Director Shekhar Kapur Heading for Martin Amis' “London Fields”

Martin Amis is one of the smartest and hilariously mean writers of his generation, a man whose novels offer keen insights into the very worst parts of the human condition, and yet his works have yet to spawn a decent film. Hopefully this four-decade drought is about to end.

Shekhar Kapur, the man behind "Elizabeth," is the latest director to step forward for a crack at adapting Amis' "London Fields," according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"London Fields," tells the story of Samson Young, an American writer in England who's been waging a 20-year battle with writer's block, and Nicola Six, a woman who knows exactly when she will be murdered and goes in search of the man planning to kill her.

Two other Amis books have been made into films, "Dead Babies" (aka "Mood Swingers") and "The Rachel Papers." While we confess to having seen neither, just a look at the trailers are enough to see they completely missed the darkly comic tone that is Amis' stock and trade.

Amis' other foray into the world of feature films was the screenplay for the ridiculously hokey "Saturn 3," which starred Farrah Fawcett, Kirk Douglas and Harvey Keitel.

Previously, David Cronenberg was poised to helm a version in 2001, but departed for "A History of Violence" and "Eastern Promises"--it's hard to begrudge him those films. Michael Winterbottom and David McKenzie had also been on tap only to step away.

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