Ben Affleck’s next directorial outing could see him return to the books of Dennis Lehane, with the Gone Baby Gone helmer apparently keen on the novel, Live By Night .
Another Boston-set odyssey, the novel is set during 1926, when America was enduring the height of Prohibition, and underground booze operations were making a lot of gangsters very rich.
The story follows policeman’s son Joe Coughlin (who made an appearance in another of Lehane’s novels, The Given Day ), who finds himself becoming embroiled in a life of organised crime as he turns his back upon his strict upbringing.
Affleck is reportedly in talks with Warners over making Live By Night his next film, and if successful, will direct, write, star and produce, as has become his wont.
The project had initially been linked to Leonardo DiCaprio, whose production company will still share a producing credit, but now looks likely to fall into Affleck’s hands. No bad thing, if Gone Baby Gone was any indicator…
