PROFESSOR Stephen Hawking, Britain’s world-renowned physicist, is to switch from theories of multidimensional space to the three dimensions of the Imax cinema by starring in a film that sets out his ideas on the origins and fate of the universe.

The film, Beyond the Horizon, will tackle some of the most daunting theories espoused by Hawking and other cosmologists, from the idea that space has up to 11 dimensions to the cause of the big bang itself.

The project is certain to boost Hawking’s public status. He will take the starring role and narrate a soundtrack explaining cosmological concepts as they are brought to life by advanced computer graphics.

His aim is to popularise science, but for many the appeal could also lie in the ability of an Imax 3D film to make Hawking and his wheelchair appear to come right out of the screen into the audience.

Hawking’s first book, A Brief History of Time, is among the most popular science books ever written, having sold more than 10m copies in 40 languages since its publication in 1988. The book became the inspiration for a feature film in 1991 and for an American television series in 1997.

Since then Hawking has become a scientific icon, playing himself in episodes of The Simpsons and Star Trek.

The storyline for the new film is simple — designed purely as a vehicle for Hawking’s theories about the origins of the universe, space and time.

He is approached by Olivia, a reporter covering religious affairs for The Times, sister paper of The Sunday Times.

She is writing a story about cosmology and the meaning of existence to commemorate the work of Albert Einstein and his special theory of relativity.

Olivia, who will be played by Lina Patel, is a science sceptic, believing that science holds few answers to the big questions of life.

However, her interview with Hawking leads to more than she had bargained for, including a whirlwind journey through time and space, back to the origins of it all — the big bang.

Leonard Mlodinow, a physicist and former scriptwriter on Star Trek, is working with Hawking on the film project.

Mlodinow said that it would also include dramatised interviews with Einstein and other famous physicists such as Richard Feynman. “It will be like Groundhog Day meets Star Trek,” he said.

“In the end we leave it ambiguous whether it was all a dream or reality . . . but what we do show is how much scientists have developed their view of the universe and our place in it over the past 100 years.”

Hawking apart, the real star of the film is likely to be the computer-generated images that will try to simplify some of cosmology’s most complex ideas.

One aim of the film will be to silence the critics who point out that although A Brief History of Time sold millions of copies, few people actually get beyond the first few pages.

This is not necessarily Hawking’s fault. Modern cosmology is based on mathematical concepts and calculations and explaining them in words is notoriously difficult.

Computerised graphics, by contrast, offer far more opportunities to bring equations and concepts to life.

However, the complex graphics being demanded by Hawking need so much computing power that he has asked America’s National Center for Supercomputing Applications to help to create the simulations.

He has also called in Nasa, the American space agency, whose scientists will work with him on the film.

Christopher Harding, executive producer with Universe Partners, the company behind the project, said the production was in its early stages so it was impossible to say when the film would be released.

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