Working Title Films and Peapie Films have acquired Andy Mulligan's novel Trash as a directing vehicle for Stephen Daldry (The Reader).  Richard Curtis (Love Actually) will adapt the novel, which is "a contemporary thriller set in the third world, about three boys who scrape a living picking through rubbish mounds. One day they discover a leather bag, whose contents plunge them into a terrifying adventure, pitting their wits against corruption and authority to put right a terrible wrong."  Variety reports that the project is being developed with an eye towards shooting in 2012.

Daldry is currently at work adapting Jonathan Safran Foer's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close starring Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock.  Curtis recently worked on the screenplay for Stephen Spielberg's upcoming drama War Horse.  Hit the jump for a synopsis of Andy Mulligan's Trash.

Here's the synopsis for Andy Mulligan's novel Trash:

In an unnamed Third World country, in the not-so-distant future, three “dumpsite boys” make a living picking through the mountains of garbage on the outskirts of a large city.

One unlucky-lucky day, Raphael finds something very special and very mysterious. So mysterious that he decides to keep it, even when the city police offer a handsome reward for its return. That decision brings with it terrifying consequences, and soon the dumpsite boys must use all of their cunning and courage to stay ahead of their pursuers. It’s up to Raphael, Gardo, and Rat—boys who have no education, no parents, no homes, and no money—to solve the mystery and right a terrible wrong.

Andy Mulligan has written a powerful story about unthinkable poverty—and the kind of hope and determination that can transcend it. With twists and turns, unrelenting action, and deep, raw emotion, Trash is a heart-pounding, breath-holding novel. [Amazon]

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