Polanski Casts His Political Thriller

Ewan McGregor in The Ghost Writer
(Image credit: Summit Entertainment)

Roman Polanski’s upcoming political thriller The Ghost, based on a novel by Richard Harris, just got its cast, and it may be one of the most unusual casting choices I’ve seen in a while. The story is inspired by British Prime Minister Tony Blair and tells the story of fictional Prime Minister Adam Lang and a ghostwriter for the prime minister who learns privileged information, putting both him and the Prime Minister in jeopardy.

So who is Polanski looking at to play the fictional Prime Minister? MTV’s Movies Blog reports that former James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan will be taking on the role while Elvis aficionado, Nicolas Cage will play the ghostwriter role.

I think Brosnan as the Prime Minister is a good choice. After all, the actor is about ready for that “Presidential” sort of role. While I like Cage, asking me to believe the man who uttered “Zeus’s butthole” as an expletive is putting words in the Prime Minister’s mouth may be stretching the boundaries of credibility. Still, Polanski has such a proven track record, I have to give him the benefit of the doubt and hope he knows what he’s doing here.