I have a bit of a problem with Ricky Gervais. I love his stand-up and have a soft spot for Extras but really can’t see beyond his off-screen persona when it comes to film roles. His cameo in Stardust pulls you right out of the experience as you ponder what on earth he’s doing in fancy dress. In a proper movie. So it turns out, strangely, he’s got a lot in common with Tom Cruise – can’t get beyond his personality to find the character he’s supposed to be playing. Anyhow, his next feature, Cemetery Junction, is a British-set period comedy that starts shooting in London on 15th June, co-written and directed by Stephen Merchant:

“In 1970s England, three blue-collar friends spend their days joking, drinking, fighting and chasing girls. Freddie (Christian Cooke) wants to leave their working-class world but cool, charismatic Bruce (Tom Hughes) and lovable loser Snork (Jack Doolan) are happy with life the way it is. When Freddie gets a new job as a door-to-door salesman and bumps into his old school sweetheart Julie (Felicity Jones), the gang are forced to make choices that will change their lives forever.”

It’ll be interesting to see if they can create a film that stands on its own or if Ricky will just revert to type and hog the whole thing. Co-starring Ralph Fiennes, Gervais and Merchant have appealing stated they want to “capture the spirit of those classic British New Wave movies of the 1960s that made stars of Albert Finney, Julie Christie and Michael Caine”. A tall order maybe, but an interesting one.

It should be at cinemas in 2010 via Sony Pictures.