Actor William Hurt has signed up to star in basketball drama Men Of Granite weeks after dropping out of the Allman Brothers biopic.

The Oscar winner, who was set to play Gregg Allman in the movie, quit the project last month (Apr14) amid delays prompted by the death of a camera assistant on the set in February (14).

Production on The Allman Brothers biopic, Midnight Rider, is still on hold and now Hurt has landed his next project - a film adaptation of sports writer Dan Manoyan's novel, which will centre on the true story of the 1940 Granite City High School men's basketball team, which was comprised mostly of immigrants. They went on to win the Illinois State Championship.

Hurt will play the team's coach.