Oscilloscope Laboratories will partner with Specialty Films to develop and produce a feature-length documentary based on Mark Harris’ 2008 bestseller Pictures At A Revolution: Five Movies And The Birth Of The New Hollywood.

Marina Zenovich, whose Roman Polanski: Wanted And Desired put her on the map, will direct.

Pictures tells the story of the five best picture Oscar nominees for 1967: Bonnie And Clyde, Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner, In The Heat Of The Night, The Graduateand Dr Doolittle.

The book weaves together the stories of how each film was conceived, made and released. The documentary will create a conversation between all five films to capture the realities of film-making at the time and examine the wider story of this crucial period in Hollywood

Specialty’s Rachael Horovitz said: “Mark’s book so perfectly captures the struggles and unknowables of movie-making, and with such great detail and wit, that we thought it was worth bringing the story to the screen itself.” 

Zenovich said: “I’m looking forward to bringing to life the story of Hollywood’s revolutionary year. If you want to know when the golden era of ‘70’s American cinema really starts, then this is it.”

Oscilloscope head Adam Yauch said: “We are really looking forward to working with these guys. Rachael is a longtime friend. She and I have talked about doing something together for decades, and I can’t imagine a better project, or more perfect director to helm it than Marina. I’m a huge fan of the Polanski doc she made. So without further ado, let’s light this candle.”

Horovitz will produce with Zenovich’s collaborator P G Morgan. Adam Yauch and David Fenkel of O-Scope will serve as executive producers of the documentary. Oscilloscope Laboratories will theatrically release the film in North America later in the year for an Academy Awards qualifying run.