"STONE OF DESTINY"/ROCKY HISTORY

Scotland's famous Scone stone is to feature in a political drama to stir nationalist fires.

First, let's be clear. This is a film about 'Scone' the place - 'Scone' the palace, actually.

Not 'scone' as in 'Yes, thanks, I'll have another one with cream, please."

No, this is 'Scone', just outside of Perth, the seat of Scottish monarchy since back in the mists of time.

As for the 'stone' part, well, this is the said 'seat' where the wannabee Scottish monarchs sat to be crowned. It is THE stone of Scone. A two foot long, 152 kg slab of rough sandstone. Not exactly exactly glamorous or even what you would call comfortable but it had its merits. For instance, it was long lasting and not likely to go missing in a windstorm either.

Whatever its intrinsic merits or faults, it had huge symbolic value which rankled certain English people, particularly King Edward 1, who was finally so incensed that, in 1296, he took it south to London's Westminster Abbey where it was henceforth used for English coronations.This is turn did not "sit" well with Scottish pride and, on Christmas Day 1950, four students led by Ian Hamilton (later a Scottish QC) strode into the Abbey, pocketed the stone or somehow or other lifted it and fled back north of the border to Arbroath Abbey, outside Dundee, where it was retrieved four months later.

The theft of and search for the stone is the subject of this £6 million film, which began shooting last week in Scotland with a cast headed by rising Londoner Charlie (Casanova) Cox. A man to watch because everyone is already singing his praises for kissing Sienna Miller and expects his career to go ballistic with the October release of Matthew Vaughan's fantasy adventure Stardust.

Cox is ably backed by Scottish luminaries Robert Carlyle and Billy Boyd, Ireland's Brenda Fricker, and American Kate ("24") Mara while the project is written and directed by veteran American actor Charles Martin Smith. Smith might seem an odd choice for such a nationalistic affair but, as an actor, he has built an excellent reputation in exactly this type of lighthearted adventure so the there is much reason to hope.

Filed July 4, 2007