Director Hugh Hudson (Chariots Of Fire) is to direct Catalonia, an adaptation of George Orwell’s book Homage To Catalonia by Australian screenwriter Bob Ellis.

Al Clark, co-producer of the last film adaptation of an Orwell book, Nineteen Eighty-Four starring John Hurt and Richard Burton is Hudson’s producing partner.

Catalonia is a true story about Orwell and his wife Eileen, and about the effect their encounter with Georges Kopp - the charismatic commander of the Anarchist brigade that Orwell joins during the Spanish Civil War - has on both of them.

Colin Firth and Kevin Spacey are attached to play Orwell and Kopp. Shooting is planned to begin during the first half of 2010 in England, Spain, and the cities of Buenos Aires and Montevideo.

Al Clark, Alain Sarde and Hank Levine are producing. Fernando Meirelles is executive producer and his Brazilian company 02 will be a production partner on the film. The score will be composed by Mark Knopfler.

International sales are being handled by California based Arclight. Their slate includes Anders Anderson’s Stolen Lives starring Josh Lucas, Jon Hamm and Rhona Mitra which is about a detective who deals with the loss of his own son while uncovering the identity of a boy whose mummified remains are found.