Dame Judi Dench will have an unlikely new partner in her latest movie, when she teams up with Hollywood hardman Vin Diesel. The renowned actress is in final negotiations to appear in The Chronicles Of Riddick, the sequel to surprise sci-fi hit Pitch Black.

    In the first movie, a relatively unknown Vin played Richard Riddick, a dangerous criminal whose super-sensitive eyes mean he can only see in the dark. In the sequel, the fearsome fugitive finds himself caught up in an intergalactic crusade.

    Judi is to depict an ethereal ambassador who helps our antihero unearth his origins. The 68-year-old actress is no stranger to perilous missions, having played M in the last four 007 flicks.

    And Vin, whose extreme action character XXX was touted as being the US answer to James Bond, has made no secret of his admiration for the venerable British star. While visiting London a few months ago, he went to see her perform in the play Breath of Life opposite fellow Dame Maggie Smith. Security guards (rather bravely) turned him away when he went to the stage door in the hope of meeting her, but that didn't stop him sending a bouquet of flowers to show his respect.

    Nice to know the muscle-bound star has a soft side, though it's unlikely to be evident when he dons the signature shades that allow Riddick to endure the hours of daylight.

    LOS ANGELES (The Hollywood Reporter) --- Judi Dench is in final negotiations to star opposite Vin Diesel in Universal Pictures' "Chronicles of Riddick" for writer-director David Twohy, Radar Pictures and One Race Prods. Production begins in Vancouver in April.  At the same time, Colm Feore has come aboard to play the lead villain in the project, which is a sequel to the 2000 film "Pitch Black," about an intergalactic prisoner named Riddick who has the ability to see in the dark.  In the sequel, Riddick, now a hunted man, finds himself in the middle of two opposing forces in a major crusade. Feore will play Lord Marshal, a warrior priest who is the leader of a sect that is waging the 10th and perhaps final crusade 500 years in the future. Dench will play Aereon, an ambassador from the Elemental race. She is an ethereal being who helps Riddick unearth his origins.  "Both Judi and Colm are formidable talents, both classically trained, and I look forward to bringing these two bright stars into our dark, new universe," Twohy said.  Scott Kroopf, Tom Engelman and Diesel are producing the project. Ted Field, George Zakk and Peter McGregor Scott are executive producing. Universal president of production Scott Stuber, senior vp Donna Langley and director of development Jeffrey Kirschenbaum are overseeing.  Dench, repped by management company Parseghian Planco and Tor Belfrage in the United Kingdom, is starring in the West End production of David Hare's play "The Breath of Life."   Feore, repped by Endeavor and his Canadian agent Gayle Abrams, is onscreen in "Chicago" and "National Security." He next appears in New Line Cinema's "Highwaymen."

    BRITAIN’S premier theatrical dame, Judi Dench, has found an unlikely champion. Vin Diesel, the latest movie action hero, is fighting to turn the Yorkshire-born star into the highest-paid British film actress in Hollywood.

    Diesel, a 6ft 3in former bouncer from New York turned film star, was bowled over by Breath of Life, Dench’s latest West End triumph. He is now demanding she appear as his co-star in a proposed trilogy of big-budget science fiction films to be called The Chronicles of Riddick.

    The 35-year-old actor, known for his gruff voice, bald head and henna tattoos, said he wanted to introduce some “class” into the science fiction genre, but was shocked to find out how relatively little classical British actresses are traditionally paid in Hollywood and has gone onto the offensive to change that.

    While Diesel will be paid £9m ($14 Million) and a share of box office receipts for each Riddick movie, he has told Universal, the studio funding the £80m ($128 Million) project, that he wants an “exceptional” pay packet for his proposed co-star. “The dame will not ask for it herself, so I will use my muscle to get it,” he has told colleagues. Although negotiations will not be finished before the end of February, Hollywood sources believe Dench could earn up to £4.5m ($7 Million) a film.

    Although such a salary may be overshadowed by the £20m picked up by Julia Roberts and Tom Cruise, such a deal would represent the biggest breakthrough for a British actress since Hampstead-born Elizabeth Taylor was paid a then-record $1m for playing Cleopatra in 1963.

    Dench’s representatives remain wary about the prospect. “If she had that kind of money in the bag, I would have gone home to celebrate by now, and I am still here on the phone,” said an aide. Yet sources at Universal said they were “listening positively” to Diesel’s requests.

    If the deal is signed, Dench, 68, will play Aerona, an ambassador from an alien race who helps Diesel’s character Riddick, a convict on the run, escape from a dangerous planet that he has tried to despoil.

    “Dame Judi will help him to find his roots, and also kick butt when needed,” said a Universal executive.

    Dench, whose stage debut was as a snail in a school production, has been a Hollywood favourite since she was nominated for an Oscar for her role as Queen Victoria in the 1997 film Mrs Brown. But most of her work, as with many serious British actresses, has been in films funded by Miramax, famous for paying its stars relatively little.

    Harvey Weinstein, boss of Miramax, is believed to have paid his “favourite dame” just £100,000 to play Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love. It earned Dench her Oscar as best supporting actress.

    Kate Winslet, who was paid £1.8m for Titanic, cut her rate to £300,000 to appear in the Oscar-nominated Iris because it also starred Dench. The former model Sophie Dahl has told friends she is working “virtually for bed and board” in Miramax’s forthcoming drama People I Know, but she is sharing the screen with Al Pacino and Kim Basinger.

    Nor are such economics restricted to art films: Kate Beckinsale was paid just £150,000 to play the female lead in Pearl Harbor, the £100m blockbuster.