Steve Coogan to play infamous porn impresario Paul Raymond

17 February 2012

Film4, Revolution Films and STUDIOCANAL have announced an all-star British line-up for Michael Winterbottom's Untitled Paul Raymond Story, a comedy-drama about the colourful business and personal life of renowned club proprietor and porn publisher Paul Raymond, written by Matt Greenhalgh (Nowhere Boy, Control).

Steve Coogan will play the eponymous Paul Raymond, who through his huge club and property empire which, along with his porn business, amassed a fortune of billions of pounds.

Anna Friel will play Paul's first wife Jean Raymond; Tamsin Egerton his glamour model girlfriend Fiona Richmond; and Imogen Poots will star as Paul's beloved daughter Debbie Raymond.

Steve Coogan says: "I'm very excited to be working with Michael Winterbottom again. Like 24 Hour Party People, we want to capture the life of an extraordinary man living in extraordinary times."

Michael Winterbottom says: "The film chronicles the colourful life and times of Paul Raymond, who began his career on stage as an end-of-the-pier mind-reader and ended his life the richest man in Britain.  It's the perfect role for Steve Coogan and it is great we have Anna Friel, Tamsin Egerton and Imogen Poots playing the three most important women in his life." 

Katherine Butler, Film4's Senior Commissioning Executive, says:  "Paul Raymond was a larger-than-life character and I can't think of a better combination of Matt, Michael and Steve, alongside an incredible line-up of British acting talent, to tell his extraordinary story.   It's so exciting to be working once again with Michael, Revolution and our great friends at STUDIOCANAL, on a film which promises to channel the essence of Paul's life - flamboyant, unconventional, risqué, fun, and ultimately, bittersweet."  

Jenny Borgars, STUDIOCANAL, says: "Michael is one of the most exciting film-makers in the UK with Steve one of our greatest comedians. We are delighted to be working with them and everyone at Revolution and Film4 to bring the crazy world of Paul Raymond to life."

The film reunites Winterbottom and Coogan following their critically-acclaimed collaborations 24 Hour Party People, A Cock and Bull Story and The Trip.  Film4 developed and co-financed the film, with STUDIOCANAL co-financing and having UK distribution rights, and selling internationally. LipSync will be providing all post production services for the film.

Melissa Parmenter is producing (Trishna, The Trip), with Film4's Katherine Butler, and STUDIOCANAL's Danny Perkins and Jenny Borgars Executive Producing. 

The film is a Revolution Films production in association with Baby Cow Productions. 

The film is a STUDIOCANAL and Film4 presentation in association with Anton Capital Entertainment, S.C.A. and Lip Sync Productions.

After starting his showbusiness career as a mind-reader in a cabaret act, Paul Raymond went on to become Britain's richest man and a modern King Midas.  With an entrepreneurial eye and a realisation that sex sells, he began building his empire of gentleman's clubs, porn magazines and nude theatre - provoking outrage and titillation in equal measure. 

Raymond's personal life was as colourful as his revue shows.  His marriage to Jean, a nude dancer and choreographer, ended in a difficult divorce when he met Fiona - a glamour model who became the famous pin-up star of his magazines and shows.  His daughter Debbie was the true love of his life, his business partner and heir to his empire - until her tragic and untimely death aged 36.  Three weeks later Raymond was named Britain's richest man and his fortune put at 1.5billion.

 

Editor's Notes

About Film4
Film4, headed by Tessa Ross, is Channel 4 Television's feature film division. Film4 develops and co-finances films and is known for working with the most innovative talent in the UK, whether new or established. Film4 has developed and co-financed many of the most successful UK films of recent years, films like Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours, Martin McDonagh's In Bruges, Steve McQueen's Hunger, Mike Leigh's Another Year, Chris Morris' Four Lions and Peter Mullan's NEDS.

Recent releases include Richard Ayoade's Submarine, Joe Cornish's directorial debut Attack The Block, Ben Palmer's The Inbetweeners Movie, Lone Scherfig's One Day, Ben Wheatley's Kill List, Paddy Considine's debut feature Tyrannosaur, Miranda July's The Future, Andrea Arnold's Wuthering Heights, Terence Davies' The Deep Blue Sea, Carol Morley's Dreams of a Life, Phyllida Lloyd's The Iron Lady and Steve McQueen's Shame.

Future releases include Pawel Pawlikowski's The Woman In The Fifth, Bart Layton's The Imposter, Sophie Fiennes' The Pervert's Guide to Ideology, Walter Salles' On The Road, Peter Strickland's Berberian Sound Studio, Roger Michell's Hyde Park on Hudson, Jonathan Glazer's Under the Skin, Ben Wheatley's Sightseers, Martin McDonagh's Seven Psychopaths and Danny Boyle's Trance.

For further information visit www.film4.com/productions

About STUDIOCANAL
STUDIOCANAL is the pan European film, production and sales distribution arm of French media group, Canal+. The UK arm, formerly known as Optimum Releasing, has established a reputation for an innovative approach to distribution and has enjoyed success with a varied mix of film titles across all genres.  A passion for film and commitment to creativity is central to all of STUDIOCANAL's activity.

2011 has seen the company enjoy its biggest ever box office returns in the UK with successes like Jaume Collet-Sera's Unknown, Duncan Jones' Source Code, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's The Tourist and Tomas Alfredson's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. 2012 will start equally strongly with Madonna's WE and Roman Polanski's Carnage. Past theatrical releases include Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth, Paul Haggis' In the Valley of Elah, Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis, Garth Jennings' Son of Rambow, Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler, Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Armando Iannucci's In the Loop, Anne Fontaine's Coco avant Chanel, Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker, Jacques Audiard's A Prophet, Roman Polanski's The Ghost, Chris Morris' Four Lions and Francois Ozon's Potiche.

Established in 2004, STUDIOCANAL Home Entertainment has quickly become one of the leading distributors in the UK Home Entertainment sector, boasting an active catalogue of more than 1500 titles. With sales handled by its joint venture Elevation, consistently ranked amongst the top ten UK distributors, STUDIOCANAL Home Entertainment has aggressively grown its market share year on year by combining classic library titles with critically and commercially successful new releases.

On the production front, STUDIOCANAL's plans remain ambitious. Rowan Joffe's Brighton Rock starring Sam Riley, Andrea Riseborough and Helen Mirren and Joe Cornish's Attack the Block, the first project to emerge from the pact with Big Talk, and Nick Murphy's debut feature The Awakening starring Rebecca Hall, Dominic West and Imelda Staunton have all been released. Mattias Hoene's Cockneys vs. Zombies is in post-production, while Ben Stassen's Sammy's Adventures: The Secret Passage is in production. Warp X has been established with Warp Films, BFI and Film4. The first two films from Warp X are feature directorial debuts from Paddy Considine with Tyrannosaur, a double prize-winner at Sundance this year, Richard Ayoade's hit Submarine, and Ben Wheatley's Kill List.

About LipSync
LipSync Productions are a Soho based film Investment Company that has invested in over 40 films.

Following on from a fantastic 2011 where films included We Need to Talk About Kevin, Shame, My Week with Marilyn, Jane Eyre, Deep Blue Sea, Birdsong and many others we are looking forward to an even better 2012.

Forthcoming releases include  Now is Good with Jeremy Irvine and Dakota Fanning, Lay The Favourite starring Bruce Willis and Catherine Zeta Jones., Coriolanus starring Ralph Fiennes, Great Expectations directed by Mike Newell and starring Jeremy Irvine and Helena Bonham Carter and Blood starring Paul Bettany and Mark Strong