Hell's Belles

Barnaby Thompson's St. Trinians remake has been survived the sudden shifts in UK tax law and is to begin shooting on Monday. Empire have a roll call of cast: Emily Watson in the Joyce Grenfell role; Rupert Everett in the Alistair Sim role - which is, if you din't know, that of the headmistress; Colin Firth in what appears to be the George Cole role; Stephen Fry; Richard E Grant; Jodie Whittaker, who was massively overrated in the fairly overrated Venus; Caterina Murino; and, somewhere, somehow, somewhy, the one and only Russel Brand.

Sounds like an absolute disaster. This really needed at least Richard Loncraine in full-on loony camp mode behind the camera and Richard Curtis at the word processor.

Curtis, instead, has been saving Anthony Minghella's behind by doing a draft of The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency.