Hanks Eyes Up Kurosawa Hit

Not content at remaking 1955 Brit classic The Ladykillers with chums Joel and Ethan Coen, Tom Hanks has turned his attention to yet another masterpiece of yesteryear, Akira Kurosawa's 1952 movie, Ikiru. With not one but two Oscars on his mantelpiece, Hanks has long made a name for himself by spotting the best roles in which to strut his thespian stuff and Ikiru is no exception. A heartbreaking and intimate film about mortality, there's not a samurai in sight as Kurosawa tells the story of a low-level bureaucrat who learns he has terminal stomach cancer and subsequently tries to have some impact on the world. Thrust into development my Dreamworks, the final negotiations are now taking place as to who might dare to refashion the Japanese master's most heartfelt work. And Ransom, Sea of Love and The Color of Money scribe, Richard Price, seems to be the man they want. If the script is half way as good as it's model, Hanks should be making space for his third Oscar right now.