ROMAN POLANSKI - POLANSKI TO SHOOT HARRIS NOVEL

POLANSKI TO SHOOT HARRIS NOVEL

Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski is to tackle British political intrigue in his new film The Ghost, he has confirmed today.

Polanski is to work with author Robert Harris to adapt Harris' novel of the same name, published just a month ago, according to Variety.

The Simon and Schuster book tells of a ghostwriter hired to complete the memoirs of a former British prime minister, who uncovers secrets so explosive as to put his own life in danger.

The Pianist director had been working on the $100 million epic Pompeii for the last 18 months, but ditched the project in September and will now begin pre-production on The Ghost with long-time collaborators Robert Benmussa and Alain Sarde.

Polanski - banned from setting foot on US soil due to a statutory rape conviction in 1978 - explained Harris' work overwhelmed him.

"I have been looking for a political thriller to direct for some time, and The Ghost could not be more perfect," he told Variety. "Robert has constructed a novel with such suspense, it is hard to put it down."

Robert Harris' closeness to New Labour - he stood side-by-side with Tony Blair as the 1997 election win was confirmed - has led many to believe the former prime minister character in The Ghost, played by Adam Lang, is steadfastly modelled on Blair.