Asamurai-inspired story about an unemployed IRA hitman is set to be the nextproduction from May Miles Thomas and Owen Thomas, the director-producer teambehind market title Solid Air and theacclaimed One Life Stand.

The digitalfilmmaking couple are putting the finishing touches to a script titled Tokushika, a Takeshi Kitano or JimJarmusch-inspired tale about a coolly calculating young IRA hitman who findshimself out of work. Owen Thomas, the producing half of the duo, has raisedprivate backing to co-develop the script and possibly co-finance theproduction, which he is setting up as a UK-Irish co-production budgeted at upto Euros 2.5m.

Glasgow-basedThomas said that the Elemental Films production will combine comedy with astudy of the random nature of terrorist violence.

"The main character is a very young guy whogoes south as an IRA hitman but the job goes down on him and he finds himselfunemployed," Thomas said. "What do you do when you have the means but no end'It's about terrorism as chaos."