Two more projects by British novelist turned Hollywood hot property Nick Hornby are being prepared for cinema screens. Hornby's best-selling novel About a Boy is to be directed by the team behind American Pie, Chris and Paul Weitz. Meanwhile, the Arsenal-supporting author is preparing an original film script in collaboration with actress pal Emma Thompson.

According to reports in the Hollywood trade paper Variety, New Line, which paid $2.75m (£1.93m) for screen rights to the novel on its publication three years ago, are responsible for the unlikely pairing of the gross-out directors with the touchy-feely material.

Hugh Grant is said to be in the frame to play the movie's hero: a wealthy 30-something with a fear of commitment who seeks out the company of single mums because he thinks that they are easier to leave. It is only after he develops a friendship with a partner's 12-year-old son that he experiences a change of heart. The film will shoot in Britain next March.

In an interview with People News, Hornby describes the script that he is developing with Thompson, who won an Oscar for her adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, about a woman who discovers a video of her life and tries to change her future.

"It's a romantic comedy called Fast Forward', says the novelist. 'I did a treatment that was sent to Emma in an actress capacity. She liked it, and wanted to talk about it - so much so that I suggested we wrote the script together. It's an amazing experience, because she is just so smart."