Stephen Fry’s comic bestseller The Hippopotamus is the latest tome targeted for big screen adaptation and the producers are now rounding up a cast. Sam Neill and Roger Allam are both on board for the new film, which has John Jencks set to direct{
Blanche McIntyre and Tom Hodgson wrote the script, which finds Allam as disgraced poet Ted Wallace travelling to his friend’s country manor to investigate some unexplained miracle healings. There he discovers that the truth is slightly sleazier than anyone suspected: the perpetrator is horny teenager David Logan, who is styling himself as a sexual healer with an eager clientele.
To make matters more complicated, David’s dad Michael (Neill) has decided he should share his son’s gift with the world, blissfully unaware of what is actually going on. Can Ted debunk the “miracles” in time to save his pal from a raft of mockery? We’re going to have to find out, unless you’ve already read the book, in which case please don’t spoil it. But if Allam's character doesn't ask Neill "do you see? DO YOU SEE?" at any point, we're going to complain about a seriously missed opportunity for a tables-turning meta joke.
Metrodome has picked this one up for UK distribution, with cameras set to roll in August but no release date listed yet.