Ethan Hawke is set to helm "The Hottest State", adapted from his novel of the same name reports Production Weekly.

The romancer is set in a grungy New York of aspiring actors, writers and singers. Chronicling the desperate, consuming rush that accompanies young love from its first hints to its ultimate disintegration, the story focuses on two young aspiring performers grappling with questions of self-identity and emotion that neither is equipped to handle.

Michelle Williams ("Brokeback Mountain") is set for a roll in the film, which is scheduled to begin shooting in late January.