GFF 2012: In Praise of R-Pattz

Cedric Diggory, Edward Cullen, and now Georges Duroy. Twenty-five year-old heart-throb Robert Pattinson – affectionately known as R-Pattz – has landed another role that will have team Edward alumnus going weak at the knees in the screen adaptation of Guy de Maupassant's Bel Ami. Stepping out of the sparkling vampiric skin of the chasted Cullen, and into the dapper façade of a man a little more attuned to the ladies' needs. Already hearts have been set alight in Glasgow, as frenzied fans have been demanding news on his arrival since the GFF programme was revealed. (Tough luck Twihards, he's staying in LA to sip Cristal from Kristen Stewart's naval.)

These Pattz devotees are known for their own particular brand of fervour – one that sees them snooping outside his parents' estate, riled all the more by news he isn't home. One thing is certain, there'll be fireworks at the film festival's UK premiere this Wednesday (22 Feb).

If the (albeit on screen) presence of Mr Pattinson isn't enough to make you want to lock up your daughters, Bel Ami is set to encourage further arduous swoons at this week's screenings – and not only from the teenagers –as his character, Georges Duroy, beds Paris's finest, played by the likes of Christina Ricci, Uma Thurman, and Kristin Scott Thomas. Ooh la la!

With Pattinson casting off the burden of sullen Cullen, forging ahead as Twilight fans breathlessly await the final chapter later this year, Bel Ami seems an interesting next move. Although Water For Elephants recast him as a more traditional leading man, its focus on forbidden love and dark debarring forces failed to preclude a good long mope. Instead, Bel Ami and an upcoming project with David Cronenberg – who has already pronounced Pattinson as the best actor with whom he's ever worked – seem certain to turn the ice-cold vampire into a warm-blooded movie star of great repute.