Ewan McGregor to Adapt Philip Roth’s American Pastoral

Ewan McGregor is slated to make his directorial debut with Philip Roth’s Pulitzer-winning American Pastoral. McGregor was attached to star in the film last year and previously Phillip Noyce was attached to direct. Now that Noyce has stepped aside, McGregor is taking over directing duties as well. The brown-haired Scotsman McGregor was already a bit of an odd choice for Pastoral’s blond Jewish-American Swede Levov, and his directorial takeover might mean we have another Philip Roth adaptation flop to look forward too. Despite Philip Roth’s vast body of acclaimed and award-winning novels, there has yet to be a great adaptation of his work. (Here’s Adam Chandler on the “sad history” of Philip Roth adaptations.)

On the other hand, McGregor has been itching to direct a film for years and maybe he will be up to the task. The screenplay was written by The Lincoln Lawyer writer John Romano, and Jennifer Connelly and Dakota Fanning will co-star.