BBC News Online: Entertainment

Ali G 'in da movies'

The spoof rapper with the questionable "street cred" will star in Ali G is in Da House, due to start filming next year, according to Hollywood industry paper Variety.

In the film, Ali G is elected to the House of Commons as an unconventional member of parliament.

According to Variety, Working Title is preparing for a raft of titles to go into production, including a vehicle for Rowan Atkinson, to be directed by Peter Howitt, who made Sliding Doors, and a film by Four Weddings and a Funeral director Mike Newell.

Atkinson, claimed the magazine, will star in Johnny English, a spoof spy film based on the character the comic has played in Barclaycard advertisements.

Poetess

The film will be hoping to ape the success of Austin Powers, which also focuses on the exploits of a spoof spy in the mould of James Bond.

Mike Newell will direct The Poetess, an original screenplay by Will Davies about a romance between a female poet and a Cambridge don.

Mel Smith, who starred with Atkinson in Not the Nine O'Clock News, will direct the comedy Black Ball, about a world champion bowls player.

The recent Big Brother phenomenon provides the inspiration for the horror movie My Little Eye, to be directed by Marc Evans, who made the independent film House of America.