Jonathan Melville: How stars got from Fringe Festival to the silver screen

GERARD BUTLER, Jude Law, Hugh Grant and Rachel Weisz may all have started their careers at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe but there's little chance of bumping into them this year as the 2009 event gets underway today.

Although comedy makes up the bulk of the 2098 shows on offer, you can still find plenty to satisfy you if it's movie-inspired entertainment you're after during the next three weeks.

Starting tonight, C the Film (C Venue, 7-31 August) looks like a haven for those who prefer something a bit different, with films on show ranging from exclusive independent films from Mumbai to new films from Cambridge, the strictly R-rated Provocative Cinema to classic short features by Mike Leigh.

Also opening today is the world premiere of Gone With The Script (Sweet ECA, 7-19 August) a movie-inspired improvisation show which creates an original film before your eyes every night. You pick the title and the actors do the rest, promising to sing and cry their way to the Oscars.

Something you probably won't be seeing at the Cineworld anytime soon is Lights! Camera! Improvise! (C Central, 7-31 August) where the public make up three movie titles, the actors improvise three trailers and the audience choose which one they want to watch.

Richard Sandling's Perfect Movie (The Canon's Gait, 8-30 August) is a film-themed comedy night in which the comedians, sketch acts and musicians on the bill perform specially written film-based material for the night.

Ever wondered what happened to your favourite movie characters and where they are now? If so The 80s Movie Flashback (Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 7-22 August) could have all the answers as comedians Rachel Anderson, Rik Moore and Fraser take you back in time.

Away from the comedy, Orson Welles fans (of which I am one) should check out Bitter Kiss Goodnight (Bedlam Theatre, 24-29 August): It's Christmas Eve, 1959. Welles' A Touch of Evil has graced the silver screen, effectively ending the classic period of film noir.

Live music, sound effects and innovative lighting are said to create a stylish cinematic world right before your eyes.

The work of Edinburgh's own Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is recreated in Lost World (Scottish Storytelling Centre, 12-31 August) in which a film is made before your very eyes as The Paper Cinema retell the author's ripping yarn. Live animation and original music transports you through Amazon jungles in search of prehistoric life.

Finally, Casting Symposium – From Fringe to Silver Screen (Festival Theatre, 19 August) is a chance to see how some of the actors mentioned here used the Fringe to launch their career in the company of the UK's leading casting service, Spotlight, and a panel of leading theatre and film professionals.

Who knows, the next Gerry Butler could be sitting beside you in the audience.