Movie plan put on hold

Plans to film a movie version of the hit play, Stones in his Pockets, have been postponed.

Work was due to begin this month on filming a big screen version of the highly successful play.

The film rights of Stones in his Pockets were sold to Tigerlily productions, but the London-based company said it had now been postponed until next year.

Earlier this year, the filmmakers were awarded £500,000 by the Northern Ireland Film and Television Commission.

However, that is only a part of the total cost and is not payable until all the funding is in place.

The money could be lost if the film is not made within a year.

The Irish actor and comedian Dylan Moran has been mentioned as a possible lead player in the movie.

The chairman of Film and Television commission, Colin Anderson, said it was disappointing that filming was not going ahead at the moment.

However, he said there were high hopes that the movie would be shot next year.

The play - which has been produced all over the world - was the subject of High Court action over claims that the director of the original version, Pam Brighton, wrote much of the script.

The legal battle was won by award-winning Belfast playwright Marie Jones who was declared the writer.