Salma Hayek to Bring Khalil Gibran's 'The Prophet' to Big Screen

Salma Hayek is only one of the several talented individuals on board for this big screen adaptation of Khalil Gibran's "The Prophet".

An international celebrity line-up has been cast for the adaptation of all-time bestseller novel “The Prophet” by Khalil Gibran into an animated feature film, news reports confirmed on Thursday.

Mexican actress Salma Hayek will co-produce, while “Lion King” director Roger Allers will take on narrative responsibilities.

From the East, the production line-up also includes Emirati animator Mohammed Saeed Harib and Iranian author and director Marjane Satrapi.

“The Prophet,” an 89-year-old book of 26 poetic essays written in English by Lebanese artist, philosopher and writer Gibran, sold over 100 million copies since its original publication in 1923.

The book is divided into chapters dealing with love, marriage, children, work, crime and punishment, laws, good and evil and more. It has been translated in to more than 40 languages.

The Lebanese-born Gibran is believed to be the third most-read poet in history behind Shakespeare and Chinese philosopher Lao-Tzu.

The Doha Film Institute is part financier of the movie while pre-production on the project has been scheduled to begin this month.

By Eman El-Shenawi