Fry took to Twitter to announce that he would be collaborating with his long-term colleague Laurie on a new version of Oscar Wilde’s much-adapted short story The Canterville Ghost.

For those who’s never read The Canterville Ghost (we like to call them ‘philistines’), the story follows the misadventures of a ghost whose ancestral home is bought by a nouveau riche family of Americans – none of whom believe in the supernatural. The spectral Sir Simon is quick to assert himself, but to his horror the practical Otis family has no difficulty adjusting to their houseguest. All Sir Simon’s ghostly wiles are useless in the face of folk so inured to horror as to offer him lubricant for his clanking chains and find an industrial spot remover for the gruesome bloodstains in the drawing room…

Here’s Fry’s tweet:

…and here’s a poster for the new production. Click to enlarge, as usual.

Best For Film’s guess is either that Fry will voice Sir Simon whilst the appropriately Americanised Hugh Laurie takes Mr Otis, or that Laurie will voice the ghost and Fry will narrate.

Actor, writer and broadcaster Fry, who has been collaborating with Laurie since the early eighties, memorably played Wilde in the 1999 film of that name. He has also written accompaniments for a number of Wilde’s short stories, published three years ago as Stephen Fry presents Oscar Wilde’s Stories for All Ages. We’re sorry to say that we didn’t have to look that title up.

Is this the best news you’ve had all day? It bloody ought to be.

Picture the scene; it’s cold, it’s snowing (does it snow in Bethlehem? It does now. Think FESTIVE, people!) and Mary’s heavily pregnant. Every single inn is full and, when she reaches the final option, she’s turned away once again. Cue Carey Mulligan’s sorrowful eyes, the only way to melt the heart of a crusty old proprietor and force him to offer up his cozy hay-ridden stable.

Thomas Brodie-Sangster:
Joseph, Step-Father of Jesus

Whaddaya mean, you don’t know who Thomas is? He’s the kid from Love Actually! And he’s twenty-one now, with similarly sad eyes to Mulligan and extremely good at being a tad awkward-looking. Imagine the scene; Carey comes to him, as he is carving a little wooden chair and, after much emotional anguish, tells him that she is carrying God’s child. His face crumples. Yup, he doesn’t believe her, but still protects her from social shame by wedding her and defending her from ridicule. It’s not until an angel comes and whispers in his ear that he finally accepts her implausible story…

Stephen Fry, Morgan Freeman and Hugh Laurie:
The Three Wise Men

Oh. My. God. It’s just brilliant, isn’t it? These guys are totally wise and totally awesome and, in my honest opinion, well suited to old-school robes of old. Caspar (Fry), Balthasar (Freeman) and Melchior (Laurie) would manage to juggle perfect comic timing with excellent acting. Just imagine the Magi-centric scenes:

Caspar: So you’re telling me that you want us all to up sticks and follow a star? You can’t follow a star. The Earth’s orbit simply doesn’t allow for it.
Balthasar: If I am correct, and I usually am, it will lead us to a great king…
Melchior: Oh, here we go again. Another ‘great king’, another bloody star.

But funnier. We’d get someone better than me to write the script. It’s bloody good so far though, you’ve got to admit that…

Anthony Hopkins:
Herod

This guy is an absolute badass and so deserves to be played by the man who brought us Doctor Hannibal Lecter. He hears about a new king and he sees it as a threat to his rule. What does he do? He sends all of his guards to kill any child under 2 years old – or any expectant mothers. That bit generally gets skipped out of the nativity. We usually focus on Mary, Joseph and Jesus making their escape and sort of, I dunno, brush the mass infanticide under the carpet. But we here at BFF feel a dramatic montage, as well as a cool and calculating Hopkins, is crucial to the success of our movie. So it’s made the cut.

Ryan Gosling:
Angel Gabriel

Gabriel is sometimes referred to as female or androgynous but, on the whole, tradition has him pegged as a man. A young and dazzling man, who says his lines with meaningful aplomb. Everybody loves Ryan Gosling for these very same reasons. He’d look good all in white with hazy lights around him, wouldn’t he? Yes, he would. Sorted.

