Conville & Walsh

Director Cameron Crowe has just signed up to direct the film adaptation of WE BOUGHT A ZOO. As announced by the Hollywood Reporter and Variety, the Almost Famous director is now attached with producer Jule Yorn, amid speculations that Mee could be played by a Hollywood A-lister such as Brad Bitt or Leonardo DiCaprio.

The film will dramatise the extraordinary story of Ben Mee, and how - together with his brother, mother, wife and two young children - he bought a down-at-heel zoo in Dartmoor. It came complete with 200 wild animals, including four huge tigers, lions, pumas, three massive bears, a tapir and a wolf pack, but the family had no previous experience. After a rocky six months, things seemed to be going well. Then, in April 2007, Ben’s wife Katherine died at the age of 40 after a recurrence of the cancer she had defeated once before. It is really two stories, then: of the zoo’s triumph, and the family’s tragedy.

The family’s story has already been the subject of a four-part documentary on BBC2, and the book is now sold in 11 languages. The film is due for release next Christmas.

Update 24/06/2010: Matt Damon is in preliminary discussions about playing Mee, according to the Hollywood Reporter.