*** Read "Homage to Catalonia" by George Orwell online ***

Summary:

"Catalonia" focuses on Orwell's move to Catalonia (Barcelona) with his wife Eileen in the late 1930s to fight Stalinism, where he joined the Anarchist brigade and fought in the Spanish Civil War -- which almost killed him.

But rather than to focus squarely on Orwell, the film will spotlight on 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.

26 May 2009: Snippets from a interview with director Hugh Hudson:

Do you have any other films that you're lining up right now?

Hugh Hudson: Yeah, I'm preparing a film for next year. I'm preparing it now and we're going to shoot it early next year.

Is there anything you can say about that, story-wise?

Hugh Hudson: Well, it's based on a book. It's a war picture, set in the Civil War in Spain in '36, based on a book by George Orwell. I think it's very impressive. It's going to have good actors in it, top actors, and there are all these freedom wars going on in countries all over the world and plus it's about control, totalitarian control and the control of the population. It's going on a lot, even though we have a democratic government, they're very much in control of the people.

So do you have any of your cast lined up for that as of yet?

Hugh Hudson: I've got Colin Firth playing George Orwell and Kevin Spacey. I'm looking for the girl right now. It's a three-sided story, a triangle situation set in the war. It's called Catalonia.

Directed by:

Hugh Hudson                  

Writing credits: 

Cast:

Some information courtesy of The Internet Movie Database.