Britney Spears as a coke-addled Sherlock Holmes obsessive in a "female "Last Boy Scout" "? It's a pitch that grabs the attention.

But I've got to admit to pouring scorn on The Sun* earlier this week, when it reported on La Spears' latest potential project, "221bCAUSE". Come on, pop's precious princess as a drug abusing ex-cop who must track down the president's missing son? Pur - and indeed - leeease.

Naturally, it's true. To verify it's veracity, I went straight to the source; the stallion's spokepiece in this case being budding British screenwriter Ben Trebilcook.

"I wrote this project with Britney in mind, as I believe she is a film force to be reckoned with," says Trebilcook. "I really do think that. I think she'll rock the movie planet in a Cameron Diaz type way."

Sounds like a notion that's skipping along the border between genius and madness, but if Eminem can make a movie star, why not Spears? She's already had a modest hit with road trip fairytale "Crossroads".

As for "221bCAUSE", "it's about a New York girl, working as a travel agent at 221b Baker Street, London, who replies to letters as Sherlock Holmes. It isn't long before she's revealed as a disgraced former NYPD cop, who has extreme similarities with the English super-sleuth.

"One letter she receives says it's from the President of the United States' son, who has recently been kidnapped. She decides to take up the case..."

Whether Spears will take the role is still open to question, but that she's reportedly considering it is a tribute to the dedication of Trebilcook, who's been linked with both the "Mission: Impossible" and "Die Hard" franchises - despite still working as a special needs teacher in Dartford.

Why? Determination and cheek. "I was working late one night and I gave 20th Century Fox a call and said, 'I've written a script that some people think would make a great "Die Hard" movie.' I didn't say that those people were my friends..."

One agent-finding session later and the 27-year-old writer is a contender for "Die Hard 4: Die Hardest". Luck, as Burt Lancaster used to observe, is where preparation meets opportunity. Trebilcook is a name to watch.

* Never, ever, a bad thing to do.