Hannibal’s A Scream

Silence of the Lambs might not be most people's idea of a laugh riot, but director Ridley Scott, whose sequel Hannibal, is released this Spring, is adamant that his psychotic protagonist has hidden humour. Talking to Jonathan Ross, the director explained why he agreed to follow in Jonathan Demme's footsteps. 'It's a risk but we're all in search of good material. I was approached by Dino and Tom Harris to take a look at the book - then in manuscript form, pre-publishing - and I thought a lot of it was quite witty. That's what I picked up on and so I've incorporated it in Hannibal.' 'Hannibal's a very charming character and of course Anthony... is an incredibly charming man, that's part of who he is. He loves this character - it's part of him.' When asked how he reacted to Jodie Foster turning down the opportunity to reprise her role as Clarice Starling, Scott maintains that Foster's decision wasn't that much of a shock.'We half-expected it,' he says. 'We mustn't forget Jodie's a fairly accomplished director. She'd just finished a big movie, Anna and the King. She'd planned to direct the next which was Flora Plum, which ironically was going to have Russell Crowe in it, and she was good hearted enough to wait round and read my version or Steve Zaillian's draft of Hannibal. I anticipated that it would happen anyway, so I already had thoughts [of other actresses in the role]. When quizzed about the film's release in the States, Scott was typically bullish. 'It has a large release on 4,700 screens on February 9th which actually is the anniversary to the day - that's why we're going out then. It's also a great time to run because there's nothing around.'