MICHAEL MANN - MANN BATTLES WITH DEPP FOR SPY MOVIE

Director MICHAEL MANN has entered the race against JOHNNY DEPP to make a film about ALEXANDER LITVINENKO, the ex-KGB agent who was fatally poisoned in London last year (06). Mann's film is based on the unpublished book DEATH OF A DISSIDENT, which is being written by Litvinenko's widow MARINA and ALEX GOLDFARB, who reportedly had close ties with the spy. The movie will focus on the Russian power structure enforced by the KGB and its successor the FRS and the "Wild West capitalism" that followed glasnost, with Litvinenko caught in the middle. Meanwhile, Depp's production company and Warner Bros have just announced plans to make a film based on the book SASHA'S STORY: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF A RUSSIAN SPY, which is currently being written by New York Times London Bureau Chief ALAN COWELL. British police are still investigating Litvinenko's death, after traces of lethal radiation were found in his body when he was admitted to hospital three weeks before he died.

15/01/2007 20:05