UNIVERSAL PICTURES AND WORKING TITLE FILMS ANNOUNCE START OF PRODUCTION ON 'THE BOAT THAT ROCKED', THE NEW COMEDY FROM WRITER/DIRECTOR RICHARD CURTIS

UNIVERSAL PICTURES AND WORKING TITLE FILMS ANNOUNCE START OF PRODUCTION ON 'THE BOAT THAT ROCKED', THE NEW COMEDY FROM WRITER/DIRECTOR RICHARD CURTIS

Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans, Nick Frost and Kenneth Branagh Star

LONDON, March 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Universal Pictures and Working Title Films announced today that principal photography began March 3, 2008, on "The Boat That Rocked", the new comedy about rock and roll, boys and a boat from filmmaker Richard Curtis (Love Actually, Four Weddings and a Funeral). Inspired by the British pirate radio revolution in the '60s, the majority of the film's shoot will take place in a large rusty metal fishing trawler moored off the coast of England in the very waters that kept the rock of the '60s booming into the U.K.

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In 1966 -- arguably British pop music's finest era -- the BBC played only two hours of rock and roll every week. But pirate radio blasted rock and pop from the high seas 24 hours a day. And 25 million people -- more than half the population of Britain -- listened to these pirates every single day.

"The Boat That Rocked" is an ensemble comedy in which the romance takes place between the young people of the '60s and pop music. It's about a band of rogue DJs that captivated Britain, playing the music that defined a generation and standing up to a government that, incomprehensibly, preferred jazz.

"The Boat That Rocked" is written by Richard Curtis, the Emmy-, BAFTA- and WGA Award-winning filmmaker whose projects have included films from Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones's Diary and Love Actually to Mr. Bean and Blackadder. It will also be directed by Curtis-- his second directorial outing, but first non-rom-com.

Leading the cast are Philip Seymour Hoffman ("Charlie Wilson's War", "The Savages") as The Count, a big, brash, American god of the airwaves; Bill Nighy ("Love Actually", "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End") as Quentin, the boss of Radio Rock -- a pirate radio station in the middle of the North Sea that's populated by an eclectic crew of rock and roll DJs; Rhys Ifans ("Notting Hill", "Elizabeth: The Golden Age") as Gavin, the greatest DJ in Britain who has just returned from his drug tour of America to reclaim his rightful position; Nick Frost ("Hot Fuzz", "Shaun of the Dead") as Dave, an ironic, intelligent and cruelly funny co-broadcaster; and Kenneth Branagh ("Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", "Hamlet") as British Minister Dormandy, a fearsome government official out for blood against the drug takers and lawbreakers of a once-great nation. The film also stars Tom Sturridge, Jack Davenport, Ralph Brown, Chris O'Dowd and January Jones.

Working Title's Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner (see credits below) produce the film with Hilary Bevan Jones (television's "State of Play", "The Girl in the Cafe"). Danny Cohen ("Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman", "This Is England") is the film's cinematographer; Mark Tildesley ("28 Days Later ...", "Millions") serves as the production designer. The Boat That Rocked's editor is Emma Hickox ("Kinky Boots", "A Walk to Remember"). The costume designer is Joanna Johnston ("The Spiderwick Chronicles", "War of the Worlds"). The comedy is executive-produced by Working Title's Debra Hayward and Liza Chasin.

About Working Title Films

Founded in 1983, Working Title has made more than 85 films that have grossed over $4 billion worldwide. Its films have won six Academy Awards(R), 26 BAFTA Awards and prestigious prizes at the Cannes and Berlin International Film Festivals. The company's commercial and critical hits include "The Interpreter", "About a Boy", "Notting Hill", "Elizabeth", "Fargo", "Dead Man Walking", "Bean", "High Fidelity", "Johnny English", "Billy Elliot", "Four Weddings and a Funeral", "Bridget Jones's Diary", "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason", "O Brother, Where Art Thou?", "Love Actually", "Shaun of the Dead", "Pride & Prejudice", "Nanny McPhee", "United 93", "Mr. Bean's Holiday", "Hot Fuzz", "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" and "Atonement". Working Title has stepped into theater production with the hugely popular "Billy Elliot the Musical". Forthcoming releases are "Wild Child", "Hippie Hippie Shake", "Burn After Reading", "The Green Zone", "State of Play" and "The Soloist".

About Universal Pictures

Universal Pictures is a division of Universal Studios (http://www.universalstudios.com/). Universal Studios is part of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production and marketing of entertainment, news and information to a global audience. Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80% owned by General Electric, with 20% controlled by Vivendi.

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Source: Universal Pictures

CONTACT: Kate Wyhowska, London, +442073071364, or Alissa Grayson, LA,
+1-818-777-4739, both of Universal Pictures

Web site: http://www.universalstudios.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment