Screen legend Dennis Hopper will play Frank Sinatra, Melanie Griffith his girlfriend and David Hemmings his lawyer in new film The Night We Called It A Day, which goes into production in Sydney on Oct 21 directed by Paul Goldman.

The core of the story, however, belongs to Joel Edgerton. He plays a promoter who pulls off the coup of a lifetime when he persuades Sinatra to tour Australia in 1974. After Sinatra clashes with the press and unions, the promoter's plans go badly awry. Rose Byrne, Portia Di Rossi and David Field also appear, while cabaret star Tim Burlinson is responsible for the music.

The Night We Called It A Day got a green light from the Film Finance Corporation in March and is an Australia-UK co-production between Emilie Sherman of Ocean Pictures and Nik Powell of Scala Productions. Third producer Peter Clifton came up with the idea and co-wrote the screenplay with executive producer Michael Thomas.

The UK's Winchester Films is handling international sales. Icon will release it in Australia and New Zealand.

* Meanwhile, Samuel Johnson is to star in Illustrated Family Doctor, which got the go-ahead at last month's Film Finance Corporation meeting. The film is to be directed by Kriv Stenders, produced by Catherine Kerr and sold by the UK's Moviehouse Entertainment.

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