Paramount Classics chief John Lesher has hired scribe Mike White to direct his first feature, "Year of the Dog." Jack Black, White's producing partner, is expected to be involved reports Variety.

White ("The School of Rock," "The Good Girl") will pen the dramedy, about a happy-go-lucky secretary whose life changes in unexpected ways after her dog dies.

At Sundance, Lesher also confirmed Paramount Classics -- rather than Paramount Pictures -- will release Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's "Babel".