James McAvoy to work with Steven Spielberg?
Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg is set to finalise a deal to make a movie about the Lockerbie crash which killed 259 passengers and crew and 11 residents in 1988. Ewan McGregor and James McAvoy have both been linked to the Hollywood project.
Spielberg is to take best-selling book "Flight 103" to the screen and is in the final stages of talks with author Juval Aviv.
The former Israeli secret agent was the chief investigator for airline Pan Am. Libyan national Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi is serving a life sentence for the crime in a Scottish prison.
However, Mr Avivs novel alleges that Iran rather than Libya was behind the attack. He claims Iranian authorities ordered the destruction of the Boeing 747 as revenge for the accidental shooting of an Iranian airliner by the US.
Spielberg, whose Oscar-winning film Munich was also based on a novel written by Mr Aviv, is now in the final stages of preproduction. The writer said: I have been asked to consult on the movie and hope shooting will start later this year.
They are very keen to film in Lockerbie as, obviously, the town is central to the plot. And we are keen on using British actors and particularly Scottish ones, to make it authentic.
However, Lockerbie residents have condemned the plans, which coincide with the 20th anniversary of the crash. Ken Bailey, chairman of the community council, added: The last thing we want is a film crew running around when we are trying to remember the people who died.
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