'Alchemist' heading to big screen

Laurence Fishburne is to star in, direct and produce a movie version of Paulo Coelho's bestselling 1988 novel The Alchemist.

Harvey Weinstein confirmed at Cannes that he will co-produce the adaptation, which tells the story of a young Spanish shepherd who meets an alchemist during a quest to find hidden treasure in the Egyptian pyramids.

Fishburne, who has been struggling to get the film off the ground since 2003, said: "This is a special project that now has a special team behind it to ensure that its path to the big screen is handled with the proper care it deserves."

An "Academy Award-winning screenwriter" is in negotiations to write the screenplay for the £30 million movie, Weinstein revealed.

Coelho said: "I am very happy that my book will be filmed in the way I intended it to be, and I hope the spirit and simplicity of my work will be preserved."

Filming will start next year in various locations in Europe and the Middle East.