THE literary world is understandably horrified.

The news this week is that teen heartthrob Kristen Stewart is going to star in a romantic remake of 1984.

No, it’s not a joke.

Equals is an adaptation of the 1956 film starring Richard Burton, based on George Orwell’s classic novel about rebellion in a futuristic society.

And apparently the Twilight star is a tad nervous.

“I’m terrified of it.

Though it’s a movie with a really basic concept, it’s overtly ambitious,”

she said.

Now, it’s been a while since I was at school, but I recall the literary masterpiece about a privileged elite brutally ruling the masses, eradicating their individualism and controlling their thoughts being anything but basic.

“It’s a love story of epic, epic, epic proportion,”

she added. “I’m scared.”

Quite frankly, me too.

At least it isn’t a musical I suppose.

But the movie is unlikely to have literary types flocking to see it.

Chocolat author Joanne Harris, for example, said the very thought of it was her ‘Room 101’.

The Twitter generation will of course think 1984 was an absolute age ago and wonder why they’ve nicked the rights to that ailing reality TV show Big Brother.

Personally, I’m rather amused by the thought of millions of Twihards rushing out to buy 1984, assuming it will contain vampires and werewolves and Robert Pattinson.

A clue from my memory of GCSE English – it doesn’t.

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