A MACHO film portraying Robert Burns as a sex maniac is gearing up for production in the summer – with some top Scottish talent on board.
Screen heavyweights Brian Cox, John Hannah, David O’Hara and James Cosmo are set to join Lara Croft star Gerard Butler, who will play the title role.
It has been penned by Scots writer Alan Sharp, author of the Liam Neeson movie about Rob Roy. He said the film will show Burns “bouncing off the walls, causing chaos around him”.
Director Vadim Jean last night confirmed he is planning a summer start for the film.
He said: “Casting is coming together very nicely. The list is building every day.”
The story concentrates on a few years of Burns’ life – his relationship with Jean Armour – and will cover his plans to emigrate to the West Indies.
It will also look at the bard’s run-ins with the church.
Jean said he was keeping details of the female cast “under his hat” but he is known to have screen-tested several Scottish actresses, including Morvern Callar’s Kathleen McDermott and This Life’s Daniela Nardini.
Sharp’s films often stir trouble – Ulzana’s Raid, starring Burt Lancaster, infuriated Americans because of its bleak account of a cavalry platoon hunt for a small group of Apaches that drew parallels with the war in Vietnam.
His recent Rob Roy film, which featured a rape scene with Jessica Lange, prompted the writer to later apologise to the actress.
Copyright 2004 Express Newspapers