Billy Ray Writing 'The Thin Man' for Johnny Depp and Warner Bros. (Exclusive)

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images Billy Ray, the writer-director of Shattered Glass and Breach, has been tapped to write The Thin Man, an adaptation of the classic Dashiell Hammett novel. Johnny Depp isattached to star and Rob Marshall isattached to direct the Warner Bros. project. PHOTOS: Johnny Depp's Most Memorable Career Moments William Powell and Myrna Loy starred in the 1934 adaptation of the book,which centered onformer private detective-turned-professional drunkard Nick Charles, hislovely socialite wife Nora and their schnauzer Asta as theyinvestigate a murder involving an eccentricinventor and his bizarre family. The film led to five more movies and a TV series. PHOTOS: Hollywood's 10 Highest Grossing Actors The project is a priority at the studio, but it has been putting writers through the spin cycle. Jerry Stahl was initially on board to write. ThenDavid Koepp was brought on, but he left when his vision didn't line up with Marshall's, forcing a hunt for a new scribe. Depp will produce Thin Man with his Infinitum Nihil partner Christi Dembrowski. Former Warner Bros. exec Kevin McCormick is producing via his studio-basedLangley Park. Ray has been on a studio hot streak of late. He is writingPeter Pan Beginsfor producerJoe Rothand Columbia, where he also hasA Captain's Duty, the story of boat captain Richard Phillips and his days-long ordeal with Somali pirates. (Tom Hanksis attached to the latter.) Repped by CAA and Management 360, Ray is also working on the 24 movie at Fox, and he is writing an English-language remake of the Oscar-winning 2009 Argentinean thriller The Secret in Their Eyes for himself to directat Warners. Johnny Depp Warner Bros. Pictures Group