For many Brick was the film of 2006, bringing the edge of noir to high school and turning teens onto Chandler. But while Brick’s Brendan was made by Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s glacial cool and Nora Zehetner was irresistible as femme fatale Laura, the real star of the Sundance smash was director Rian Johnson – shooting his debut with such verve that Buzz became unhealthily excited about all of his next moves...

“It’s the story of two brothers who are conmen, and the older one [Mark Ruffalo] writes these elaborate cons and the younger one [Adrien Brody] acts them,” Johnson tells Buzz of his second feature, The Brothers Bloom. “It’s the story of their last con.” Shooting across Eastern Europe in various castles, historic squares and even on an old paddle steamer, Brothers‘ location scout deserves a medal for finding the gaff Rachel Weisz’s Penelope is plucking away in front of to your left. She’s the girl Adrien’s character falls for. Another femme fatale? Magic.

It’s certainly a glitzy cast, so did Brick help Johnson nab the people he wrote the parts for in Brothers Bloom? “The frustrating and the fun thing about the casting process is that you never get the first person you’re thinking of, but who you end up getting in the end is the absolute best person for the role,” admits the director, parting for now with advice for any budding filmmaker: “The thing to do is keep an open mind and not only roll with it, but actively enjoy redefining these characters in your head...”