LOS ANGELES - Oscar-winner
Julia Roberts is to star in a movie about renowned British wildlife
conservationist Joan Root, who was murdered at her home in Kenya last year, it
was reported Monday.
According to Variety, "Pretty Woman" and "Erin Brockovich"
star Roberts will produce the film and play Root, who was slain aged 69 in
January 2006 in the Kenyan Rift Valley.
Root was famous for her conservation efforts and kept several species of
animals, including waterbucks, dik diks and birds, on her compound where hippos
were known to gather.
With her ex-husband, Alan, she made several acclaimed nature documentaries in
the 1960s, 70s and 80s including "Balloon Safari", in which they used innovative
aerial techniques to capture Kenya's wildlife and landscape.
The Variety report said the new film would focus on Root's early life with
her husband.
Roberts has not appeared in an acting movie role since her appearance in
"Ocean's 12" in 2004, the year she gave birth to twins.