Will Smith Picking Flowers for Algernon?

While we reported earlier today that one Will Smith project appeared to be dead, it seems Smith is picking up another. Pajiba is reporting that Will Smith has signed on to star and produce an adaptation of the novel Flowers for Algernon.

The 1959 novel by Daniel Keyes had been adapted before, with the 1968 film Charly, which Cliff Robertson picked up an Academy Award for. This modern-day take on the story is being set up at Sony with Smith's production company Overbrook Entertainment to produce as well.

The story centers on a man of low intelligence who is the first to undergo a surgery that is said to raise intelligence. While the operation is successful, and his IQ raises from 68 to 185, the side effects include social setbacks where he feels ostracized from society.

It doesn't seem that a writer or director has been set for the project, but the site speculates that Smith collaborator Gabrielle Muccino, who directed Smith in The Pursuit of Happyness and Seven Pounds, could be an ideal candidate.