John Cleese:
The Innkeeper

John Cleese would help keep the tone of our nativity light which, thanks to Herod’s order of genocide, is something we’re very grateful for. And, let’s face it, he has an excellent background in hospitality acting. A little like Basil Fawlty, the Innkeeper is seen as someone mildly indignant, slightly pompous and overwhelmingly distracted.

Innkeeper: There’s no room. It’s not open for debate!
Joseph: But she is carrying the son of God…
Innkeeper: Oh, the son of God? Why didn’t you SAY so! Oh yes, there’s always room for those claiming to be pregnant with the divine child.
(directs lines at Mary’s stomach)
I’m so sorry to have kept you waiting, your lordship! I do apologize, please forgive me…

Genius. You can’t tell me that isn’t genius.

Kate Winslet:
The Innkeeper’s Wife

Sure, she doesn’t make a huge appearance in the original tale, but he’s bound to have had one. And, to be honest, you need Kate Winslet about for this sort of thing. Firstly, she can persuade her husband to, at the very least, lend out the manger for the evening. Secondly, she probably knows how to deliver a baby and would be handy to have on hand with the hot towels and water. Thirdly, and most importantly, if the stable caught fire, she’d be first in to rescue our three main characters. Yup. We definitely need Winslet in on this.

Leonardo DiCaprio, Liam Neeson and a handful of bearded extras:
Shepherds

We need shepherds. Shepherds are crucial for the well-being of any performance of The Nativity. They’re chilling out on a hillside, watching over their flock, when Ryan Gosling arrives and tells them to head on over to a nearby stable and worship baby Jesus. With Leo and Liam to lead the way, and, more importantly, to lead the dialogue, we can rest assured that our humble shepherds will make it to the stable in one piece.

Daniel Radcliffe:
The Star

Daniel Radcliffe needs more roles to get him out of his Harry Potter phase. We’ve already got The Woman In Black lined up, but, in the meantime, how about letting him be a star? He just has to smile down benevolently once in a while and jerk his head in the direction of a stable. He can manage that, easy-peasy. And it’ll just be nice to see him in a Christmas blockbuster again, won’t it…

Samuel L Jackson:
The Narrator

Sometimes, and it’s nobody’s fault, there’s a lot of bits in the Nativity story which have to happen but are quite dull while they’re happening. Take for example the long journey from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, or Caeser Augustus laying down the census. One is just a long, long shot of two people on a donkey, crossing through deserts and cities. The other is a lot of political hoo-hah which most people don’t really understand. What could possibly make this more entertaining? Samuel L Jackson. Narrating. In badass rhyme form, a la those Barclays adverts he used to do.

We’d need Tarantino to rewrite the relevant bits into a crazy poem, but I think it’d be worth the extra cost. Something like that running over the top of those long, dull donkey shots is bound to get the audience buzzing.

Have we forgotten someone important? Give us your ultimate Nativity casting options here…

Many centuries after dear old Saint Nick first took to the skies on his mammoth quest to deliver presents all over the world, the twentieth Santa Claus (Broadbent) is notching up his seventieth Christmas at the reins. But things have changed a bit over the past few decades – Christmas is now a regimented and ruthlessly efficient operation, with Santa’s son Steve (Laurie) managing a colossal team of field elves from his high-tech base whilst Santa himself potters down from his futuristic S-1 stealth plane to deliver the occasional symbolic present. Santa is a ceremonial figurehead; or, as he occasionally mutters to his wife (Imelda Staunton), “just a fatty in a suit.”

Steve regards Christmas spirit as a troublesome inconvenience, whilst Santa himself has lost his verve and it’s all his elderly father Grandsanta (Nighy) can do to avoid choking to death on his liquidised turkey. The only member of the Claus family who’s really interested is Steve’s younger brother Arthur (McAvoy), a hopeless idealist who just wants to make Christmas perfect for every kid. So when the elves miss one child and Steve dismisses the oversight as a statistically insignifant anomaly, Arthur – gawky, clumsy, nervy Arthur – knows it’s up to him to save Christmas for one little girl who’s got her heart set on a pink bicycle (with stabilisers). With the help of Grandsanta, his antique sleigh and an elf (Ashley Jensen) who’s really not suited to field missions, he sets off to reach the forgotten kid before the sun comes up…

I’m really going to try not to gush here, okay? But MY GOD ARTHUR CHRISTMAS IS FABULOUS. Kids will be entranced from the first scene by the spectacular visuals and use of 3D, whilst adults will smirk at the Mission: Impossible references and breathe a sigh of relief when they realise that the 3D is actually pretty restrained. The inoffensively child-friendly visuals persist throughout the film, creating a welcoming atmosphere which is heartwarming without being twee and complemented by a script which will appeal to all ages without resorting to firing snide innuendoes over the heads of the under-10s.

