» The scandal is still selling newspapers, magazines and making Oprah millions, so it’s entirely unsurprising that the story of Lance Armstrong’s downfall is being made into a film.

JJ Abrams (Star Trek, Cloverfield) has snapped up the rights to Juliet Macur’s book Cycle Of Lies: The Fall Of Lance Armstrong.

Well, in reality, it’s not even a book yet – just a proposal for a book from a New York Times journalist. But it will be a book. And that book will be a best-seller.

This isn’t the first time someone has tried to make a film about the cyclist, and until last year there were a couple in the works that focused on his triumphs and how much of a swell guy he is. Unsurprisingly, those plans have been shelved, and now all focus is on him being a liar, cheat, and all-round nozzle of a man.

As for who will star, nothing is even close to being decided. The pro-Lance films had names like Jake Gyllenhaal and Matt Damon attached, but will they be interested now the job is less about lycra and being awesome, more about needles and being massive scumbags.

» With his second career as a restaurant critic, Michael Winner, pictured top, has been a punchline in recent years, but in remembering his life it’s important to remember his talents as a filmmaker. Of course, when he died earlier this week, those same critics and commentators who mocked him for being posh, for being rich and for doing adverts, lined up to heap posthumous praise on him – although they still managed to do so while sneering at his cinematic accomplishments.

His excellent work with Oliver Reed in The Jokers and Hannibal Brooks is often overlooked, and 1974’s violent revenge thriller Death Wish has moved into parody, but it’s a damn fine film and still uncomfortable viewing, even by today’s post-Saw standards.

Last year, an ailing Winner said: “I’ve had an incredible life. Brando was my best friend, Mitchum, Burt Lancaster, even though he tried to kill me three times... I can look back and say I have lived a life that very few people alive have lived. I have done 40 major movies with the biggest stars in the world.”

Michael Winner – more than insurance adverts and indigestion.

» Film fans looking for something a bit different should keep an eye on the Gulbenkian Cinema in Canterbury. On Thursday, February 7, there is a Dickensian double-bill, with the new film Magwitch – shot entirely in Kent – followed by a screening of David Lean’s wonderful 1946 adaptation of Great Expectations. There will also be an introduction and Q&A from Film 2013’s Antonia Quirke.

Also in February are two LGBT films, Call Me Kuchu, about Uganda’s homophobic legislation (Tuesday, February 5) and Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same (Tuesday, February 12). I think one might be more serious than the other. Find out more from www.kent.ac.uk/gulbenkian/

» Leonardo DiCaprio has made three films in two years, and now he’s tired. So tired he’s going to take some time off. The poor little lamb said: “I am a bit drained. I’m going to take a long, long break. I’ve done three films in two years and I’m just worn out.”

I think Leo is an amazing actor, but come on now. Compare his workrate to someone like Bryan Cranston who was in seven film in 2012 alone, or Liam Neeson who notched up five in the same time span, and he starts to look a bit lazy. Anyway, I need to go now. I’ve written 680 words and am utterly exhausted. My poor brain needs to sleep until next week’s column...