http://chud.com/nextraimages/peterotoole.jpgConsider this Hollywood Reporter synopsis for the film Dean Spanley:

Set in Edwardian England, where upper lips are always stiff and men from the Colonies are not entirely to be trusted, "Spanley" reveals just how deep an Englishman’s love for his dog can go.

Would that be balls deep? I’m trying to imagine someone writing that synopsis and not sniggering* to themselves. It seems impossible.

Anyway, this film has signed the great and not-yet-corpsed Peter O’Toole. It seems like O’Toole is really digging on dogs lately, he made the recent Lassie film (which features Peter Dinklage giving the worst performance by a dwarf since Twiki in Buck Rogers). Or maybe he just thinks that by keeping his schedule full he’ll ward off his inevitable disincarnation. Sam Neill and Jeremy Northam also appear, fulfilling their BAFTA Period Picture quota for 2007.

Dean Spanley starts filming this month.

*There’s an s in front of that. I’m no Dog the Bounty Hunter.