There's a lot of great post-Sundance [1] news out there, but this story is really making me smile: Festival founder Robert Redford has said that his next project will be an adaptation of A Walk in the Woods [2], Bill Bryson's best-selling book [3] about an attempt to walk the Appalachian Trail. Redford plans to play Bryson, and Barry Levinson is expected to direct the film.

I'm getting a kick out of the idea of Redford as Bryson, who was an overweight, out-of-shape man edging toward a mid-life crisis when he decided to walk the trail in 1997 (that's the real Bryson up there on the right). And apparently, so is Redford, who told the Associated Press [4] "I don't know when I've read a book that I laughed so loud."

Redford also noted that the landscape of the country will be a big part of the film as Bryson and his hiking companion, Stephen Katz, make their way along the trail. (In the book, the two men didn't finish their hike — so do you think the movie will get a Hollywood ending?)

Other than making me want to read A Walk in the Woods again, this news makes me wonder: Who's going to play Katz? Their hilarious banter is one of the best parts of the book. Any suggestions?

Source [5], Source [6], and Source [7]