Them There Eyes

Spain's Alex de la Iglesia is making his English-language debut and he's probably the most intriguing international director to work in English since Mexico's Alfonso Cuaron. (Wong Kar Wai's English film will also be a trip.) It's a mystery set in Oxford with John Hurt as a Sherlock Holmes type deducer. But what I enjoyed was Iglesia's comment about his casting of Elijah Wood as the young student wwho plays Watson to Hurt's Holmes. "I'm delighted to work with Elijah, who undoubtedly has the most powerful eyes in the industry and who is perfect for the part," de la Iglesia said. I want to be friends with Wood just so I can convince him to show me the One Ring, his souvenir from the trilogy. Isn't that sad?