Are you still recovering from the summer sugar-rush and wishing for something a little more substantial? Do you long for some intelligent, literary drama? Well, Steven Zaillian certainly does, which is why he's signed on to direct A Thousand Splendid Suns, based on the novel by Khaled Hosseini.
The writer's follow-up to The Kite Runner, the Afghan-set story is about two Muslim women of different generations married to the same man. They form a friendship that lasts ten years, through the war in Afghanistan and other uphevals.
Producer Scott Rudin bought the rights to the book, which was a number one bestseller, and Columbia plans to make the film for a very modest $15 million. Zaillian, who wrote Gangs of New York and the forthcoming American Gangster, recently wrote and directed All The King's Men, so knows a thing or two about political subtexts. There's no word yet on a start date for the film, but with the actors' strike looming next summer this could go into production relatively quickly. In the meantime, The Kite Runner (directed by Marc Forster) is due out on December 26.