Pandora: Boyle has to abandon his Pratchett project

There is disappointing news for fans of the newly-knighted author Sir Terry Pratchett – the acclaimed film director Danny Boyle, right, claims that his work on an adaptation of Pratchett's The Bromeliad series has come to an abrupt conclusion.

Boyle, whose latest movie, Slumdog Millionaire, made him a favourite to pick up a gong at last night's Golden Globes and next month's Oscars, was, until recently, working with the screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce to bring the trilogy to the big screen. The pair were believed to have agreed a deal with Steven Spielberg's film company DreamWorks for a big-budget trilogy.

But Boyle, right admits the project has had to be put to bed. "Oh God, it's fallen apart," he said during a live Web chat. "Frank and I were going to do it for DreamWorks but sadly no longer. I'm sorry about it – they are wonderful novels."

Instead, Boyle is turning his hand to another adaptation, an English-language version of the Korean film Sympathy For Lady Vengeance, the third instalment of the Vengeance Trilogy. No doubt it will attract plenty of attention. Only last month, the Hollywood heavyweight Will Smith claimed he would love to star in a remake of the series, adding that Spielberg would like to be involved too.

Hynde sight is always a wonderful thing

Following Lily Allen's controversial comments about the use of cocaine (the outspoken pop star claimed she knew "lots of people that take cocaine three nights a week and get up and go to work every day, no problem at all"), another celebrity has taken it upon herself to ruminate on the subject.

"We wasted our time getting loaded," the Pretenders singer Chrissie Hynde tells the February issue of Q magazine. "Though I guarantee most north London estate agents have probably done more cocaine in a week than I have in my whole life."

Such antics are, of course, no longer Hynde's style. These days the shaggy-haired chanteuse, 57, is more likely to be arrested for chaining herself to the railings of her local McDonald's.

"I see a meat-eater. I see a slaughter house and that person is directly responsible for the torturing of animals," she says. "I am insanely vegetarian."

Emma won't stop Amis

The Revelation that Martin Amis's next novel, The Pregnant Widow, will be "loosely" based on his romantic past have yet to cause concern to his old flame Emma Soames, pictured.

The glamorous former editor of The Daily Telegraph's Saturday magazine – and grand-daughter of Sir Winston Churchill – tells me she is sanguine about the prospect of becoming a muse. "I am not going to stick my neck out and say that I have nothing to fear," she insists. "But writers have to draw on their past experiences, so I do not mind if Martin has done so with ours."

Hoppen's locked into love

Kelly Hoppen's romance with the hair stylist to the stars, Nicky Clarke, affords one particular advantage. "It's very handy because I have my own hairdresser all the time," the ginger-locked interior designer says.

"He does my hair whenever we go out. I'm completely dependent because I always used to have curly hair – it was my thing – but since he did it straight one time, I want it like that every day."

No rejects for Galloway

Pity poor George Galloway, whose dining habits have been the subject of scurrilous rumour. The voluble MP was accused at the weekend of trying to boot out some House of Commons researchers who had the audacity to sit in the MPs' area. But his spokesman assures me he did nothing of the sort (it would certainly sit uncomfortably with his left-wing agenda). "There was no altercation, no confrontation, nothing of the sort," said the aide.

Carole's on a mission to know

Carole Stone, the so-called "queen of networking" has a new project to keep her busy. She is launching the "Stone Club", an extension of her famous "salons", for opinion-makers to "pool knowledge of the issues facing society". She adds: "My philosophy has always been that, if there is a question, I will know someone who knows the answer."