Ryder and Fiennes set for Darwin roles

Winona Ryder and Joseph Fiennes have signed up to feature in a new film based on an internet site.

17:18 11 October 2004

Winona Ryder and Joseph Fiennes have signed up to feature in a new film based on an internet site.

The Darwin Awards takes its name from a website which bestows posthumous awards on people who die through extreme stupidity.

Ryder and Fiennes will play the lead roles in the romantic comedy about a forensic detective (Fiennes) and an insurance claims investigator (Ryder) who take a road trip to create a profile of a potential Darwin Award winner.

The name of the awards is derived from the fact that the website recognises stupidity so colossal that it removes those responsible from the gene pool, thereby improving future generations.

Written and to be directed by Finn Taylor, the film also has a strong supporting cast, including David Arquette, Alessandro Novola and Emily Mortimer.

The internet site has given its tongue-in-cheek awards to people who have died in unusual ways, such as the man who was crushed by a drinks machine while trying to wrestle a free can out of it or the thief who tried to steal a brace holding up a concrete slab - it fell, crushing him.