Quick Takes: Ang Lee picks ‘Pi’ star

Oscar-winning director Ang Lee said he is counting on the innocent looks and storytelling ability of an Indian boy to assure the success of Yann Martel’s “Life of Pi,” the fantasy book he is making into a film.

Lee has chosen 17-year-old Suraj Sharma from 3,000 candidates for the title role of the boy who drifts on the open sea with a Bengal tiger and a hyena, saved after a ship carrying the rest of his family sinks.

“There is no dialogue, and he is not Tom Hanks,” Lee said of the boy. “The film is about humankind’s spiritual pursuit, and he must have an appealing temperament.”

Lee will shoot the entire film in 3-D in his home of Taiwan and in India. Filming is to start in January.

—Associated Press

Obama gibes on the rise

Late-night comics are over any initial reluctance to make President Barack Obama the butt of their jokes.

The Center for Media and Public Affairs found that Obama was the most joked-about political figure this year through Labor Day. The Washington-based think tank said Friday that Jay Leno, David Letterman, Jon Stewart and Jimmy Fallon joked about Obama a total of 309 times. Sarah Palin, with 137, was a distant second.

That’s in line with the level of jokes levied at Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Comics initially had a difficult time zeroing in on Obama — he was fourth behind John McCain, Bush and Palin as a butt of jokes during the year he was elected president.

—Associated Press

From Holmes to Dr. Frankenstein

“Sherlock” star Benedict Cumberbatch will swap great detective for mad scientist next year when he stars in a theater adaptation of “Frankenstein” to be directed by Danny Boyle of “Slumdog Millionaire.”

London’s National Theatre said Friday that Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller will alternate the roles of scientist Victor Frankenstein and his monstrous creation. The play is adapted from Mary Shelley’s Gothic horror story, and performances are due to begin in February.

Cumberbatch plays Sherlock Holmes in the BBC adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective stories, currently airing in the U.S. on PBS.

—Associated Press

Britain mints Lennon coin

Most British coins bear the likeness of Queen Elizabeth II, but now she’s been joined by John Lennon, honored Friday with a commemorative coin struck by the Royal Mint.

It was a triumph for Beatle fans, who used e-mail voting and social networks to buttress support for Lennon in a public poll to determine whose face should be on the special coin.

Lennon —whose songwriting credits include “Imagine” and “Strawberry Fields Forever” — came out far ahead of author Jane Austen and several other figures in the balloting.

“It’s entirely fitting that John Lennon has been chosen by the public in what would have been his 70th year,” said Dave Knight, director of Commemorative Coin at the Royal Mint. “The massive proportion of the vote he received shows clearly just how much his untimely death still resonates with the nation. He ranks alongside, and even ahead of, some of the greatest names in history.”

The former Beatle will join William Shakespeare, Winston Churchill, Charles Darwin and Florence Nightingale among British luminaries whose images have graced special coins.

—Associated Press

Rashad to direct Ebony’s ‘Raisin’

Phylicia Rashad, who won the Tony Award for best actress for the 2004 revival of “A Raisin in the Sun,” will move to the other side of the lights in March to direct a Los Angeles production of Lorraine Hansberry’s play at the Ebony Repertory Theatre.

Rashad will stage the production that is scheduled to open March 25 at the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center. Casting for the play will be announced at a later date, the theater company said.

Though she is best known for her role in the NBC series “The Cosby Show,” Rashad has worked frequently on the stage throughout her career. She previously directed for the stage in a 2007 production of August Wilson’s “Gem of the Ocean” at Seattle Repertory Theatre.

—David Ng

Hospital honors Rascal Flatts

The Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University in Nashville is naming its pediatric surgery center for Rascal Flatts.

The country music superstars have performed for children who are patients and donated more than $3 million to the hospital during the past five years.

The band, which includes Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney, performed for the children Friday after the announcement and handed out candy during trick-or-treat room visits.

—Associated Press