John C. Reilly to star in ‘The Sisters Brothers,’ based on Canuck author’s novel

TORONTO – Vancouver Island-born writer Patrick deWitt says Oscar-nominated actor John C. Reilly will star in a big-screen adaptation of his heralded novel “The Sisters Brothers.”

DeWitt said the film will be directed by acclaimed French filmmaker Jacques Audiard (“Un prophete,” “Rust and Bone”), who is also working on the screenplay.

“I’m really very happy with this team,” deWitt said in a telephone interview to discuss his new novel, “Undermajordomo Minor,” which hits shelves Sept. 5.

“I think John’s perfect for the role and I’m really curious to see what Jacques comes up with.”

Reilly will play Eli Sisters, one of two gunslinging brothers en route to California in the gold-rush era of the 1850s.

The comic western won a Governor General’s Literary Award and the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize in 2011.

It also won the 2012 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and the Scotiabank Giller Prize.

It was deWitt’s second novel after 2009’s “Ablutions.”

“I do like the idea of a non-American telling this story that is a very American story,” said deWitt, who lives in Portland, Ore.

“I like the idea of it being told from a non-American’s point of view and I really admire Jacque’s movies, so this is exciting for me.”