The first-time director of surprise British smash Billy Elliott is in talks to direct an adaptation of the Pulitzer
Prize-winning novel The Hours for Paramount, reports trade paper Variety.

Stephen Daldry's likely second film has been scripted by his long-time theatre collaborator, playwright David Hare, and may star Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore.

The novel, by Michael Cunningham, is a homage to the Bloomsbury writer
Virginia Woolf, and tells the story of three women living in different periods of the 20th century.

One is Woolf, at work on her novel Mrs Dalloway in 1923; the second is an LA housewife in the late 40s; the last is a young woman in 1990s New York, planning a party for an Aids-suffering former lover who called her "Mrs Dalloway".

Daldry is suddenly hot property in movieland, after Billy Elliott rocketed to the top of the UK box office chart. It looks set to take the States by storm, and Oscars look increasingly possible.

The film accrued its first official accolades last night in London, winning four honours at the British Independent Film Awards: best British independent film, best screenplay, best director category and best newcomer, for 14-year-old star Jamie Bell.

The awards mark the culmination of the Raindance Independent Film Festival. Collecting the gongs, director Daldry said: "it's still a total joy that people are enjoying the film - that's a total surprise".

Other awards went to Gillian Anderson (Best Actress - House of Mirth), Daniel Craig (Best Actor - Some Voices), One Day in September (Best Documentary) and to Kadosh and The Straight Story for Best Foreign Films.