Source: Variety

Michael Apted has been tapped by Walden Media to direct the political thriller Amazing Grace, based on the life of British anti-slavery crusader William Wilberforce.

According to Variety, the script by Steven Knight ("Dirty Pretty Things") will focus on Wilberforce's efforts as a member of Parliament in 18th-century England to end slavery and the slave trade in the British empire. Wilberforce was elected to the House of Commons at 21 and took on the issue of slavery, successfully assembling a diverse coalition that went up against the most powerful men of the time.

Apted, president of the Directors Guild of America, helmed the first three episodes of HBO's upcoming series "Rome"; other credits include "The World Is Not Enough" and "Coal Miner's Daughter."

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