Screenwriter and actor Danny Strong will make his directorial debut with Salinger's War, a film based on the life of famed author J.D. Salinger, The Hollywood Reporter said.

Strong, who wrote the screenplay for Lee Daniels' The Butler and the upcoming third and fourth Hunger Games films, has a strong interest in Salinger's story. He optioned the book JD Salinger: A Life by Kenneth Slawensk with his own money and wrote the script on spec.

Black Label Media, which has quickly become a go-to financing outfit for prestige fare, is producing the project. Molly Smith, Trent Luckinbill and Thad Luckinbill will produce along with Bruce Cohen, Jason Shuman and Strong.

Salinger's War follows the Catcher in the Rye writer from his early days trying to establish his career in New York's literary circle in the early 1940's. After numerous rejections, he finally finds his voice writing about a character named Holden Caulfield. Right as his career is about to begin, WWII breaks out and Salinger goes off to fight. His experiences at war forever change him, and help him to finally find his voice as a writer.

Strong, whose acting credits include TV series Justified and AMC's Mad Men, has also had roles in the films Pleasantville, Dangerous Minds, and Seabiscuit. On the screenwriting side, he wrote the scripts for HBO's Emmy-winning miniseries Game Change and Recount.