Mandatory Credit: Photo by Stuart Clarke / Rex Features (1673771f) Ben Mee Dartmoor Zoological Park, which inspired new Hollywood film 'We Bought A Zoo', Britain - Mar 2012 *full story: http://www.rexfeatures.com/nanolink/flvk A family run zoo in Devon has become the unlikely inspiration for a Hollywood movie. 'We Bought A Zoo', which stars Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson, tells the story of Ben Mee and his family, who bought a run-down zoo despite having no experience of animals and only limited funds. Former newspaper DIY columnist Ben, his brother Duncan and their mother Amelia purchased the Dartmoor Zoological Park in August 2006 for GBP 1.1m. Formerly known as Dartmoor Wildlife Park, the park was opened in 1968 but was forced to close in April 2006. After buying the zoo, Ben, his wife Katherine and their children Milo and Ella moved into the decaying mansion that occupies the park. After a major refurbishment project, which was detailed in Ben's subsequent book 'We Bought a Zoo', the family re-opened the zoo for business in July 2007. Their story has now been turned into the new film 'We Bought A Zoo' with Matt Damon taking on the lead role.