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Miramax and producer Scott Rudin have acquired screen rights to "The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao," the critically acclaimed first novel by Junot Diaz. Just published by Riverhead, the novel focuses on a sexually frustrated, overweight youth who attends Rutgers U. and fantasizes about beautiful women. Woven into his quest to find love is a family history that goes back to the Dominican Republic and includes love, violence and a curse.

Rudin got an early look at the manuscript and courted the author before the book was brought to auction.

The producer has four films opening this fall: the Wes Anderson-directed "The Darjeeling Limited," Noah Baumbach's "Margot at the Wedding," the Joel and Ethan Coen-directed "No Country for Old Men" and Paul Thomas Anderson's "There Will Be Blood."

Rudin is prepping Anderson-directed animated feature "The Fantastic Mr. Fox," with George Clooney and Cate Blanchett voicing and "The Reader," a Stephen Daldry-directed adaptation of the Bernhard Schlink novel that stars Nicole Kidman and Ralph Fiennes. The former pic is set to go out in November 2009, the latter in December 2008.