BAFTA-award winning Irish director Declan Lowney (Little Britain, Father Ted) is set to direct a new film about a British ski jumper Eddie 'The Eagle' Edwards, the unlikely hero of the 1988 Winter Olympics.
Steve Coogan (Alan Partridge, A Cock and Bull Story) will take on the role of Edwards in this comic bio-pic, which tells the tale of ‘The Eagle’s disastrous Olympic performance, where he came last in both the 70m and 90m ski-jump categories.
The only British applicant for ski-jumping, Edwards was a part-time plasterer who was 20lbs heavier than his competitors, self-funded, afraid of heights and far-sighted. The as yet untitled film will be produced by John Heyman and Rupert Maconick.
Speaking to IFTN Lowney said “Steve Coogan is perfect for the part. He does geeky underdog particularly well, but he’s also capable of the warmth, intimacy and intelligence we need to really get inside the character’s head.”
David Walliams (Little Britain, A Cock and Bull Story) is in negotiations for the role of the head of the British Snow Sports Alliance (BOSA), who tried to stop Edwards competing in the games. The role of Edward’s American trainer has yet to be cast.
The $15 million budget film will be shot from January to March of next year, with ten weeks on location in Calgary, Canada, home of the ’88 Olympics and one week in the UK. Pre-production is expected to begin this October, with the film being released in Winter next year, coincidentally the 20th Anniversary of Edward’s ski-jump. Lowney revealed that Edwards himself will have a cameo role in the film.
The script was penned by Sean Macaulay, with an original draft by Simon Kelton, and is currently being polished by Coogan and writing partner Henry Normal. Macauley is the LA film critic with The Times newspaper and sister of Sarah Macauley, wife of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Since the success of ‘Father Ted’, Lowney has gone on to direct episodes of ‘Cold Feet’, ‘Happiness’ and ‘Little Britain’, for which he received a Best Comedy Series BAFTA. In 2000 he directed his first feature, the IFTA-nominated ‘Wild About Harry’, starring Brendan Gleeson.
“I'm very excited at the prospect of playing 'Eddie' Edwards,” said Coogan. “When I read the story I found it funny but more surprisingly quite moving. Quirky, dysfunctional, slightly nerdy, but his balls must be made of titanium."
“Eddie Edwards is a very funny character and I think we get a lot of enjoyment from his eternal optimism and spirit,” said Lowney. “But we also need to empathise with Eddie and his mad dreams. At the core, this is an intimate story of one man’s personal triumph against the odds, but the scale of his pursuit and his eccentric personality give the story an edge of epic and exhilarating proportions.”
Coogan is currently filming in Hawaii on Ben Stiller’s 'Tropic Thunder' alongisde Owen Wilson and Jack Black.
