Billy Crudup will star in Columbia Pictures' adventure feature "Big Fish" for director Tim Burton. The project goes into production in January in Alabama, with Ewan McGregor and Albert Finney also starring. Dan Jinks, Bruce Cohen and Richard D. Zanuck are producing the project, which is based on Daniel Wallace's "Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions." "Fish" revolves around a dying father (Finney) and his son (Crudup), who is trying to learn more about his dad by piecing together the stories he has gathered over the years. The son winds up re-creating his father's elusive life in a series of legends and myths inspired by the few facts he knows. Through these tales, the son begins to understand his father's great feats -- and his great failings. McGregor will play Finney's character in the re-creation of the tales. John August adapted the "Fish" screenplay, which is being overseen by senior vp production Andrea Giannetti, who is reporting to production president Peter Schlessel. Crudup, repped by CAA, has starred in such films as "Almost Famous," "Charlotte Gray" and "Without Limits."