BAZ BAMIGBOYE: Him Tarzan, you Jane, me the U.S. ambassador

Samuel L. Jackson said he has to brush up on his diplomatic skills.

The celebrated actor will star with Alexander Skarsgard, Margot Robbie and Christoph Waltz in a 3D Tarzan movie that will shoot in the summer.

‘I will play George Washington Aloysius Williams,’ Jackson told me at the Vanity Fair Oscars Party.

‘He’s the United States Ambassador to the Congo.’

He pointed out Robbie, who was chatting with her Wolf Of Wall Street leading man Leonardo DiCaprio on the other side of the mammoth atrium — part of a stunning structure the length of two football pitches, constructed on a parking lot off Sunset Strip.

Jackson said Tarzan is one of two pictures he’ll be shooting in London, and other locations, this year. First up is Avengers: Age Of Ultron; then the Tarzan film, which David Yates will direct.

‘This is a Tarzan you’ve never seen before! There’s a lot of action,’ Jackson promised. ‘There’s Margot Robbie as Jane. And it’s in 3D.’

The Vanity Fair bash boasted wall-to-wall stars. A beefed-up Ben Affleck told me he’s about to shoot a new Batman movie.

Jane Fonda remarked how she felt DiCaprio’s stature in Hollywood had grown, even though he lost the best actor race to Matthew McConaughey. ‘He’s more respected than ever,’ Fonda said, as we were offered a silver tray of baby cupcakes bearing the names of the nominees. I popped Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep and Lupita Nyong’o into my mouth (not all at once!) and wrapped Judi Dench in a napkin for later.

I wouldn’t have minded taking home the magnificent 92ft long chandelier installation, with its 450 illuminated globes. Hard to fit that in the pocket, though.

Watch out for...

Emma Thompson and bass-baritone Bryn Terfel, who are delivering landmark performances in a concert version of Stephen Sondheim’s musical Sweeney Todd. The show runs at the Lincoln Centre’s Avery Fisher Hall in New York until tomorrow night only.

Lonny Price directed, with music provided by the venerable New York Philharmonic under the baton of Alan Gilbert.

I hadn’t seen Emma sing on stage since Me And My Girl, when she appeared opposite Robert Lindsay, and she captured the darkly comic undertones of Sweeney’s pie‑making partner Mrs Lovett sublimely.

There’s chatter about Bryn and Emma repeating the concert in London, but it’s a question of finding a set of compatible dates.

‘I’d do it again in a shot,’ Emma told me backstage after Wednesday night’s performance. She explained how she has had to look after her voice — she arrived in NY after the Golden Globes with bronchitis and had to fight that off before starting rehearsals.

Ramin Karimloo, who plays Jean Valjean in a new production of the Claude-Michel Schonberg, Alain Boublil and Herbert Kretzmer musical Les Miserables, which is back on Broadway and previewing at the Imperial Theatre. Karimloo was born to play Valjean. His big voice and matinee-idol looks are just right for the part.

I missed some aspects of the original Trevor Nunn and John Caird production, but I understand Cameron Mackintosh’s desire to try something new. After all, next year marks Les Miz’s 30th anniversary.

The score is still rousing, and I was at once transported by the songs of revolution. ‘There’s still life in the old girl,’ Mackintosh remarked, from the back of the stalls.

As I left through a back door onto 46th Street, I was surprised to see scores of fans, waiting for Karimloo to leave the stage door. ‘He’s like a rock god!’ said one woman breathlessly.
Les Miz will be huge all over again.