SCREENWRITER Frank Cottrell Boyce has spent an awful lot of time kissing frogs. This is not some unpalatable aspect of natural history films, but the inevitable process of working with children. "You kiss the frogs in the hope that they turn into princes. Meaning you audition hundreds of children in the hope you find the one that is just right for the film," he says, of the search for two young brothers to play the leads in his new film Millions. "We looked at them geographically, then looked at twins, then hair colour, eye colour - just about every combination.. We ended up with two boys from Warrington. The older one has done some acting, but not the younger. Yet you really relate to him, he's a terrific find." The other screen discovery is the North West. Cottrell Boyce enthuses: "We filmed in last year's really hot summer. The Formby beach is really beautiful and Widnes looks like Umbria." The success of his novel Millions caught Cottrell Boyce, now aged 44, by surprise. When we met he was about to jet off to Germany to collect a prize from Die Zeit newspaper for Europe's best new children's novel. "I'd not even heard of Die Zeit, but I've been told it's traditional to split half the prize money with your translator," he says.. Although at preview screenings Millions received standing ovations, its release was delayed in Britain until late spring so as not to compete for cinema audiences with the animated blockbuster The Incredibles. In the mean time, Cottrell Boyce is already involved in writing a treatment for The Odyssey. To be made (like Millions) by Bury's hottest director ever, Danny Boyle, it is regarded as the follow-up to last year's sandals and spears epic Troy. "Unfortunately, we won't have Brad Pitt playing Achilles in it, as the character's dead because of his heel, but it will be fantastic, with plenty of magic, whirlpools, monsters and gods," says Cottrell Boyce. He "desperately" hopes the acclaimed animator Ray Harryhausen will come out of retirement to help. Harryhausen was responsible for the memorable pre-computer age special effects in epics like Jason and the Argonauts and Clash of the Titans. The Odyssey is regarded by Hollywood as a film designed to inherit young audiences out-growing Harry Potter (produced by the same company Hayman Films). | 
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