Steven Spielberg to work on James McBride novel's film adaptation: Reports

Director Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment will reportedly join hands with A24 to work on the film adaptation of James McBride's novel The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store.

Some sources close to the project say Spielberg will only produce not direct the film. On the other hand, A24 is tightlipped about the development.

The historical fiction tells the story of Black and Jewish residents of the Chicken Hill neighborhood of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, in the 1920s and '30s. The book opens in 1972, where an excavation in Pottstown, Pennysylvania leads to the discovery of human skeleton and a mezuza (a piece of parchment with engravings of select Torah verses). The narrative then shifts to the 1920s and 30s, where a Jewish couple, that owns a grocery store - The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, hides a black boy Dodo, with a hearing impairment, from the clutches of the racist Ku Klux Klan, who want to send him to the mental asylum.

The film adaptation of the National Book Award winner, could create a strong political statement.

Former US President Barack Obama hailed the book as one of his favourites of 2023.