The cast is similarly well-constructed, with James McAvoy sounding quite unlike his newly suave self as the endearingly useless Arthur. Jim Broadbent continues to play harmless old Jim Broadbent, rumbling away to himself from behind a huge stomach, whilst Hugh Laurie’s Steve is as acerbic as House and as frightfully English as Bertie Wooster. Bill Nighy clearly made this film to chill out after Page Eight, and has a marvellous time cackling and talking nonsense (“They used to say it was impossible to teach women to read…”), whilst Ashley Jensen once again demonstrates the flair for voice work which made her one of the highlights of the otherwise unremarkable Gnomeo and Juliet. It’s all gravy, basically.

Last year, the most Christmassy film anyone saw was Rare Exports (which isn’t even that Christmassy, but any port in a storm). This year we’ve been served up a quintessentially beautiful Christmas tale which will warm every heart that is lugged into a room where it’s playing. That’s marvellous, and I don’t think we should spoil it. So let’s not bitch and moan like we always do, let’s just all go and see Arthur Christmas right away and smile at the world. Okay? Okay.

Arthur Christmas follows the secret operations of Santa’s system; a method that has been honed to military precision over the years by an army of terrifyingly efficient elves. Heir to the Santa-throne Steve has grown cynical and tired of the process and it’s left to one plucky young bloke – Arthur, voiced by James McAvoy – to BRING BACK THE SPIRIT OF BLOODY WELL CHRISTMAS. The cast includes Hugh Laurie (as Steve), Jim Broadbent (as Santa) and Bill Nighy (Grand-Santa, obvs), and it better be brilliant. It just better.

There is nothing that brings joy to our souls like the idea of Hugh Laurie as Father Christmas. Swoon.

1st April

April gets off to a fine start with a weekend of releases including harrowing drama Oranges and Sunshine. Based on the true story of the social worker who discovered that hundreds of thousands of British children had been uprooted from ‘unfit’ families and fostered abroad, it boasts not only a stellar cast (Emily Watson, Hugo Weaving) and Ken Loach’s son Jim in the director’s chair; it’s also packing a coveted 5* rating from BFF. We’re not messing around, this is one to watch even if you have to, for example, kill Bono to do it.

Seamlessly leading in from that totally uncontrived last sentence, Killing Bono looks like great fun. Based on the memoir of Neil McCormick, the Daily Telegraph’s chief rock critic, it tells the story of two Dublin brothers (Ben Barnes and Robert Sheehan) who try in vain to make it as rock stars whilst their high school classmate Bono forms what will become the biggest band in the world. Sheehan (Misfits, Season of the Witch), Barnes (The Voyage of the Dawn Treader) are both very reliable actors, and it’ll be nice to see what they can do with more grounded material.

We always knew Source Code was going to be brilliant, and we were bloody right; it seems Duncan ‘don’t call me Zowie’ Jones can do no wrong, producing another tense and brilliant sci-fi opus hot on the heels of 2009′s Moon. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as an Army officer who is forced to repeatedly relive the last eight minutes of a dead man’s life in the hope of finding out who set off the bomb that killed him, with solid supporting performances from Vera Farmiga and Michelle Monaghan accentuating a complex, intelligent plot redolent of Philip K Dick at his most feverish.

Hop, however, is clearly going to be repellent filth. Russell Brand’s inexplicably appearances in everything from Get Him To The Greek to Despicable Me have become depressingly routine, but Hugh Laurie? What are you doing there, Hugh? Get out, get out right away and go back to being transcontinentally charming like you’re supposed to!

