Movies - 24 Hour Party People

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	Movies - 24 Hour Party People

24 Hour Party People is a 2002 film about Manchester's popular music community from 1977 to 1997, and specifically about Factory Records. It was written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and directed by Michael Winterbottom.

It begins with the punk rock era, and moves through the 1980s into the "Madchester" scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The main character is Tony Wilson, the head of Factory Records (played by comedian Steve Coogan), and the narrative largely follows his career, while also covering the major Factory artists, especially Joy Division and New Order, A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, and The Happy Mondays.

The movie is a dramatisation based on a combination of real events, rumours, urban legends and the imaginations of the scriptwriter - as the movie makes clear. In one scene featuring Howard Devoto (played by Martin Hancock), the real Devoto, an extra in the scene, turns to the camera and says "I definitely don't remember this happening". Several other people from the era of the film appear in cameos, such as Mani from the Stone Roses, Vini Reilly, Paul Ryder, Mark E. Smith and Tony Wilson himself. Rowetta, the Happy Mondays backing singer, plays herself in the film. The actors are often intercut with real contemporary concert footage shot, including the famous Sex Pistols gig at the Lesser Free Trade Hall.

The ensemble cast includes:

Steve Coogan
- Tony Wilson
Shirley Henderson
- Lindsay Wilson (Tony's first wife)
Paddy Considine
- Rob Gretton (Joy Division/New Order manager)
Lennie James
- Alan Erasmus
(co-founder of Factory)
Andy Serkis
- Martin Hannett (producer)
Sean Harris
- Ian Curtis (Joy Division singer)
John Simm
- Bernard Sumner (Joy Division/New Order guitarist)
Danny Cunningham - Shaun Ryder
(Happy Mondays' singer)
Dave Gorman - John The Postman
Peter Kay
- Don Tonay

plus cameos by:

Smug Roberts
Clint Boon
Martin Coogan
Rowetta Satchell
Simon Pegg
Rob Brydon
Mark E. Smith

and also Howard Devoto as a toilet cleaner.

A novelization, 24 Hour Party People, based on the screenplay for the film, was written by Tony Wilson and released in 2003. The title (and opening theme) for the film comes from the song "Twenty Four Hour Party People" by the Happy Mondays, from their album Squirrel and G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile (White Out).

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for 24 Hour Party People ]

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