Brad Pitt and Natalie Portman to Star in New Romantic Comedy

Paramount won an auction for the book rights Tuesday night. Pitt's Plan B will produce with Portman's Handsomecharlie Films banner. Portman brought the book to Pitt, whose company is Par-based. The book takes the form of a Sotheby's-like estate auction catalog, with 325 entries and photographs depicting items that reveal the private moments and the rise and fall of a four-year relationship between the fictitious couple Hal Morris (a 40ish photographer) and Lenore Doolan (a New York Times food columnist in her late 20s).

The project will be developed as a romantic comedy to star Pitt and Portman. Shapton, an illustrator and art director of the Times' op-ed page, uses items that range from clothes to notes, emails and heirlooms to convey the excitement, hopes, dreams and, ultimately, the heartache of a love affair that runs its course.