Ben Affleck will write and direct a film adaptation of Dennis Lehane's new book
Dennis Lehane鈥檚 new novel, 鈥淟ive By Night,鈥� has only been on shelves for a week, but Ben Affleck has already signed on to bring it to the big screen.
With his much-anticipated thriller 鈥�Argo鈥� having hit theaters Oct. 12, Affleck has agreed to write and direct his second Lehane story after 2007鈥檚 鈥�Gone Baby Gone.鈥� With another Boston crime narrative, Affleck and his film crew will be back in Beantown in the near future.
Lehane鈥檚 new novel, 鈥淟ive By Night,鈥� takes place in both Prohibition-era Boston and Tampa鈥檚 Ybor City. The story centers on the rising of Boston gangster Joe Coughlin. During the time of underground distilleries and speakeasies in the Roaring '20s, Coughlin 鈥� the son of a prominent Boston police captain 鈥� finds the life of guns, wealth, women and liquor irresistible.
Leonardo DiCaprio, who starred in Lehane鈥檚 鈥�Shutter Island,鈥� was originally set to produce after Warner Bros. acquired the rights to the movie. But now DiCaprio鈥檚 production company, Appian Way, will co-produce with Pearl Street, Affleck鈥檚 shared company with Matt Damon.
Warner Bros. also bought the rights to 鈥淭he Given Day,鈥� another Lehane novel that shares the same characters as 鈥淟ive By Night,鈥� but there are no definitive plans for the movie. Lehane plans to write a third book and tie all three into a trilogy, giving Warner Bros. the potential for a movie trilogy.
Pamela Cyran is a Monitor contributor.
