Johnny Depp scoops film rights to Russian spy's death

The story of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko has been burning a swathe through our newspapers for the last couple of months, with the newshounds whipping themselves into a frenzy of Cold War-style wonderings about Russian prez Vladimir Putin and where in London it’s safe to eat without getting a dose of polonium-210.

One of those particularly interested in the case is Johnny Depp, who, with the cash support of Warner Bros, has just nabbed the rights of Alan Cowell’s book Sasha’s Story: The Life And Death Of A Russian Spy. Cowell, a New York Times journo, has been covering the events as they unfold and will finally sit down to write his tome this year, with a planned release date of later in 2007. That’s right – Hollywood has finally skipped that pesky bit about actually having the book finished and gone straight to the adaptation.

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