The Englishman's Boy coming to small screen

A screen adaptation of The Englishman's Boy, a project planned eight years ago, is finally set for filming.

A two-part miniseries of the book by Guy Vanderhaeghe is to begin filming in Saskatchewan on July 31.

The project isto be directed by John N. Smith, who did The Boys of St. Vincent, and produced by Kevin DeWalt, a news release Wednesday said.

Vanderhaeghe iscollaborating on the script for the TVadaptation. The Englishman's Boy combines a story about the lawless West set in the Cypress Hills area of Saskatchewan with a subplot about Hollywood's take on cowboys and Indians.

The book won a Governor General's Award in 1996 and was shortlisted for the Giller Prize and the International IMPAC Dublin Award.

"Guy is a writer of rare power," said Smith. "We have been collaborating on bringing this riveting story to the screen for a very long time. Canadian viewers are in for a great treat, I promise you."

DeWalt's Regina-based Minds EyeEntertainment proposed making a film of thenovel in 1998 and Smith was chosen as director a year later.

More than 40 filmmakers had bid for rights to the book.

But Minds Eye ran into financial difficulties and had to restructure in 2003.

The new production will be a four-hour mini-series to air on CBC-TV.