Lionsgate has optioned Larry Brown's final novel, "The Rabbit Factory," for Ithaka Entertainment says The Hollywood Reporter.

The story takes place in and around Memphis and features interconnecting story lines that explore a world of desperation and violence. "Rabbit" was published by Free Press in 2003, Brown died the following year.

Vondie Curtis-Hall, who directed the upcoming urban gangster film "Waist Deep" for Rogue Pictures, is attached to direct. Short story writer and National Book Award finalist Thom Jones ("The Pugilist at Rest") penned the adaptation.