Prince of Denmark goes to Texas

A first class ensemble of actors is being brought together for a new interpretation of the Shakespeare play Hamlet.

The film, entitled Texas Lullaby, will star John Malkovich, Josh Hartnett, Tom Waits and Alison Lohman and the action will switched from Denmark to 1980s Texas.

It will tell the story of a young man, Hartnett (Pearl Harbor, The Virgin Suicides), as he tries to unravel the mystery of why his father has died and his mother is married to his uncle.

Lohman (White Oleander, Big Fish) will take the role of the young man's girlfriend.

Hamlet has come to the screen many times in movie history, most recently in Michael Almereyda's stylish version that took the action to New York and the corporate manoeuvrings behind the Denmark Corporation.

Kenneth Branagh in 1996 brought together a massive cast that included Kate Winslet, Julie Christie, Dame Judi Dench, Gerard Depardieu and Charlton Heston for his classical version that included the whole script, uncut, and lasting four hours.

In 1990 Franco Zeffirelli took on Hamlet with Mel Gibson, Glenn Close, Alan Bates and Ian Holm in the ensemble.

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