BBC - Movies -news article - High Noon

		Russell Brand, Movie Star It had to happen sooner or later: love-him-or-hate-him comic Russell Brand has landed himself a proper starring Hollywood role. Or roley-woley, as he would no doubt describe it. The backcombed burbler will star with Jonah Hill in Get Him To The Greek, the latest juggernaut from the Judd Apatow comedy factory. According to Variety, Brand plays a crazed rock star in the film. Hill is a young insurance adjuster hired to drag him from London to a gig at LA's Greek Theatre. The pair have already appeared together in Apatow's Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and of course Brand cut his celluloid teeth on the St Trinian's movie. If your career can survive that, it can survive anything.

		Caan In Cookie Tiff Veteran thesp James Caan has walked off the set of political comedy Nailed after a dispute over a cookie. According to Hollywood Reporter, Caan was playing a small role as a US politician who chokes to death on a cookie. Apparently, Caan and his director David O Russell had a disagreement over the correct way to suffocate on a biscuit - Russell wanted Caan to cough, Caan didn't want to - which ended, astonishingly, with Caan walking off the set. Crikey. Russell is, of course, well known for very public disagreements with his actors, having suffered "creative differences" with both George Clooney and Lily Tomlin.

		Ang Lee: Comic Genius Ang Lee is making a comedy. The director best known for aching sensitive explorations of sexual longing (and the odd superhero movie) is working on a film based on Eliot Tiber's book Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot, Concert, and a Life. Taking Woodstock is set in the summer of '69, and follows an everyman character who inadvertently sets the wheels in motion for the most famous rock concert in the history of the world, ever. James Schamus, Lee's regular screenswriter, is tapping out the script. "It explores an inspiring historical moment when liberation and freedom were in the air", he told Variety. Yeah, sounds hilarious James. But have you got Eddie Murphy in a fat suit?

		Verhoeven's Life Of Christ Ok, this is an odd one. Dutch director Paul Verhoeven, the man responsible for Showgirls, Basic Instinct and other experiments in audience baiting, will publish a biography of Jesus Christ this September. The book, which draws on 20 years of research, claims to portray Jesus in a completely realistic light. Verhoeven's book includes some attention grabbing assertions: in his version, Jesus is conceived when a Roman soldier rapes Mary, and was never betrayed by Judas Iscariot. Naturally, he's hoping to turn the book into a movie. Controversial? Him?

		Clint Does Cannes Finally, a quick word about the Cannes Film Festival. The official slate of film entries will be revealed this week, but Variety is reporting that Clint Eastwood's new movie The Changeling will definitely be screening in competition. Clint's film is a thriller set in the 1920s starring Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich and Colm Feore. It looks likely to be the highest-profile US film in competition, indeed his only US rival so far appears to be Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona. We'll bring you more on the line-up as we get it.