Short Cuts

Hanks cast in 'The DaVinci Code', McGregor returns to the London stage and Ian Brown wants to star in 'Scarface II'

Nov 15 2004

Ewan McGregor is returning to the London stage to star in a new West End production of 'Guys and Dolls'. McGregor, who last trod the boards in 'Little Malcolm and His Struggle against the Eunuchs' in 1999, will play Sky Masterson, a fast-talking gambler who falls in love with a missionary in the show. Unlike 'Little Malcolm' however, the part will give McGregor the chance to flex the singing and dancing muscles he displayed to such good effect in 'Moulin Rogue'. The revival of the musical will be directed by the Donmar Warehouse's Michael Grandage, while a venue for the production is yet to be confirmed.

After much rumour and speculation, it looks as if someone has finally bagged the role of Robert Langdon in the movie version of the global publishing phenomenon 'The DaVinci Code'. And following the relative disappointments of 'The Ladykillers', 'The Terminal' and 'The Polar Express', it seems that Tom Hanks will nevertheless be cast as the code-cracking intellectual. Dan Brown’s cult novel, which is currently hitting 'Harry Potter'-like levels of popularity amongst adult readers, should roll before cameras sometime next year, with Ron Howard directing and Brian Grazer producing. 'Tom is an exciting actor to watch thinking.' Howard told Newsweek, 'We probably don’t need his status from a box office standpoint but he gives Langdon instant legitimacy.'

The bizarre recent history of Welsh band The Alarm is all set to make its way to the big screen. The rockers hit the headlines earlier this year when their song 45 RPM entered the charts at No.28. No great feat in itself, but the band re-named themselves Poppyfields for the release and persuaded a much younger group to lip-synch in the video, a move that fooled VJs and DJs up and down the country until The Alarm themselves revealed the truth. John H. Williams, the producer of Shrek, has snapped up the rights to the story, and instead of re-locating it to LA as usually happens in these cases, he rather strangely hopes to make the film in Rhyl, Wales sometime next year.

And finally, speaking on 'Later With Jools Holland' last week, Ian Brown discussed the possibility of doing more acting following his cameo in 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban' this summer. When pressed on what kind of role he sees himself playing, Brown replied: 'If they do Scarface II and swap it for marijuana, I’m your man.'We're pretty sure Browny was joking at the time, but if there are any rich producers out there looking for something to do, please make this movie now!