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Edward Norton will reportedly star, direct in adaptation of 'Motherless Brooklyn'

Ed Norton previously directed the film 'Keeping the Faith.'

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R: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
Edward Norton (r.) will reportedly star in and direct a movie adaptation of Jonathan Lethem's novel 'Motherless Brooklyn.'
  • By Molly Driscoll Staff Writer

Actor Edward Norton will reportedly direct and star in a film adaptation of Jonathan Lethem’s novel “Motherless Brooklyn.”

“Motherless Brooklyn” was originally released in 1999 and follows Lionel Essrog, an orphan diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome who attended St. Vincent’s Home for Boys and now, with other St. Vincent’s attendees, works for a detective agency run by mobster Frank Minna. When Frank is attacked, Lionel’s life is turned upside down.

The novel won the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction.

According to Deadline, Norton will switch the setting of the novel from contemporary to the 1950s.

His previous directing credit is the 2000 film “Keeping the Faith.” Norton recently starred in the 2012 films “Moonrise Kingdom” and “The Bourne Legacy” and will next appear in the Wes Anderson film “Grand Budapest Hotel,” which will debut on March 7.

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