Winterbottom and Coogan reunite for 'Murder'

Michael will direct and Steve could star in an adaptation of the controversial memoir 'Murder in Samarkand'.

Feb 24 2006

Michael Winterbottom has bought the rights to 'Murder in Samarkand', the controversial memoirs of the former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray.

Steve Coogan, who previously starred in the Winterbottom flicks '24 Hour Party People' and 'A Cock and Bull Story', is favourite to play Murray, who was sacked in 2004 having drawn attention to torture and human rights abuses in the country.

'The book is fantastic. It is very, very funny' Winterbottom explained. 'It also deals with the fact that the reason he is no longer ambassador is that the British Government was using information obtained from torture and he thought that was wrong.'

Production is set to start on 'Murder in Samarkand' in 2007, once Winterbottom has finished work on his Italian ghost story 'Genova'.

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