Was Billy Liar an original - or can it be remade

A.� The daydreaming life of Billy Liar still resonates nearly 30 years after it opened. When John Schlesinger's version of Keith Waterhouse's cult novel came out, the New York Times' critic called it "pure ambrosia". Julie Christie, who now lives in Los Angeles, was immortalised as the purse-swinging New Wave beauty, who begged Billy Fisher, the undertaker's clerk - played by Tom Courtenay - to make his fantasies come true by joining her on the fast track out of the North to the bright lights of swining Sixties London.

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Q. Is Hollywood interested in a remake

A.� A $40 million budget has been set aside to move the action from Yorkshire to small-town America. The trick will be moving the satire to contemporary America. British-born producer Paul Kaufman, who is co-ordinating the remake, wants British stars such as Courtenay to have cameo roles in the new production.

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Q.� Who is making the film

A.� It will be made by Kaufman's own LA-based production company, with Landscape Entertainment, whose chairman Robert Cooper, oversaw the making of Sam Mendes' Oscar-winning American Beauty.

The lead has been earmarked for Jimmy Fallon, an impressionist in the cast of Saturday Night Live, the American TV show that launched the careers of stars such as Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy and Mike Myers, Fallon, 22, is best known for playing a rock-band manager in the film Almost Famous.

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Q.� Surely a remake of such a classic is a sure-fire hit

A.� Adaptations and remakes don't always work. Sylvester Stallone's version of Get Carter, which was such a huge success for Michael Caine originally, bombed in the US and went straight on to video in Britain. Other failures include Val Kilmer's reprise of The Saint and an adaptation of The Avengers, starring Ralph Fiennes.

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By Katharine MacColl