24-11-2007 08:15
Jude Law has come a long way in the last decade. Back in 1997 he came to the world's attention in his first high profile role as Oscar Wilde's selfish lover Bosie opposite Stephen Fry in 'Wilde'. Ten years later and the 34-year-old finds himself with the clout not only to get a film made, but to rope in the all-star trio of Sir Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh and Nobel prize-winning playwright Sir Harold Pinter to make it happen.
While muddling through a series of idle thoughts during some downtime five years ago Jude indulged in a bit of a fantasy mix-and-match session. A huge fan of Pinter's work and an admirer of both the 1972 film 'Sleuth' and the play from which it was adapted (both written by the late Anthony Shaffer), Law decided the bare bones of the story would be dynamite in Pinter's hands.
The plot is essentially a dual of two egos, one belonging to a rich and successful, ageing writer, and the other a young upstart Italian hairdresser who has been bedding the elder man's wife.
The much-lauded original starred late stage-and-screen-legend Sir Laurence Olivier as author Andrew Wyke and Caine, then aged 39, as his rival Milo Tindle.
Not content with the challenge of roping the greatest living playwright into penning what would become his first film script in ten years, the ambitious Hollywood star also decided there was only one man who could step into Olivier's shoes - step forward Sir Michael Caine, 35-years wiser, two Oscars better off (Both for Best Actor in a Supporting Role - for 'Hannah and Her Sisters' in 1987 and 'The Quiet American' in 2002) and now a Knight of the Realm after being awarded a CBE by the Queen in 2000.
Caine recalls: "We were at dinner one night and Jude said, 'I'm thinking of asking Harold Pinter to rewrite 'Sleuth' ' and I told him, 'Well I'd be interested, but I wouldn't be interested in redoing the one that we did, because I think we did a pretty damn good job of it back then.'
"But Pinter completely rewrote it. I wouldn't have done it otherwise.
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