Steven Spielberg to direct film adaptation of 'War Horse'

Film director Steven Spielberg will direct a film adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's epic World War I novel, "War Horse," entertainment trade magazines said Tuesday.

Spielberg and his DreamWorks studio will also produce the film project, which is expected to hit the screens in August 2011, Variety and Hollywood Reporter said.

Adapting the story of the friendship between a young boy and a horse during World War I, will be screenwriters Lee Hall, who scripted "Billy Elliot," and Richard Curtis, who penned "Good Morning England."

Published in 1982, "War Horse" was recently adapted to the stage in London.

Spielberg, 63, is also completing work on the 3D family movie "The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn," which is scheduled for screening in December 2011.