06 Jul 2011 04:03:02
He was won three Oscars and been responsible for some of the highest-grossing films of all time, but Steven Spielberg may not be all-powerful after all. The US film-maker has reportedly expressed frustration with the fact that animals featured in his forthcoming big-screen adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's novel War Horse were not nearly as expressive as life-size puppets used in the story's stage incarnation.
Tom Morris, who co-directed the first world war-themed stage hit with Marianne Elliott, told the Daily Telegraph that Spielberg had made his comment about the animal actors during a recent lunch.
"We didn't have any input into the film, but we saw Mr Spielberg and he was a straightforward and very nice man," said Morris. "He was telling us that, when they were in the middle of filming, he was quite frustrated as the real horses weren't nearly as expressive as the puppets. They wouldn't do what you wanted them to do."
War Horse is still playing at the New London theatre in the West End after opening in 2007 at the National Theatre. A new production recently opened on Broadway. The original London show won Olivier, Evening Standard and London Critics' Circle awards, with reviews praising work by the Handspring Puppet Company.
The first trailer for Spielberg's film, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston, Emily Watson and Eddie Marsan, was released online last week. Newcomer Jeremy Irvine plays Devon farmhand Albert, who braves the trenches of the first world war to find his beloved colt, Joey. The film opens in December.
