Shine Pictures, the newly created joint venture between Shine Group's Kudos Pictures and New Regency has hired William Nicholson (Gladiator, Elizabeth: The Golden Age) to write an epicscreen version of the battle between King Harold and William the Conqueror, for the throne of England.

The project, 1066 is expected to go into production later this year and is the first project to be developed under the new venture which was set up last July.

Shine's Paul Webster (Atonement, Pride And Prejudice) will produce 1066 with Stephen Garrett and will work closely with New Regency's co-chairmen Bob Harper and Hutch Parker and Shine Group's Elisabeth Murdoch on the project.

Speaking to ScreenDaily, Webster said 'I've always been interested in tackling this subject. It amazed me that it had never been done on film at all. The joint venture has finally given me the wherewithall to get an A list writer in and to contemplate an epic.'