Arts: With friends like these ...

In the disused St Pancras station hotel, the cast of the forthcoming film `Final Cut' gathers for what resembles, fittingly, the last supper. But in this British movie, all is not as it seems

When Final Cut, a Fugitive Films production starring Jude Law and Sadie Frost, had its screening at Cannes, T-shirts proclaiming "Jude Is Dead" appeared, which might seem to give away the film's ending. In fact, rather than reveal the denouement of the piece, the death of "Jude" (hence, presumably, the ghostly white suit) is just the starting point to a dark, intense low-budget film in which a group of close friends play footage that "Jude" has secretly filmed of them. It reveals thievery, adultery and abuse.

According to Frost, characters have the actors' own names to avoid confusion when they improvised. Law and Frost are the first couple of young British film-making. With their chums Ewan McGregor, Jonny Lee Miller and Sean Pertwee, their Natural Nylon company is producing hot projects like, well, hot cakes, starting with the much anticipated Hellfire Club. Law's stand- alone reputation as "thespian crumpet" does nothing to harm their chances as major moguls.

1 John Beckett both acts in and composes the music for Final Cut.

2 Holly Davidson is Frost's sister. She has previously appeared in Bent and on TV in The Broker's Man.

3 Mark Burdis is a film actor whose previous credits include The Krays.

4 Perry Benson has appeared in productions ranging from Scum to TV series, Oh, Doctor Beeching.

5 Sadie Frost appeared as a vampire in Dracula and a duplicitous wife in the TV drama The Lake of Darkness. Her next films will be Love, Honour and Obey, and Rancid Aluminium.

6 Ray Winstone received his best reviews for the compelling Nil By Mouth. His career started with Scum in 1979 and continues after Final Cut with Tim Roth's directorial debut The War Zone.

7 Lisa Marsh makes her film debut.

8 Ray Burdis is a producer of the film, as well as appearing in it.

9 Dominic Anciano acts in and also has a producing credit on Final Cut.

10 William Scully previously acted in Basket Case III.

11 Jude Law made his debut on film in Shopping and on stage, naked, in Les Parents Terribles. He has since starred in Gattaca, Wilde, and eXistenZ. His next project will be a biopic of Christopher Marlowe.

`Final Cut' opens later this summer