Woody Allen may be a venerable 73, but he's still a man with his finger on the pulse - the pulse in this case belonging to Hollywood belle du jour, Frieda PInto, a lady whose career seems to have engaged some form of thespianic hyperdrive. Not content with basking in all the Slumdog Oscar glory, Pinto has joined Naomi Watts in signing up for Allen's so-far untitled next project.
Details are sketchy - ie we have absolutely no idea what this is about - but we do know that filming is scheduled to start in London in July, so plot details should emerge soon. The two leading ladies join the already-cast Josh Brolin and our very own Sir Anthony Hopkins.
Judging by his recent slate, Allen has fallen quietly in love with London; either that, or he's one stamp short of a free coffee at Costa. With this, Allen will have set four of his last six films in the Old Smoke, with only Iberian idyll Vicky Cristina Barcelona and the recently-completed New York-set black comedy Whatever Works filmed outside the UK.
Allen's London sojourns have been a mixed bag so far, with Cassandra's Dream more of a nightmare and the watchable-but-lightweight **Scoop **not even scoring a theatrical release here. Match Point did have its moments, despite characterisation straight for the pages of Ye Olde English Book Of Caricatures. Let's hope the great man brings his A game this time.