Hoffman to direct period ghost story

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NEW YORK, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- U.S. actor Philip Seymour Hoffman is to direct "Ezekiel Moss," a depression-era ghost story, the film's producers said.

Anthony Bregman of Likely Story and Cathy Schulman of Mandalay Pictures announced the project Tuesday.

The movie is about "a young, imaginative boy living in a small dead-end town who befriends a mysterious drifter who may or may not have the supernatural ability to communicate with the dead," a synopsis said.

Written by Keith Bunin, the film marks Hoffman's second feature film directorial effort after "Jack Goes Boating."

Casting has just begun on "Ezekiel Moss."

"Philip Seymour Hoffman is an unsurpassed artist -- as an actor and director, on stage and in film. Year after year, he stuns us with his gift for finding the most interesting and precise expressions of a dramatic moment," Bregman said in a statement.

Hoffman won an Oscar for his work in "Capote." He is currently shooting "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," and his most recent films include "The Master" and "A Late Quartet."