In what could be a fortuitous bit of timing, given the collapse of Enron, director Lasse Hallstrom has signed on to shoot a historical thriller set against the creation of the stock market.

Variety reports that Hallstrom ("The Shipping News") will adapt David Liss's novel "A Conspiracy Of Paper." Set in 18th Century London, it focuses on Benjamin Weaver, an ex-boxer and constable-for-hire who sets out to untangle the mystery behind two deaths -- a probe that leaves him into the labyrinth of London's burgeoning market.

Hallstrom's decision to go forward with "Conspiracy" means he'll have to drop out of "Cinderella Man," a Depression-era film about boxer Jim Braddock. Russell Crowe was set to star opposite Renee Zellweger.

Screenwriter Robert Nelson Jacobs, who wrote the Oscar-nominated screenplay for Hallstrom's "Chocolat," will adapt "A Conspiracy Of Paper," Variety said.


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