Mike Newell, director of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and the upcoming Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, will write and direct a film based off the poisoning and mysterious death of former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko.  According to Variety, the project is based on Alan Cowell's book The Terminal Spy, but even though the film is "in an advanced stage of development," no actors are currently attached.

Just as a refresher, Litvinenko's death remains a mysterious.  The ex-Russian spy was poisoned in 2006 with polonium-210 and on his deathbed accused ex-Russian President (and current Prime Minister/de-facto leader) Vladimir Putin as the culprit.  Litvinenko's murder prompted international investigations and triggered post-Cold War tensions between England and Russia.  This could turn out to be a pretty good flick.

Michael Mann was also developing a Litvinenko project with Litvinenko's wife over at Sony, but that project has stalled over the past few months.