BBC - Films - High Noon - 4th February 2004

		Hanky Panky Can you see nice guy Tom Hanks in the part of serial womaniser? Director Robert 'The Human Stain' Benton can, and that's why they're getting together for The Ladies Man. Benton will adapt the script from a novel by Elinor Lipman, about loverboy Nash Harvey - yes, Nash - a commercial jingle writer who journeys back to Boston to bury the hatchet with the woman he jilted at the altar. Benton explains his casting choice thus: "He comes back to say he is sorry and is forced to look at the trail of wreckage he's left through his whole life. But he is immensely lovable and I couldn't imagine anyone who could play that role like Tom." And the obligatory burble: "I've wanted to work with him for a long time and this was the first time we found something we felt was a perfect fit."

		Film Of The Year Poll The 2004 BAFTA Awards will be taking place in London on Sunday 15th February, which means there's less than two weeks left to submit your vote for The Orange Film of the Year Award. This year voters are in with a chance of winning tickets to the event, dinner with two celebrity hosts, and a night at a plush hotel in central London. So what are you waiting for? Check out the full list of nominees and go for gold at the official site.

		Nanny State Colin Firth is in negotiations to star opposite Emma Thompson in Working Title's latest-in-a-long-line-of cutesy comedies, Nanny McPhee. Waking Ned director Kirk Jones will begin shooting in London this April from a script penned by Ms Thompson - based on the Nurse Matilda book series by Christianna Brand. In a pitch that's suspiciously reminiscent of Mary Poppins, the story follows a magical nanny charged with minding the seven worst children in the world. Firth would play the father of the children - an uptight British gent who gradually learns to loosen up and falls in love with said Nanny. We're guessing that last bit, but hey, this is a Working Title film!

		Ed And Wood Garnering rave reviews after her bratty turn in Thirteen, Evan Rachel Wood will join Edward Norton in Down In The Valley. It's described as "a dark tale" that sees a wild teenager in a tug of war between her father and her mildly psychotic boyfriend. Although he looks like he's still battling puberty, Norton is actually playing dad to Wood's wayward teen - so no typecasting here then - and is also serving as producer. This will be Norton's first film to be made outside the studio system. He previously directed/produced Keeping The Faith and co-produced 25th Hour.

		Rodriguez Robs The Cradle Spy Kids helmer Robert Rodriguez is developing a 3D movie based on an idea by his five-year-old son. Speaking at the launch for the DVD of Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over, he revealed: "My son and I were doing this project with drawings and stuff more as an exercise to encourage storytelling. Then I went back to tell him that we sold the idea to a studio and it will have his credit on it." The sound of alarm bells ringing almost drowned out the bit where he said: "What I can tell you is that it's a super-cool family fantasy. After you see it, you will see that I couldn't have described it anyway." The bells, Esmeralda, the bells!

		Sell The Farm The used-to-be ubiquitous Robert Carlyle, Ewen Bremner (Black Hawk Down) and Oscar nominee Samantha Morton (In America) will star in the romantic comedy Farmers On E, the feature writing and directing debut of Irishwoman Siofra Campbell. You'd be forgiven for thinking this was an expose about raving pig wranglers, but actually it revolves around the residents of a small Irish farming community who "attempt to manage the responsibilities of family and friendship while they struggle to deal with the impact of progress". High Noon is guessing the Class A drugs came into it at some point during script development. Shooting is expected to begin in the autumn, when all the leaves go psychedelic...