George Lucas‘s production company has denied rumours that he will directing his first non-Star Wars movie in 35 years “
Red Tails“.
The clarification comes via
David Cohen, posting on
Anne Thompson's blog. He relates the following facts received from Lucasfilm: the only people on board so far are Lucas, producers
Rick McCallum and
Charles Floyd Johnson and screenwriter
John Ridley. There is no distributor, no financing yet. And while Lucas is not going to direct the project, neither is
Steven Spielberg, who apparently is not interested.
The film, which is currently in pre-production, tells the story of the Tuskegee Airmen who battled racism while escorting thousands of US bombers in World War II.
John Ridley, whose previous writing credits include TV shows Barbershop and Third Watch, is working on the script.
The movie is scheduled to begin filming by the end of this year or early next year.