Back in January, I blogged about the BBC show The Thick of It getting the feature treatment. The film, tentatively titled In the Loop, will be set in the same world as the television show, but it hadn't been determined whether the same characters would pop up. According to the latest post over at The Hollywood Reporter, it seems that the production is going half-fresh. This is particularly noteworthy because the actors are James Gandolfini, David Rasche (United 93), and ... My Girl Anna Chlumsky. Yes, Anna his swam out of the ether and right to BBC remakes!

The film will focus on the inner workings of US and British government agencies and international relations, Chlumsky will play a State Department official, Gandolfini will play a general, and Rasche has signed on to play an undersecretary of state. On the British side of things, Peter Capaldi, Chris Addison, and Paul Higgins from the series are starring with Tom Hollander and Gina McKee.

First came Alan Partridge, the character that helped actor Steve Coogan make a name for himself. (And make this cinema-goer very happy.) The team responsible for the shows, led by Armando Iannucci, went on to create a political satire television program called The Thick of It -- which "takes a wry look at the inner workings of British government." But it's not a sleek, slick, political show. Handheld cameras are used to give it a documentary feel, and the comedy is also partially improvised. Now BBC reports that a film adaptation of the show is gearing up with BBC Films.

The project, which is currently titled In the Loop, is said to be "set in the same world" as Thick, but they won't say whether the same characters will be appearing in the film. When Thick popped up in 2005, it scored a BAFTA for best sitcom and actor Chris Langham (who played "blundering minister Hugh Abbot") nabbed one for best comedy performance. However, he was later arrested and served time in prison for having child pornography on his computer, which led other actors in the series to be featured more prominently. Now, they could find themselves large and glimmering on the big screen, or stuck inside the boob tube.

I imagine that the writers are deciding whether they should just stick with the characters that the UK has become familiar with, or get more international, wide-spread names like oh, Coogan. And with that, I'll end my public pitch for more Coog. Stay tuned!