'Weekend' And '45 Years' Director Andrew Haigh To Helm 'Lean On Pete'

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...