Andrew Niccol is attached to direct Dali & I: The Surreal Story, a film from Room 9 Entertainment about Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dali that will serve as the company's follow-up to the successful political satire Thank You for Smoking.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Room 9 originally acquired the film as a spec script written by John Salvati, based on Stan Lauryssens' autobiographical book Dali and I." Niccol is doing a rewrite on the script and the company is eyeing a shoot next spring.

The movie will cover the life of Dali through the eyes of Lauryssens, a young art dealer who knew Dali and his wife Gala. The movie will span the 1960s-1980s, covering Dali's later period when most of this great work was behind him while he became more flamboyant, and focusing on a mentor-protege relationship between Dali and Lauryssens.

Niccol is the filmmaker behind Gattaca, S1m0ne and last year's Lord of War. He also wrote "The Truman Show," which garnered him an Oscar nomination for best original screenplay.