The Daily Telegraph from London, Greater London, England • 21

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH SATURDAY, MAY 9, 1998 21 Saturday NEWS REVIEW Alternative comedians 'will grow cuddlier' WORRYING news for Ben Elton, Harry Enfield and their ilk. David Liddiment, ITV's director of programmes, thinks they lack the common touch. Speaking at Bafta in Piccadilly, Mr Liddiment conceded that the "alternative suffered "a touch" from springing from a "narrow college circle used to entertaining their own peers." But all is not lost. "As they get older and have children their material starts to become broader. Their centre of gravity gets closer to that of the nation," he adds.

MARK ADDY, the Full Monty star, has agreed to play a man married to an alien running a bar on another planet, in a new sitcom. The series, Earth Scum, is being developed by ABC, who signed him after seeing his performance as fat Dave in the film. Granada Entertainment. however, is unhappy at similarities between Earth Scum and a sitcom it made, called Puny Humans. It had talked to ABC about buying the format a while ago.

The two are now trying to settle their differences. OSCAR WILDE'S An Ideal Husband will boast a powerful cast when it is made into a film. Minnie Driver, Gabriel Byrne and Rupert Everett are all in final negotiations to take the leading roles. Perhaps less promising news is that Tamara Beckwith and Tara Palmer Tomkinson will also appear. VARIETY, the Hollywood bible, warns us that the discovery of the miracle impotence drug, Viagra, may have farther reaching consequences than first thought.

"We're talking about the sexual empowerment of the geezer set," says the magazine, predicting a slew of films about virile old stars. STEVEN SPIELBERG'S next film as a director will be an adaptation of the novel Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. The film, which will probably start shooting in Japan in October, will tell the fictional story of a girl sold into slavery aged nine in 1929 became a renowned geisha. Alison Boshoff Groucho movie to redefine Marxism THE colourful life of Groucho Marx is to be examined in a movie made by Danny De Vito's Jersey Films. The which is backed Universal, will tell the story of Groucho, the thrice-married father of modern movie comedy.

A spokesman at Jersey Films said: "Groucho was a great anarchist in a time when the studio system controlled each and every move of their artists on every level. "Groucho challenged these ideals professionally, politically, and socially." The Marx Brothers started as a successful vaudeville act and broke into movies years later. Groucho, whose real name was Julius, also hosted chat shows and the quiz show You Bet Your Life. Groucho minted aphorisms which are still quoted and is much loved and feted for his comic skill, which inspired later generations of comics including Bob Hope, Woody Allen and the Carry On team. His private life, however, was more troubled.

The film is one in a string of biopics that are being planned by Hollywood. Projects to come include Martin Scorsese's Deano about the life of Dean Martin; Steven Spielberg's look at the life of the aviator Charles Lindbergh and a film about Howard with Johnny Depp set Olielughes, ver Stone is making a film about the life of Martin Luther King. Oops! Helena's $1m film is thrown away OLLYWOOD'S ent love "cool" suffered affair British a with set- talback this week when Granada lost a $1 million deal with one of America's top players. Negotiations broke down because someone had accidentally thrown away the only copy of a film that the studio. Miramax, wanted.

Several years ago, Granada made critically acclaimed on special, Dancing Queen, starring Helena Bonham Carter and Rik Mayall. In the TV film. Miss Bonham Carter a stripper and Mayall bridegroom eawas stranded on the way to his wedding after a stag night. The rights to the picture were sold in Cannes a year ago to Miramax, the powerful Disney subsidiary behind The English Patient, Pulp Fiction and Mrs Brown. Miramax thought the farce was great and planned to remake it with Nicole Kidman in the lead.

It set about commissioning a script and finding a director. However the project was Challenge: Groucho Marx it in cinemas with a big campaign in America, cashing in on Miss Bonham Carter's recent Oscar nomination. Granada was delighted by the golden opportunity to make some money. However, it found that it had thrown the film away. A source tells me that the only negative of Dancing Queen had been binned as part of a standard cleaning.

up procedure. "It is all a bit embarrassing." said iny when we looked for it we found that it just wasn't anywhere be found. It's a terrible shame. ITV is consoling itself by showing the film again on television on June 7. possible only because the Betamax format survived the purge.

