HOT READ

Coffin Road by Peter May: A man is washed up on a deserted beach on the Hebridean Isle of Harris, barely alive and borderline hypothermic.

He has no idea who he is or how he got there. The only clue to his identity is a map tracing a track called the Coffin Road. He does not know where it will lead him, but filled with dread, fear and uncertainty he knows he must follow it.

A detective crosses rough Atlantic seas to a remote rock 20 miles west of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.

With a sense of foreboding he steps ashore where three lighthouse keepers disappeared more than a century before - a mystery that remains unsolved. But now there is a new mystery - a man found bludgeoned to death on that same rock, and DS George Gunn must find out who did it and why.

A teenage girl lies in her Edinburgh bedroom, desperate to discover the truth about her father's death. Two years after the discovery of the pioneering scientist's suicide note, Karen Fleming still cannot accept that he would wilfully abandon her. And the more she discovers about the nature of his research, the more she suspects that others were behind his disappearance.

Coffin Road follows three perilous journeys towards one shocking truth - and the realisation that ignorance can kill us.

VERONICA MARS

Kristen Bell has reunited with Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas for an upcoming episode of his new show, iZombie.

Bell - who narrated Gossip Girl and voiced Anna in Frozen - will be lending her voice to the 11th episode of the second season, 'Fifty Shades of Grey Matter', in which Liv (Rose McIver) eats the brain of a young librarian who's also an erotic fiction writer.

I was a massive fan of Veronica Mars back in the day - it's the reason why I started watching iZombie.

I enjoyed the first season, but have yet to catch any of the second. With news of Bell's involvement, I'll make the effort to download what I've missed so far.

Bell isn't the first Veronica Mars actor Thomas has brought to the set, as Ryan Hansen, David Starzyk, Adam Rose, Daran Norris and Percy Daggs II have also made appearances on the television show so far.

HALLOWEEN

According to horror film news website Bloody Disgusting, Dimension has lost the rights to Halloween.

Miramax is now believed to be on the hunt for a new owner for the fear-inducing film franchise, as well as a new distributor.

If Paramount or New Line were to pick up the series, a potential crossover with Friday the 13th or A Nightmare on Elm Street could become a reality.

Imagine that - Michael Myers taking on Jason Voorhees or Freddy Krueger. My worst nightmare come true.

DUNKELD

Christopher Nolan’s next project is inspired by the evacuation of the French seaport Dunkirk.

According to Variety, The Dark Knight director is in talks with Kenneth Branagh, Tom Hardy and Mark Rylance to star in the Second World War epic.

The Dunkirk evacuation is also called the miracle of Dunkirk. When the British Expeditionary Force and other Allied Forces were trapped by German troops, it was expected that many of the soldiers would not escape.

Miraculously, the troops were able to evacuate across the English Channel and over 330,000 lives were saved.

Warner Bros, executive Greg Silverman said: “We are thrilled to be continuing our collaboration with Christopher Nolan.

“Dunkirk is a gripping and powerful story and we are excited to see Chris, Emma and their cast realize it on the big screen.”

Dunkirk is scheduled to open in cinemas nationwide in July 2017.

BELLADRUM

Campervan tickets for Belladrum are now completely sold out.

Email maryferguson72@btinternet.com if you would like to be added to a waiting list for any returned passes.

Tipi and yurts are still available in the Woodland dell.

Belladrum is one of my favourite festivals on the summer calendar. It always sells out early, so don't delay if you want to party in the Highlands with the likes of Madness, The Darkness, Rachel Sermanni, Arrested Development and Alabama 3.

Now in its 13th year, the theme of the 2016 festival will be "Superstition".

Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival, August 4-6, 2016, Beauly, Inverness

For more info and tickets, go to the website tartanheartfestival.co.uk

SZIGET FESTIVAL

Budapest’s Sziget Festival has added Bastille, Bloc Party, CHVRCHES, Sum 41 and Nicky Romero to its line-up.

The week-long fest has already bagged Sigur Rós, M83, Bring Me The Horizon, John Newman, Naughty Boy, MØ, Parov Stelar and Kodaline for its bill.

Last year, 441,000 Szitizens attended the event.

With more than 1,000 performances and a dedicated ‘party train’ with resident DJs to transport punters from all over Europe, it’s no surprise that Sziget has become one of the most multicultural festivals in the world.

Sziget will take place between August 10-17 on Óbudai-sziget (Old Buda Island).

For more info and tickets, go to szigetfestival.com

STAR WARS

Shots fired!

In a recent interview with Charlie Rose, Star Wars creator George Lucas spoke about selling his space franchise to Disney for $4 billion in 2012.

Describing the films he created as his "kids", Lucas said he "sold them to the white slavers that take these things".

The latest instalment, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, has already grossed more than $1 billion.

Lucas told Rose that he has accepted that the franchise in now in other hands, but criticised the new film by stating: "They wanted to do a retro movie. I don't like that. Every movie, I worked very hard to make them different. I made them completely different - different planets, different spaceships to make it new."

Before the Disney deal came about, Lucas said he planned on writing and directing the sequels to his original trilogy. Then the sale occurred. Disney was not interested in his ideas for the follow-ups, so he stayed away from the production of Force Awakens.

He added: "They weren’t that keen to have me involved anyway, but if I get in there, I’m just going to cause trouble, because they’re not going to do what I want them to do. And I don’t have the control to do that anymore, and all I would do is muck everything up. And so I said, 'OK, I will go my way, and I’ll let them go their way.'"

Personally, I'm glad George Lucas isn't involved with Star Wars any more.

Lucas might have been a good writer back in the day - the original Star Wars/Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom - but that man shouldn't be let near a script nowadays.

As I've said before, filmgoers want more bang for their buck and from the state of the last three Star Wars films, as well as Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Lucas does not have what it takes to entertain a 21st Century audience any more.