CALL Belfast the new Irish Hollywood. A galaxy of stars will soon take over the city as they begin filming City of Ember, a Tom Hanks-produced film that stars Bill Murray, Tim Robbins and Martin Landau. Production has already commenced, so celebrity sightings shouldn't be far behind. The film is based on the popular sci-fi novel by Jeanne du Prau novel, which tells the story of an underground city whose power generator is failing. Hanks' company Playtone owns the film rights, and is sinking $50 million into the production. It's due for release in October of next year.

The film will be shot at the Harland & Wolff shipyard, where a former paint hall has been transformed into the film's city. Harland & Wolff is also where the Titanic luxury liner - not the Oscar winning film of the same name - was created.

The Hanks contingent isn't the only one roaming around the city, which not so long ago was primarily known for violence between Catholics and Protestants. Actress Heather Graham, according to the Belfast Sunday Life newspaper, has been spending time at White's Tavern in the city while filming Buy, Borrow or Steal.

"I play a girl who really wants to get pregnant but my boyfriend breaks up with me and I find out I have only one egg left. It is a comedy - it is ridiculous, crazy things happen and it is really fun," says Graham of her role. Parts of the film were also shot in Co. Down.

Don't feel too sorry for the Irish Republic, which has attracted the cream of the Hollywood film industry for years thanks to great financial incentives. Kim Cattrall of Sex and the City fame is due in Co. Wicklow this month to star alongside Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) in My Boy Jack, about writer Rudyard Kipling's search for his son who went missing during World War I.