Ready for my close-up, Mr. Scorsese

And so I tripped into London for a casting call - not one of those open castings with thousands lining up, this was more targeted, there were only four of us in the room.

It was for some film-maker chappie called Martin Scorsese (he wasn’t there) for his new film The Invention of Hugo Cabret, based on the children’s novel by Brian Selznick. I’m told it’s part novel, part comix, part picture-book visual adventure, I must go out and get a copy.

It’s about a young kid who lives in the tunnels of the Paris Metro of the 1930s -filming across the next few months in London and Paris. Apparently they’ve built a huge set at Shepperton of the main Metro concourse. Somewhere along the line the story involves Georges Melies, the pioneer of movie making (aha, hence the fascination for Scorsese?) - sorry I can’t seem to add the accents.

Believe it when you see it, of course: but the idea was we were commuters on the Metro in 1930s Paris and we are supposed to react negatively to this mad surrealist artist working away on the Metro walls and denounce his work.

What they didn't tell people (but what I found out) is: the artist is a cameo played by..... yeah, well let’s keep quiet about that one for now! It‘s always good to have a few secrets. (Suffice to say: be still my beating heart).

There were only about four of us up for the commuters so I might be in with a chance.
And they wanted to know whether I could “take direction”, I guess.

They said they liked the moustache but the side whiskers would have to go. The standard response in circumstances like this is: "for a price, I will", but secretly I was thinking "for Mr S, he can slash my wrists and film me bleeding to death, I don't care".....

Let's see what happens anyways. (It’s not even due in the cinemas until December 2011, and it‘ll be in 3-D).