U Pix takes Dyja's 'Play' for Imagine
Details of the deal were not disclosed.
Howard and Grazer will produce the pic, which is based on a story that takes place during the Civil War and chronicles a group of Union Army soldiers who befriend a group of Confederate soldiers during a series of clandestine baseball games. Throughout the games military secrets are passed along between certain members of the two teams, forcing the Union players to decide whether to save or sacrifice their opponents when they later come face-to-face on the battlefield.
Imagine VP Maureen Peyrot is credited with championing the book and bringing it into the Universal fold.
"Play for a Kingdom" --- which is based on actual events Dyja managed to unearth during his research --- will be published by Harcourt Brace in August.
ICM's Alicia Gordon repped the book on behalf of Dyja's Gotham-based lit agent Lisa Bankoff, also of ICM.
