May 19 (Bloomberg) -- Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks Studios acquired movie rights to Martin Luther King Jr.’s life story from the estate of the late civil rights leader.

Spielberg will produce the film based on King’s life with Suzanne de Passe and Madison Jones, DreamWorks said today in a statement. Terms of the agreement and a release date weren’t provided.

The movie will focus on events including the bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, and the 1963 march to Washington. It will be the first to draw from King’s copyrighted speeches and writings, DreamWorks said in the statement. King was assassinated in 1968 at the age of 39. DreamWorks didn’t say who will direct the picture.

Spielberg directed the 1985 film “The Color Purple,” based on Alice Walker’s story about the life of Celie, a young black girl growing up in the early 1900s. It was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, including best picture. His 1997 film “Amistad” about a mutiny on a slave ship was nominated for four Oscars. Spielberg won best-director Oscars for “Schindler’s List,” released in 1993, and “Saving Private Ryan,” released in 1998.

DreamWorks, which split from Viacom Inc.’s Paramount Pictures last year, has been acquiring film rights as it seeks about $325 million in loans to finance production. Mumbai-based Reliance Entertainment Pvt. has agreed to provide a matching contribution once the loan is in place.

In February, DreamWorks announced an agreement with Walt Disney Co. to distribute his studio’s pictures.

In January, Spielberg and Reliance paid $26.5 million for 17 projects that Los Angeles-based DreamWorks was developing with Paramount.

Disney fell 39 cents to $23.82 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The stock has fallen 5 percent percent this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael White in Los Angeles at mwhite8@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 19, 2009 16:19 EDT