I was pretty bummed out when it was announced that Roman Polanski’s adaptation of the Robert Harris novel Pompeii fell through. I’ve been in need of a good historical epic from a competent director and this seemed to be just what the doctor ordered.

Now though, Polanski is tackling Robert Harris’s latest novel instead, The Ghost, a political thriller that follows a ghostwriter hired to write the autobiography of a fictional UK Prime Minister (although he is supposedly inspired by Tony Blair, a longtime friend of Harris’s). Being a political thriller, it can’t all be sunshine and tea parties though. The writer ends up learning some scandanlous details about the PM and finds himself in some serious trouble.

Pierce Brosnan will star as the PM Adam Lang, while Nicolas Cage will take on the role of the writer – two actors that can be so very good, yet so very bad. With Polanski at the helm, I expect nothing but the former.

Of the project, Polanski said: “I have been looking for a political thriller to direct for some time, and ‘The Ghost’ could not be more perfect. Robert has constructed a novel with such suspense, it is hard to put it down.”

This all was announced by MTV News, who also referred to author Robert Harris as Richard Harris. Silly, silly MTV.