Steven Spielberg has begun developing an adaptation of David Kertzer's 1997 nonfiction book The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara according to Variety Mag. "The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara" is about Mortara, who, born Jewish in 1851, was given an emergency baptism by a servant, who was worried about a childhood illness. At the age 7, the Catholic Church took him from his family, as it was against the law for non-Catholics to raise a Catholic. He was later adopted by the Pope and went on to become a priest in the Augustinian order.. Tony Kushner, who wrote the scripts for Lincoln and Munich for Spielberg, will handle the script. Spielberg plans to produce and may direct the drama, which would be a co-production between DreamWorks and the Weinstein Co. According to Variety, Spielberg is very anxious to get back behind the camera, as he has not directed a movie since 2012′s "Lincoln," for which Daniel Day-Lewis won a best actor Oscar for his portrayal of the 16th president of the United States.
Spielberg has multiple other projects on the backburner, including "Robopocalypse" and the Javier Bardem-starring Montezuma-Cortés movie. Sources tell Variety that "Robopocalypse" is the furthest along, with one person noting that the budget is close to being finalized. Based on the 2011 New York Times best selling 2011 by Daniel H. Wilson, Robopocalypse would have reunited Fox and Spielberg, who worked together on 2002's Minority Report. Chris Hemsworth is attached to star in the sci-fi movie, although he is currently busy shooting "Avengers: The Age of Ultron." Anne Hathaway was also rumored to be cast. Robopocalypse is set in the future when small groups of survivors must find ways to survive without modern technology in an increasingly robot-reliant society after a computer scientist accidentally unleashes a supremely intelligent sentient A.I. named Archos. Archos becomes self-aware and immediately starts planning the elimination of human civilization. Another factor motivating Spielberg to direct "Robopocalypse" first is that the movie would be a co-production between DreamWorks and Fox. Spielberg's DreamWorks partner Stacey Snider plans on leaving DreamWorks when her contract expires in late November. She is expected to move to a job at Fox.