WILD CARD: Given the critical mauling to which Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch has been subjected across the Atlantic, we’re clearly in dereliction of our duty recommending it here. But we can’t help it; even though it’s clearly getting the reception that Avatar deserved for its high-spec graphics and low-rent plot, there are some things we can never reject and a giant robot samurai is one of them. Please be good, Sucker Punch! Please!

8th April

Full disclosure: this isn’t going to be a particularly cheery week for films. Our top pick is Armadillo, a Restrepo-esque Danish documentary which follows a group of soldiers in Helmand province during their first deployment in Afghanistan. Artfully complex post-production techniques blur the lines between fact and fiction, so you may not realise until it’s too late that the dead body onscreen isn’t a prop; this has been a controversial release, but its haul of prizes from Cannes and other festivals testifies to its vast importance.

Based on a true story but with the action transposed from dog- to fish-breeders, Cold Fish is a Japanese film which tells the story of a man who becomes estranged from his wife and daughter as he is drawn into the shadowy and blood-spattered world of underground tropical fish mafiosi. We have been waiting ALL OUR LIVES to write ‘underground tropical fish mafiosi’, and Cold Fish gets the thumbs up pretty much for giving us the chance (as well as its hugely positive reception at last year’s London Film Festival).

It’s a shame nobody’s made a film about the shadowy and blood-spattered world of everyone who was involved in mindless big-budget tripe Rio and Mars Needs Moms having their genitals cut off, but there you go. Two sprawling 3D monsters which sound like they’ll trade all too much on elaborate vistas/futuristic spacescapes, these are no better than that turtle rubbish from last month. Avoid.

WILD CARD: Based on a wildly successful series of YA books, Tomorrow, When The War Began follows a group of Antipodean teenagers who form a guerrilla resistance force after Australia is subjugated by a brutal invasion force. It might be shit, but at least Alex Pettyfer isn’t in it.

15th April

Your Highness is popping up on a Wednesday, probably because it’s all quirky and stoned and that. We really can’t decide how we feel; Natalie Portman could, it is true, save a comedy about the Holocaust, but everything we’ve seen so far looks shit. Probably worth the risk, but barely.

15th April

We may have pooh-poohed the other three major kids’ films to come out this month, but there’s one basically-going-to-be-perfect offering waiting to take up the slack. Shot in 2D using traditional animation techniques and drawing upon previously unadapted A.A. Milne stories, Winnie The Pooh is going to be absolutely wonderful. It just is, alright? Technically a reboot rather than a sequel (oh yes, the reboot nonsense gets everywhere), this is nevertheless the first non-shit contribution to the Hundred Acre Wood canon since The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh was released way back in 1977. We can’t wait. Oh, and did we mention that John Cleese is narrating? John Cleese is narrating. Squee!

It took three years for Johnnie To to shoot Sparrows, working exclusively in the gaps which turned up between his cast’s various other projects. It’s taken a long while for the caper film (apparently that’s a legitimate subgenre) about Hong Kong pickpockets to make it over here, but should be worth the wait – To is a hugely prolific film-maker who’s never really received the attention he deserves in the West, although industry luminaries like Quentin Tarantino sing his praises. Promises to be intelligent, witty and fast-paced.

Practically guaranteed not to be fast-paced, Little White Lies stars François Cluzet and Marion Cotillard (Inception) as a successful couple whose annual beach house gathering is marred by a serious accident which befalls one of the guests. In the aftermath of the disaster, long-maintained subterfuges begin to unravel and the group of holidaymakers find themselves exposing that which was perhaps better kept secret. César Award-winning director Guillaume Canet, who is married to Cotillard, was universally acclaimed for his adaptation of Harlan Coben’s Tell No One; hopefully this film will continue his rise to superstardom.

Crazy Gary Oldman should know better than to stain his reputation through association with Amanda ‘which are bigger, my eyes or my tits?’ Seyfried, but even Empire Icons are allowed an occasional slip up. Nevertheless, you shouldn’t endorse his mistake by seeing Red Riding Hood, which is almost certain to be dreadful.

