Is there a statute of limitations for 'spoiling' a movie? Is there anyone of passing cultural literacy who does not already know that the great man's dying words spoke of his fondest childhood memory, that the astronaut was on Earth all along, that the low-grade crook was making the whole story up off the bulletin board? And is there a certain point where you can't help but spoil a movie if you're going to talk about it honestly? And what if the movie under consideration is a remake?

Kenneth Branagh's new film of Sleuth brings all of those questions to mind. Based on Anthony Shaffer's play, previously filmed in 1972, Sleuth starts simple and stays small: The older Andrew Wyke is visited by the younger Milo Tindle. The older man has position, power, privilege; the younger man has none of those things -- but he is sleeping with the older man's wife. The younger man has come to ask the older man to grant his wife a divorce -- and, maybe, see what the old fool's made of. The older man is not willing to grant the divorce -- but, he might as well see what this young bastard's like. In the original 1972 version of Sleuth, Laurence Olivier was the older man, and Michael Caine the younger; now, Caine plays the cuckolded husband and Jude Law the bright young adulterer.

When Jude Law was noticeably absent during the recent press day for Anthony Minghella's Breaking and Entering -- Law is the star of that film -- we were told that it was because he couldn't tear himself away from filming Sleuth, the update of the 1972 Michael Caine thriller about an old-timer who matches wits with a younger man who has stolen his wife away. Assuming the characters haven't been changed substantially from the original, Law will play the down-on-his-luck actor who ends up sparring with the wealthy writer character played by Caine. Exactly which actress is playing the wife caught in the middle is probably known by someone, but not me. What is known is that Kenneth Branagh is directing, and Law's deep commitment to this particular project has been widely reported.

Today's Variety carries news which should make him very happy -- Paramount Pictures has stepped in to pick up distribution rights for the actor's "passion project." The studio will distribute the picture in the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. The movie, which Law is also co-producing, recently wrapped filming at Twickenham Studios in London, and marks the first screenwriting effort in ten years form Harold Pinter. North American distribution rights and Latin American rights have already been picked up by Sony Pictures Classics. No release date for the film has been set yet.

Back in September we learned that Jude Law and Michael Caine would be starring in a remake of Anthony Shaffer's Sleuth, which was a popular stage play before Joseph L. Mankiewicz directed a 1972 movie version starring Sir Laurence Olivier and ... Michael Caine.

What's (potentially) interesting about this re-do (aside from the fact that Kenneth Branagh is directing and Harold Pinter is writing) is that Mr. Caine will, of course, be stepping into the role originally played by Olivier, while Mr. Law (who has wanted to make this flick for a long time, apparently) will be playing Caine's old role.

For those who don't remember the movie, it's about a veteran writer and a hotshot young actor who spend one twist-filled weekend at a fancy English manor -- but the actor's been canoodling the writer's wife ... and the writer knows it.

Sony Pictures Classics just climbed on board with Branagh and Company, and they seem to be in quite the hurry to get the thing made: Production begins this month.