Fran The Man, a feature mockumentary, written by Richie Conroy (Two by Two, Malory Towers) and directed by Stephen Bradley (Last One Laughing, Noble) has begun filming in Dublin.
Fran Costello, the star of the football mockumentary series Fran will return in a feature length comedy that sees him working undercover to save football from match-fixing. Darragh Humphreys reprises his role from the series, surrounded by a new ensemble cast including Ardal O’Hanlon (Father Ted), Amy Huberman (Flora & Son), Risteard Cooper (Après Match), Toni O’Rourke (God’s Creatures) and Deirdre O’Kane (Noble). The original show aired on Setanta Sports and TV3 from 2009-2011. Conroy, the writer behind the original series Fran: Assistant Manager returns to write the film, and Stephen Bradley is directing.
The plot synopsis is as follows: “When non-league St Peter's Celtic are drawn to play titans Shamrock Rovers in the first round of the FAI Cup, assistant manager Fran Costello hopes his team will pull off one of the greatest shocks in football history. But it isn't long before the sh*t really hits the Fran…”
The film is being produced by Collie McCarthy’s Forty Foot Pictures (I Used to Be Famous) with support from Screen Ireland and RTE. Executive producers are Paul Grindey and Charles Moore for Viewfinder Film, Greg Martin for Screen Ireland, Richie Conroy, Jakub Brecka and Gregory Pepin.
“I’m very happy to be shooting Fran The Man with Richie Conroy’s very funny and clever script, under the banner of Collie McCarthy’s Forty Foot Pictures,” said director Stephen Bradley. “We have assembled an inspiring cast and crew and their energy will be up on screen in the form of loads of laughs and a whole lot of heart."