WILD CARD: Not that wild, this one, since we’ve seen it and know precisely what happens (very little). Still, if the idea of an anti-Western ticks your boxes then you could do worse than try Meek’s Cutoff, a bit of a slog but a very aesthetically pleasing one.

22nd April

If Russell Brand is very, very good in Arthur, we’re prepared to forget all about Hop; if he isn’t, however, we’ll just spread our legs slightly and writhe in the sensual thespian glow which emanates from Helen Mirren at all times. It’s going to be very silly, but the trailers are so damn charming! One of the less flashy remakes to be doing the rounds this year, the original Dudley Moore/Liza Minnelli vehicle won two of its four Oscar categories back in 1981; that may be a little too much to hope for this time round, but you never know…

One thing that we do know is that Island is bloody superb. A “fairytale thriller” which blends compelling performances with the uncompromising background of rural Scotland, it follows a disturbed foster child as she journeys to a remote island in order to find – and kill – her birth mother. Expect to see much more from first-time directors Brek Taylor and Elizabeth Mitchell.

Taxi Zum Klo, perhaps the best semi-autobiographical gay German film of 1982, is being re-released to satisfy what we can only presume is a horny and unfazeable public desperate to see more ultra-realistic (yet grainy) shots of bearded men screwing in public toilets. Ho hum. Lent a desperately sad innocence by its pre-AIDS dismissal of the health risks of going at it with whoever turned up, this has aged unusually but very well. Worth a watch if it happens to be on in your area.

Alex Pettyfer has officially run out of credit at the Bank of Not Being Spat At In The Street, as far as we’re concerned. I Am Number Four was bad enough (who are we kidding? It was the worst thing ever), and the former Tom Brown/Alex Rider is now playing the eponymous monster in a new adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. An adaptation set in New York, which co-stars Vanessa Hudgens and an Olsen twin. A MAGICAL OLSEN TWIN. Fuck all this.

WILD CARD: We don’t know a whole lot about How I Ended This Summer, but it boasts Silver Bears, Golden Eagles and Golden Hugos (whatever they are) so it can’t be all bad. A Russian drama about two men working at an isolated Arctic meteorological outpost, it looks to be a focused and deeply unsettling psychological type thing or summat. Could be worthwhile.

27th April

THOR! Thor is clearly going to be amazing, this crappy clip notwithstanding; the build-up to The Avengers should continue apace with Chris Hemsworth muscling it up as the superhuman handyman and Natalie Portman saving the day again as a pretty scientist of some description. Anthony Hopkins has a GOLDEN EYEPATCH! We’ll be there.

29th April

Farewell, which stars Willem Dafoe and, oddly enough, Guillaume Canet’s old squeeze Dianne Kruger, is another based-on-a-true-story effort – this one set during the Cold War. Christian Carion’s drama sounds like it’ll be channelling The Lives of Others to no small degree, but it sounds as if this will be one of the better spy films you see this year.

You know Jango Fett? Well, it turns out he’s actually a reputable actor. Temuera Morrison joins Ray Winstone for Tracker, a cat-and-mouse film set in 1903 New Zealand where a Boer War veteran and master woodsman (Winstone) must track down a Māori (Morrison) accused of killing a British serviceman. As the Māori repeatedly escapes and is recaptured, the two men build a bond of respect which, if we’re any judge, will probably lead to Ray letting him go at the end. Standard.

WILD CARD: Cedar Rapids has got John C Reilly in, and we like him. What do you want, an essay?

See you in May!

#10 – Jason Statham

Following hard on the heels of his competition-winning performance as Santa in Crank 3: Festive Spirit, we feel Jason Statham needs to continue stretching himself with mythical thugs rather than the common-or-garden kind. What better, then, than for him to play Jesus ‘Knuckles’ Christ in all-new action flick The Carpenter? Jesus is a lone ranger looking out for numero uno after a shipment of moonshine gets him in trouble with local gang ‘The Romans’, but as things get messy he’s forced to team up with other local hard men including ‘Silver’ Judas and ‘My Arse He Did’ Thomas. This shit just got biblical…

#9 – Zach Galifianakis

The Hangover, for better or worse, was a hugely popular film when it came out in 2009. Whilst fourteen-year-old boys everywhere eagerly await the sequel, we’re concentrating on spin-off The Hangover: Cana Nights, in which hapless best man Zebedee (Bradley Cooper) wakes up on the morning of his friend’s wedding and realises that all the booze got drunk at the stag night. Nursing the sort of sore head which makes a crown of thorns feel like a snood, he’s got to track down Jesus Christ (Galifianakis in a mercifully brief supporting role) and persuade him to remedy the situation. Also, Mike Tyson is possessed.

