The life of fiercely private author J.D. Salinger is to be made into a new biopic. The Weinstein Company have announced plans to make a film based on the Catcher in the Rye writer's life, focusing on the time between his World War II service and the publication of his literary classic in 1951.

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Salinger was among the American troops who stormed the Normandy beaches in June 1944 and liberated German concentration camps, with that time widely believed to have inspired the formation of his best known protagnoist, Holden Caulfield.

The new feature will be scripted by Shane Salerno (Armageddon) whose documentary Salinger opened to mixed reviews earlier this month. "This documentary has been an incredible journey and truly epitomizes what it means to be a passion project," he said, before adding that he's "look[ing] forward to continuing my relationship with Harvey and TWC in developing a narrative film about this brilliant, intriguing man."

Salerno - who is currently scripting one of the Avatar sequels - has spent much of his career researching and adapting Salinger's story, co-authoring a 700-page book with David Shields and optioning the film rights to a 1999 biography by Paul Alexander some years ago with hopes to cast Daniel Day-Lewis in the lead role.

The British actor, now aged 56, is probably too old to play the young author, but other names currently stirring the rumour mill include Ryan Gosling, James Franco and Jake Gyllenhaal.

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