Now that a more open schedule is at his advantage, Michael Pitt has decided to aim a little higher than we may have anticipated. As Variety reports, the actor is becoming a multi-hyphenate for You Can’t Win, which he will lead, produce, and co-write with director Robinson Devor (Zoo), Barry Gifford (Lost Highway), and Charles Mudede.

That trio is working with a 1926 autobiography of Jack Black (different guy, natch), a “burgler, safe-cracker, highwayman and petty thief” who traveled across the United States and Canada’s hobo underworld in the early part of the 20th century. That’s not all since, in the course of this memoir, Black also takes multiple perspectives to investigate aspects such as “crime, addiction, criminal justice and human folly.” (Whether these other vantage points will be utilized hasn’t been made clear.)

That could make for something at least vaguely unique and interesting — especially if other voices are thrown in while they’re at it — and, thankfully, they might have the right guy taking center stage. I often saw Pitt as something of a one-note actor for years and years (“moody with a scowl” was his forte) but let’s just say two seasons of work on Boardwalk Empire altered my own opinion significantly. I’d like to think some time in the Prohibition era’s allowed him to grow as an actor; the fact that You Can’t Win is set in 1926 can’t hurt. (Well, it probably doesn’t make any difference.)

Is You Can’t Win a promising effort? Have you read the original book?