#8 – Sarah Silverman

Universally condemned by the conservative Right in America, Sarah Silverman’s Jesus Christ, Motherfucker is a gloriously obscene mockumentary in which the infamous Jewish princess attempts to pass herself off as the second Messiah to a variety of evangelical Bible Belt churches. With the help of some techno-wizardry from the team behind Mythbusters she’s able to fake enough miracles to convince one congregation that she could be legit, but the congregation starts to lose the faith once someone realises that she’s only racist for comic effect and doesn’t actually hate black people. Ah, Alabama.

#7 – Adam Sandler

It was perhaps inevitable that the continuing success of his production company Happy Madison would eventually lead Adam Sandler to cast himself as Christ, and in Holy People he finally got the chance. Set towards the end of the eighteen ‘lost years’ between Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple aged 12 and the beginning of his ministry at 30, Sandler portrays ‘Jeez’ as a slacker who can’t seem to pull himself together and take responsibility for his life. However, when a hilariously unexpected turn of events leaves him looking after a helpless lamb, Jeez realises that perhaps he has something to offer the world after all.

#6 – Mel Gibson

In the wake of Mel Gibson’s spectacular fall from grace over the last couple of years, many cynics thought his career was beyond revival. Mel obviously didn’t agree, and whilst there might be some sense in casting yourself as a sympathetic character in order to boost your public standing – my mum still hasn’t forgiven Alan Rickman for cheating on Emma Thompson – the way to do it is probably not by starring in a film as saccharine and ridiculous as CGI-fest Jesus Christ – Miracle Worker. Written and directed by the star, his hard work was wasted when an onset video surfaced of him kicking a camel in the vagina.

#5 – Jack Black

Oh, Jack Black. Why must you torture us so? No sooner had Gulliver’s Travels wrapped then Black was beginning work Lord of the Dance, a modern retelling of the story of Jesus’ ministry which features the hard-rockin’ Messiah and his attempts to get through to the closed-minded squares of New York City. But! When Jesus walks past a fishmonger and hears some sweet riffs coming from inside, he knows what he has to do – form a 13-man superband and deliver the good news through the power of rock!

#4 – Justin Bieber

Justin Bieber’s feature-length debut Holy is concerning for several reasons; not only has the pint-sized megastar demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt that his acting is on a par with his warbling, his fans have taken what should have been a sub-High School Musical romp worrying literally. Bieber plays twelve-year-old suburban kid Jesus, who discovers his singing gives him supernatural powers and attracts disciples – just what he needs to help Nazareth Junior High win the talent competition against the Pharisee Academy! Several ‘Beliebers’ have claimed they manifested stigmata during screenings.

#3 – Tilda Swinton

Κύριε ἐλέησον, Tilda Swinton’s swirling four-hour epic, seeks to visualise Jesus’ thought processes during the twenty-four hours immediately preceding his death on the cross. Taking place entirely inside the privacy of Christ’s head and filmed without CGI on a set swathed in white silk, Swinton plays Jesus’ inner self with her uniquely creepy brand of forceful androgyny. A soundtrack by Florence and the Machine heightens the drama nicely, but when all’s said and done this is a very long film of a woman, in a shift, running around in circles until she suddenly falls over.

#2 – Hugh Laurie

When the wildly successful House M.D. was finally cancelled, Hugh Laurie was loath to give up the character he’d spent years refining – so instead of leaving Gregory House to moulder, he renamed him and transposed his practice to 1st century Judah. In Christ, S.G., the cantankerous Messiah hobbles around Jerusalem with his team of diagnosticians disciples as they desperately try different methods of invoking the Holy Spirit to cure lepers and cripples. Christ sits in the shade, cracking jokes and turning huge quantities of water into wine for his own use, and then cures the afflicted with a touch.

