Thesps flit so effortlessly across the global stage these days that their transportable talent is only a problem if it treads on patriotically inclined toes. Kate Winslet is wowing international audiences with her portrayal of an Australian cult victim in Holy Smoke. Well, she's a national treasure, ain't she? However when Australian actress Frances O'Connor returns the favour as Fanny Price in a revision of Jane Austen's Mansfield Park (written and directed by Canadian Patricia Rozema), grumbles abound about there being quite enough home- grown talent to play those quintessentially English gels. Similar tutting and pursing of lips has greeted the news that Johnny Depp hopes to portray Scottish poet Robbie Burns in a forthcoming film. That Depp is an accomplished actor who will undoubtedly perfect his Scottish accent before shooting begins is not enough to persuade critics that Scotland's favourite acting son Ewan McGregor hasn't been robbed of the role. Inevitable comparisons with Mel Gibson's comical capers in a kilt for Braveheart are trotted out as reasons to lament this latest failure of positive discrimination. But worry not for Ewan. He is already comforting himself by fleshing out the life of another literary genius on film. Out this month, Nora casts McGregor as James Joyce, and tells the story of the writer's love affair with Nora Barnacle. Good Lord. Now that really is deplorable, given the abundance of available Irish...