Werner Herzog to Direct 'Vernon God Little'

COLOGNE, Germany – Acclaimed German auteur Werner Herzog has signed on to direct Vernon God Little, the adaptation of the Booker Prize-winning novle by D.B.C. Pierre.

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Herzog announced he would be directing the feature, from a script by Andrew Birkin (The Name of the Rose) at an event in Berlin on Monday.

Vernon God Little is set in Texas and focuses on a teenager whose best friend goes on a high-school shooting spree. It was the last project developed by uber-producer Bernd Eichinger before his death. Producer Constantin Film handed the rights to the project over to Eichinger's widow, Katja Eichinger, who is producing. It is believed she is developing the film together with veteran producer Stefan Arndt (Cloud Atlas).

Herzog's most recent drama feature was My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done? (2009) starring Michael Shannon, Willem Dafoe and Chloe Sevigny. More recently, he has received praise for his 3D documentary Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010) and the death row docs Into The Abyss and On Death Row.