting up her own shingle.  
  
The negotiations haven't been easy. King's son, Dexter, who is chairman and CEO of the King estate, has been caught up in a legal battle between siblings Bernice and Martin Luther King III as the descendants of the civil rights leader fight over control of Coretta Scott King's papers--a proceeding that has held up the procurement of the documents by Spielberg and Snider.  
  
"In trying to tackle such an ambitious subject, the question we had to ask ourselves is, 'Why now?'" Snider said. "The answer lies in MLK's own words: 'All progress is precarious.' With every step forward, new obstacles emerge and we must never forget that his life and his teachings continue to challenge us every day to stand up for hate and inequality."  
  
The DreamWorks project marks the first film to be authorized by King's estate and gives the producers the right to utilize King's intellectual property -- including his famous "I Have a Dream" speech delivered during the 1963 March on Washington -- to create the definitive portrait of his life.  
  
King, who was assassinated in 1968 in Memphis at the age of 39, copyrighted his speeches, books and famous works during his lifetime.