Tracy Letts to Adapt DreamWorks' New GRAPES OF WRATH Film?

The Wrap reports that Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning playwright Tracy Letts (August: Osage County) is in talks to adapt THE GRAPES OF WRATH for DreamWorks' new film version.

Read the original report here.

DreamWorks has nearly closed a deal with author John Steinbeck's estate for rights to his 1939 Pulitzer-winning novel. Steven Spielberg is currently set to produce but not direct.

The 75th anniversary of Steinbeck's novel is next year. The story follows a family of Oklahoma farmers, the Joads, who must leave their current farm due to drought and economic struggles. The family travels to California in hopes of a better start but faces poverty in the face of the Great Depression.

The story was made into a 1940 film starring Henry Fonda and directed by John Ford, who won the Oscar for Best Director.

Letts' August: Osage County will appear on the big screen this Christmas starring Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor and Benedict Cumberbatch. As an actor, Letts last took the Broadway stage in Who's Afraid of Viriginia Woolf?, for which he won a 2013 Tony Award for his portrayal of 'George'. He also appears on TV in Showtime's Homeland. Letts' other plays include Killer Joe, Bug, Man from Nebraska, Superior Donuts and Three Sisters.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride