Alan Shapiro has been tapped to direct the indie family comedy Frank, with Darrell Hammond and Missi Pyle in negotiations to star.

The Hollywood Reporter says Bay Area-based production and financing company Bright Line Films will finance the film alongside Cabiria Prods. of Turin, Italy. Bright Line principal Robin Bradford penned the screenplay and is producing.

The story centers on an abandoned dog who ingratiates himself with a family vacationing on an idyllic island. Hammond and Pyle would play the husband and wife.