Andrew Haigh can’t seem to step wrong these days. His breakout feature "Weekend" was pretty much acclaimed by everyone, he leveraged that into the HBO series "Looking," and he’s now basking in the glow of his latest film "45 Years," which earned rave notices out of the Berlin International Film Festival in February (read our review). And the filmmaker’s sensitive touch with characterization and emotion will be pushed into a new direction for his next film which is now gearing up.
Screen Daily reports that Haigh will write and direct an adaptation of Willy Vlautin‘s novel "Lean On Pete." It tells the story of a homeless fifteen-year-old who befriends an aging racehorse, and sets out to find his only known relative. Here’s the book synopsis:
Told from the perspective of fifteen-year-old Charley Thompson, Lean on Pete is the story of a boy left to fend for himself by his wayward single father. Charley wanders to Portland Meadows racetrack one day and finds work with a surly, washed up horse trainer. He befriends an aging quarter horse named Lean on Pete, and before long, Charley and Pete find themselves alone in an unforgiving landscape scattered with a vivid cast of characters, desperate situations, and glimmers of hope.
The only bummer with this news is that it won’t start shooting until next year, but "Looking" fans take heart: Haigh will be directing the show’s standalone finale first.
READ MORE: HBO Picks Up a New Series From Director Andrew Haigh