Slumdog Star to Play The Little Hero

I was excited to read in yesterday’s Hindustan Times that the hero of my book “The Little Hero”, Iqbal Masih, a bonded child labourer in Lahore, is to be played by Ayush Khedeker, who shot to global fame by playing the youngest Jamal Malik in Slumdog Millionaire so vibrantly.

Reading "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" by Mohsin Hamid the other day vividly reminded me of my research trip to Lahore with Riff Khan-Hinton, the producer of the film, (we were even staying in the same hotel as one of the book's two protagonists). Mohsin Hamid completely captures the atmosphere of this dangerous city, seething with so many varied experiences, stories and emotions and I’m sure the team Riff has put together will do the same with Iqbal's moving tale – little Ayush is perfect casting for the part.

Fantastic Ghost Writer Film Trailer

As the launch or Roman Polanski's filmed version of Robert Harris' "The Ghost" starring Ewan Mcgregor, Pierce Brosnan and Kim Cattrall, draws closer some fantastic trailers are starting to appear on the Internet. The US trailer is up on FirstShowing.net and it looks stunning. The film seems now to be called "The Ghost Writer" - let's hope the cinema-loving public can overlook Polanski's current personal difficulties and just sit back to enjoy the ride - this is just what ghostwriters' lives are like, honest!
http://www.firstshowing.net/2010/01/28/official-us-trailer-for-roman-polanskis-the-ghost-writer/

“You Have Written a Masterpiece – But You Are Not a Name”.

Interesting piece in the Telegraph today about Alexandre Dumas, author of 'The Three Musketeers' and 'The Count of Monte Cristo', and his ghost writer, or ‘nègre’ as folks like me are sweetly referred to over there, Auguste Jules Maquet.

“In the 1830s,” the piece claims, “Maquet, a novelist and playwright, had tried to have his works published but was told: ‘You have written a masterpiece, but you’re not a name and we only want names’.”

Plus ça change is all I can say.