Feat of 'Clay'

Right now, Stephen Daldry may be best known as the guy who directed ''Billy Elliot.'' By the end of the month, however, he'll be known as the go-to guy for adaptations of Pulitzer Prize-winning novels into films. His version of Michael Cunningham's ''The Hours,'' which stars Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, and Julianne Moore, opens in limited release Dec. 27 and has already been named the year's best picture by the National Board of Review. Now, Variety reports, he's in talks to direct ''The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay'' from Michael Chabon's screenplay, based on his own novel about the golden age of comic books in the 1930s and '40s.

Daldry is expected to shoot ''Kavalier'' next, followed by another acclaimed recent novel, Jonathan Franzen's ''The Corrections.'' That movie is to be scripted by David Hare, who wrote the ''Hours'' screenplay.

All these movies are projects of Paramount-based producer Scott Rudin, who specializes in literary adaptations. (He also produced the movie version of Chabon's ''Wonder Boys.'') That's a typically full plate for Rudin, though Variety reports he's just dropped out of producing the Lemony Snicket kid-movie franchise for the studio. (The reason, Variety reports, was Paramount's desire to curtail the budget for the first film, ''Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events,'' which will star Jim Carrey as the wicked Count Olaf.) As for Chabon, he's going in a less highbrow direction; his next screenplay will be for the ''Spider-Man'' sequel.