Catherine Keener and Vince Vaughn are taking a walk on the "Wild" side. The two have boarded the Sean Penn-helmed "Into the Wild," which Paramount Pictures' new specialty division is distributing.

Emile Hirsch already has signed on to star in the film, which chronicles the true story of Christopher McCandless, who graduated from college in 1992, abandoned his possessions and hitchhiked to Alaska to live in the wilderness and return to nature. He died four months later in an abandoned bus at a remote campsite. Penn adapted the screenplay from Jon Krakauer's book of the same name.

Keener's character picks up the hitchhiker and takes him in as a surrogate son. Vaughn plays a tow-truck driver whom Hirsch's character meets on the road.

Art Linson and William M. Pohlad are producing. Pohlad's River Road Entertainment is financing the project.

Keener, whose recent credits include "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Friends With Money," was nominated for an Oscar for her supporting turn in "Capote." She also was nominated for a best supporting actress Oscar for "Being John Malkovich." Keener is repped by the Gersh Agency.

Vaughn, whose recent credits include "Wedding Crashers," "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" and "Thumbsucker," next appears in the upcoming romantic comedy "The Break Up" opposite Jennifer Aniston. He is repped by UTA, Mosaic Media Group and attorney Debbie Klein.