This week in Page to Screen—PW's weekly column tracking film rights circulating and sold in Hollywood—CAA shops a Robert Harris backlister (after Roman Polanski drops out), and the life and times of an unforgettable canine.

Now that Roman Polanski's option on Robert Harris's Pompeii has expired—Polanski signed on, in 2007, to direct what was then envisioned as a $130 million project about the buildup to (and during) the Mount Vesuvius eruption—a rep at CAA confirmed the agency is shopping the film rights again. The novel, originally published by Random House in 2003, is set in first-century Rome and follows the young engineer who, while trying to repair a broken water aqueduct in the titular town, stumbles across signs that the now-famous volcano is about to blow. A romance and a political scandal (involving control of the water supply) also come into play. No word yet on any new takers for the book.

Antoher book getting some first looks in Hollywood is Steve Duno's Last Dog on the Hill. Duno, a longtime dog trainer who's written a number of books on the subject, sold the memoir of the canine who got him into that business, Lou, to St. Martin's in March. The book, slated for 2010, follows Duno's life with Lou, from his discovery of the dog—he found the then-feral Rotweiler-Shepherd mix on the side of a highway in Mendocino, Calif., emaciated and wounded—through the animal's overachieving days doing everything from helping law enforcement capture crooks to comforting dying WWII vets. Despite an obvious jump to the Marley & Me comparison, Duno said this book, unlike Grogan's, is about the dog's life and not the people around him. Agent Jeff Kleinman, at Folio Literary Management, who sold the book to St. Martin's, has already fielded interest from 20th Century Fox and Spyglass Entertainment, but, Duno said, he thinks the studios are waiting for a finished manuscript. Kleinman is currently handling the film queries, but will, per Duno, ultimately look for a coagent to handle the film rights.