NICK Hancock is making a football comedy-documentary for LWT. Bostock's Cup will tell the story of the fictional Third Division team. Bostock Stanley, which reaches the Cup Final. He is also developing a quiz show. What Didn't Happen Next, for ITV.

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Please ask in shops for details and see the Discount Guarantee. she was modelling for the and went on to have a long the face of Revlon. She has the lavish, partying life a child and been reunited with Africa. She has also embarked against female circumcision, was subjected, and is bringing September. Anne Heche: in remake Wise treads the boards as Emma takes a rest GREG WISE, who trained as an architect before turning actor, is drawing the Equity minimum for his role in a new play.

Nabokov's Gloves. at the Hampstead Theatre. Starring alongside Niamh Cusack and Beatie Edney makes a change for Wise, who has spent a year redesigning the Maida Vale house he shares with Emma Thompson. Miss Thompson. who will be in Cannes next week, is taking things easy, and has turned down roles to work on scripts and try for a baby.

"I am the bread-winner now." said Wise with some pride. although I don't imagine £240 a week quite covers the outgoings. THE HORSE WHISPERER, Robert Redford's version of the novel by Nicholas Evans, is attracting rave notices in America despite being nearly three hours long. However. fans of the book should be warned that things will be rather different in the cinema.

First. the physical relationship between Annie and Tom has been watered down to merely kisses. Second. the melodramatic ending has been abandoned for something more subtle, but equally sad. JACK DEE, who recently branched out into the West End with his performance in will star in his first comedy series.

Dee has agreed to repeat his role as Doug Digby. a sadistic games teacher, when a sitcom pilot. The Grimleys, returns as a series later this year. The glam-rock comedy is set in Dudley circa 1975 and stars Noddy Holder, of Slade as a music teacher. Filming will start in July and it is likely to appear on ITV late this year.

HIDDEN art treasures mouldering in government departments will be seen in a new BBC2 programme, The Secret Arts of Government. The programme, which looks at some of the 300.000 works of art owned by goverment. goes out this summer. I SIR ELTON JOHN'S film company, Rocket Pictures, has bought the rights to the life story of Waris Dirie, above, the African supermodel and UN special ambassador. Miss Dirie left Somalia at 13 to escape an arranged marriage to a 60-year-old man.

Fleeing to London, she stayed until being "discovered" by a when she was working in McDonald's. Within weeks Pirelli calendar career, becoming since given up model, had a her family in on a campaign to which she out a book in Heche steps into Leigh's place under Psycho shower Helena Bonham Carter thrown into disarray when Harvey Weinstein, of Miramax, got wind of plans by a rival, Dream Works. run by Steven Spielberg. to make a film with a similar storyline. Mr Weinstein decided that the best thing to do would to buy quickly the original film of Dancing Queen and obtain any footage directly from Granada.

The idea was to put all the footage together and release ANNE HECHE will take the Janet Leigh role in a forthcoming version of Psycho. Gus Van Sant. a favoured director of achingly trendy young actors, is to remake the 1960 Hitchcock masterpiece, and Nicole Kidman and Drew Barrymore had been tipped for leading female parts. However Miss Kidman has said that she is too busy and Miss Heche. who is best- known in Britain as the girlfriend of Ellen DeGeneres, the lesbian sitcom actress, has emerged as the front runner.

She recently filmed the romantic comedy Six Days and Seven Nights opposite Harrison Ford. It has not vet been released here. The character's sister, who goes in search of the shower victim, will be played by Julianne Moore. star of Boogie Nights. DONALD SUTHERLAND, Charlton Heston and Vanessa Redgrave are to star in Toscano, a drama about a couple who re kindle their love affairs in middle age.

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