The story follows a West Texas sheriff (Affleck) and his downward spiral from a boring small-town cop into a ruthless, sociopathic murderer. Alba plays a prostitute.

The novel was made into a 1976 film starring Stacy Keach.

MuseFilm's Chris Hanley, Cyclone Prods.' Robert Weinbach, Revolution Films' Andrew Eaton and Bradford Schlei are producing the latest adaptation, which was written by Weinbach and John Curran.

Oklahoma-based Indion Entertainment Group is financing, as is Barbarian Films and OceaniaMedia Finance. A mid-January start date is being eyed. Wild Bunch is handling worldwide sales.

Affleck, repped by Endeavor and Brillstein Entertainment Partners, most recently starred in "Gone Baby Gone," while Alba, repped by Thruline Entertainment, most recently appeared in "The Love Guru."

Endeavor-repped Winterbottom's most recent film was "A Mighty Heart," starring Angelina Jolie.