#1 – Samuel L Jackson

It’s pretty much a given that Samuel L Jackson can perform any given task in a more badass fashion than anyone else on earth, and I don’t see why ‘Son of God and Redeemer of all Mankind’ should be any different. In Cross, Nazarene street kid Jesus grows up to take on the mantle of Christ, protector of the week and very much a ‘kick first, forgive later’ kind of guy. The killer line “Enough is enough! I have had it with these motherfucking money-lenders in this motherfucking temple!” will have you falling on your knees as you recognise the true Prince of Peace – the peace you don’t find until everyone else is dead.

Think we missed anyone? Think this whole blog was riotously inappropriate? Let us know below!

Not a giant leap from the aforementioned Alvin, which also saw a slacker inherit animated tenants, Hop will similarly teach Bunny and Bum alike just what it means to grow up and compromise. If the first poster (via Bleeding Cool) for the movie is anything to go by, however, Hop will not be without its hare (sorry) share of hilariously wacky shenanigans.

With Russel Brand voicing the holiday rabbit and James Masters playing the lazy – yet no doubt wholesome – loaf, Hop will co-star Kaley Cuoco, Elizabeth Perkins and Hugh Laurie. Boasting a script from Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio and Brian Lynch – and produced by Despicable Me’s Illumination Entertainment – the first poster for Hop has now been teased on the film’s official Facebook page.

Hop Russell Brand Poster Easter

Depicting a drum-stick touting, earphone sporting, partially clothed rabbit complete with token comedy sidekick, the poster seems to mistake ornamentation for characterisation.

Advertising an April 1, 2011 release date, the question of authenticity must inevitably be posed. Is it too much to hope that this is some elaborate April Fool’s joke? Or is Hop destined to replace hope next Easter holiday.

Picture the scene. The North Pole is a hive of ruthlessly efficient, quasi-military activity thanks to Santa’s eldest son and heir apparent Steve – Santa himself (and crotchety old Grandsanta) are disillusioned and happy to let Steve overhaul the operation. Only little Arthur still believes in the magic of the season.

It sounds OK, doesn’t it? Now let me tell you more. The wonderful, inspired people at Aardman Animations, who are delivering this statistically-certain-to-be-heartwarming treat, have lined up a cast the likes of which has never before been heard. At least, not when impersonating various members of the Claus family. Here’s the rundown:

HOLY REINDEER!

Not that we need a re-make to begin with, of course. The classic musical tale of a flower-girl turned classy lady is perfect as it is, and anyone looking to fill the shoes of Audrey Hetburn and Rex Harrison have some extremely large shoes to fill.

So the question is, who in the blinkin heck is going to play Henry Higgins? It’s sounding like Emma Thompson is keen for Hugh Grant to take the role, a decision we are less than excited about. Our vote goes to Hugh Laurie, who we reckon would do it bloody brilliantly.

Do you have any opinions on the casting so far? Got any potentials to add? Let us know below!

The LA Times’ 24 Frames blog has reported that Laurie is in serious discussions to play the lead in a small indie-film entitled Oranges, in which an older man (Laurie) has an affair with the daughter of a family friend. Mila Kunis (of That 70s Show fame) is apparently set to play the foxy youngster, and Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meester also fits in somewhere, though it’s too early to know where all the pieces fit. But of what we’ve heard so far, this is looking to be a pretty exciting jigsaw (and we wouldn’t say that lightly).

Though there’s no director attached as yet, the script (by Jay Reiss and Ian Helfer) was good enough to earn itself a place on the 2008 Black List of Best Un-produced work (which last year featured Inglorious Basterds). So already, our hopes are pretty high. And frankly, it’s about time that our mate Hugh (what? He’d like us if he met us, OK?) got a starring role. Anyone able to play The Prince Regent as well as House deserves at least a chance at leading-man-dom, and we can’t wait to see what he makes of it if it goes ahead. Hurrah for Laurie! Un-biased journalism eh? There’s just nothing like it…

Opinions on the God that is Hugh Laurie? We’re open to all thoughts (as long as they’re ones that start with ‘I love Hugh Laurie because…)