BBC IN NEGOTIATIONS WITH SCOTT BROTHERS

RIDLEY Scott, the director of ‘Gladiator’ and the latest movie ‘Hannibal’, is poised to make a multi-million pound film on Winston Churchill for the BBC.
The film with the working title ‘The Lonely War,’ is centred on the crisis that faced Churchill in the 1930’s when he was struggling to get back into power.
In the Sunday Telegraph, David Thompson, Head of BBC Films, who are to co-financing the project, said that the drama emphasised the human side of Britain’s wartime leader, by focusing on his relationship with his wife, Clementine, and his love for Chartwell, the house near Westerham, Kent, that they shared.
Top British actors, Albert Finney and Michael Gambon, are tipped to be in the running to play the part of Churchill in the film.
A BBC Films spokesperson declined to give out any additional information as nothing had been signed yet. He said: “The film is in development at the moment although nothing is definite yet it is still too premature to say anything because the script has not even been written.”
If the 90-minute Churchill project is green lit, ‘The Lonely War’ produced by the Scott brothers are due to begin filming in April for broadcast on BBC1 in Britain next year.
Despite being criticised for its violent content, Ridley Scott’s latest box-office film ‘Hannibal’ has raked in million of pounds since its release. (CD)