DAME HELEN MIRREN TO STAR IN REMAKE OF BRIGHTON ROCK

Brighton Rock remake for Mirren

Mirren will star as amateur detective Ida Arnold

Dame Helen Mirren is to star in a big-screen remake of Graham Greene's classic 1939 novel Brighton Rock.

The Oscar winner will star alongside Bafta-nominated actor Sam Riley playing the lead character Pinkie Brown. Riley played Ian Curtis in 2007 film Control.

Pete Postlethwaite and Happy Go Lucky's Andrea Riseborough will also star in the updated remake, set in the 1960s. Filming is due to begin in October.

The original 1947 film starred Richard Attenborough in the lead role.

Brighton Rock tells the story of teenager Pinkie, who seduces a young waitress after she stumbles on evidence linking him and his gang to a revenge killing he committed.

'Formidable script'

Mirren will star as Ida Arnold, the amateur detective who sets out to find the truth behind the killing, while Postlethwaite plays Brighton gangster Phil Corkery.

The film is being adapted and directed by Rowan Joffe, who co-wrote the screenplay for 28 Weeks Later. The film will be set in 1964, revitalising the story and bring it closer to modern times.

"We're making Brighton Rock as contemporary as we possibly can because the story feels 'modern'. It's too alive, too vibrant and too relevant to be contained in the late 1930s," Joffe said.

Producer Paul Webster said: "Rowan has written a formidable script that has attracted a cast that is a perfect blend of youth and experience.

"The scene is set to make a truly great British gangster film."

The movie is being made in association with BBC Films and is scheduled for national release.