Steven Spielberg’s Dreamworks is about to work with noted historian Doris Kearns Goodwin again to take on another president on Mount Rushmore: Teddy Roosevelt. The studio has secured the film rights to her upcoming book The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism.
Goodwin and Dreamworks previously worked together on Lincoln, which was based on her book Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, notes The Hollywood Reporter. The Spielberg-directed film grossed $275 million worldwide and won two Oscars, including one for Daniel Day-Lewis’ portrayal of the president.
The Bully Pulpit isn’t expected to hit store shelves until Nov. 5 and is being published by Simon & Schuster, reports Variety. The book focuses on the relationship between Roosevelt and his Vice President, William Howard Taft, who would go on to succeed him in the Oval Office. Roosevelt and Taft were friends, but their relationship crumbled when he decided to run against Taft in the 1912 election, which helped Woodrow Wilson become president.
“Working with Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks on Lincoln seemed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Kearns Goodwin said. “I cannot imagine anything better than the prospect of working with them again, this time to bring Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft to life.”
No director is attached at the moment. The chances that Spielberg could do it himself are slim, since he’s busy producing Jurassic World and has several other projects in the works.
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