Andrew Haigh Set to Direct ‘Belly of the Beast,’ Starring Colin Farrell and Ben Stiller

UPDATE: Confirmed by Deadline.

EARLIER: Andrew Haigh, riding high off his last four critically acclaimed films (“Weekend”, “45 Years,” “Lean on Pete”), which also includes what some are calling the best film of his career, last year’s “All of Us Strangers.”

We now know what Haigh’s next film will be. Ben Stiller is set to play literary giant Norman Mailer opposite Colin Farrell's Jack Henry Abbott in “Belly of the Beast.” (via Jeff Sneider). Filming is supposed to be begin later this year.

The film will tackle Mailer, an iconic writer, in his 50s, at the height of his influence. In 1977, Mailer started a correspondence with brilliant and self-educated prisoner Jack Henry Abbot, taking him under his wing and helping him get parole and setting up shop for a book deal.

However, when Jack came to New York, Mailer was overwhelmed by the sadness and squalor of Jack's life, and couldn’t quite follow through on his promises to help. Unprepared for the spotlight, Jack cracks under all of the pressure.

“Belly of the Beast” could be Haigh’s next film, but he’s not stopping there. Writer/novelist Ottessa Moshfegh (“Eileen”) is currently penning an adaptation of her own novel, “McGlue,” which is going to be directed by Haigh. That film is still in development.

Despite garnering the best reviews of his career for “All of Us Strangers,” I didn’t think it was the best film of Haigh’s career — “Lean on Pete” and “45 Years” were denser and more substantial in my books.

Regardless, it’s great to see Haigh’s stock continuing to rise. Having Stiller and Farrell acting in his next film automatically makes it the starriest project he’s ever been a part of.