Jordanian prince to the rescue of comedian

The following story might make more sense if you are first aware of the cinematic allegiances that exist within the Jordanian Royal Family. King Abdullah II, for instance, likes Transformers and once appeared in Star Trek. The best Middle Eastern diplomats probably know this. You never know when that sort of information can help you out of a tight spot.

So, we have it from an impeccable source, that during the making of Brüno!, while Sacha Baron Cohen was wandering the Middle East dressed as a gay Austrian fashion journalist, he visited Jordan and interviewed the Prime Minister.

Then the authorities found out that he was neither Austrian nor a journalist and all hell broke loose.

The Jordanian PM demanded to know why “that Zionist comedian” had been allowed into his house. Then the Royal Family intervened. Not the King, who was perhaps away at a Trekkie conference, but his half-brother. Prince Ali is a huge Ali G fan and apparently regards himself as “the real Ali G”. He defused the situation. We like to think he did this after first donning a yellow shell suit, but you can’t have everything.

This week MPs can benefit from a lecture on East Timor, a seminar on coastal erosion and a briefing on “making the most from your Parliamentary Technology”. More to the point, however, was yesterday’s session entitled: “Advice for Members Standing Down.” There is another one on Thursday, offering insights on how to find employment. The answer, of course, is to play to one’s strengths. The property development industry is crying out for people with that sort of experience.

Earwigging on the street in London last week, People heard David Davis, MP, tell a member of the public that he intended to buy all of Michael Jackson’s albums. Was he worth more to the music industry dead? “Sad, but probably true,” he said. What about Gordon Brown? “Oh, undoubtedly.”

That “visor” picture of Buzz Aldrin, taken by Neil Armstrong on the first lunar walk . . . Why is it so iconic, Mr Aldrin? “Location, location, location,” he tells us, at the launch of his memoirs, Magnificent Desolation. And so, it is with sadness we realise that even spacemen may be watching too much daytime TV.

Through his musings on the English class system, Jarvis Cocker has progressed from rebellious Britpop star to a grandee of the cultural establishment who gets asked to appear on Question Time. There he was last week, preparing to address the issues of the day. But wait! Was he chewing gum? There were giggles from the studio audience as he spat it out and handed it to the studio manager. The same manager had just chaired a warm-up discussion on manners.

Steering a steady path to stardom

The Face: Rupert Grint

Although his Harry Potter co-stars are more likely to make it on to the world’s magazine covers, Rupert Grint, aka Ron Weasley, could be the slow burner to watch out for. Described by Alfonso Cuarón, the director of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, as “the likely future star out of the Hogwarts trio”, Grint, 20, yesterday made it up the red carpet for the premiere of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, after magically recovering from a bout of swine flu.

Rave reviews for his leading role in the 2006 film Driving Lessons have raised expectations for his performance in this year’s Wild Target with Bill Nighy. Despite his Potter pay cheques, Grint has kept ostentation at bay, electing to spend his wages on unicycle lessons and a well-stocked ice-cream van.

Postscript

Of course Julian Fellowes wants to be offered acting parts as appealing as the film scripts he's asked to write, but the two sides no longer match each other. "On the one hand I'm writing The Young Victoria for Martin Scorsese," he tells us, "and as an actor, I'm trying to get a job on Peak Practice."

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