Jane Austen and executive demands

There is nothing that the geeky Davos guests like better than rubbing shoulders with celebs.
One of this year's main draws is Emma Thompson, the actress, who turned the tables on her fans here with a morality tale about corporate mentality.

She told a gathering that after she delivered the manuscript for her film Sense and Sensibility to Columbia, she was met with a surprisingly enthusiastic response from a senior executive. "That's great," the exec enthused, "and can you novelise the script for us as well?"

Ms Thompson politely pointed out that the novelisation had taken place a few years earlier. The exec sympathised: "As a human being, I know that. As an executive, I need the novel."

From David Charter in Davos