Empire Online reports that if Tim Robbins has his way, there'll soon be a brand-new movie version of George Orwell's 1948-penned literary classic "1984" coming our way. Orwell's novel, which predicted a dark dystopian future in which a totalitarian government watches its subjects relentlessly, is terrifyingly prescient - especially today in a time when civil liberties are infringed by governments on a daily basis.

Robbins is currently directing a stage version of the novel for his LA theatre troupe, The Actors' Gang. That runs until April 8, but when the mag spoke to him yesterday, he said he doesn't want the 1984 experience to end there - "I've got a screenplay of it, and now I'm starting the process of trying to put it together".

"When we think about the authoritarian world that Orwell painted, the catchphrases are one thing, but when you read the book again, the specifics and relevance for now are stunning" says Robbins who confirms it could be some time off - "It's really a matter of whether I can raise the money for it. We'll see if there's an appetite for it. Orwell may have been twenty years off, but I know that I find it incredibly relevant".