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Philip Seymour Hoffman gets on The Boat that Rocked
PasteMagazine, 5 March 2008 What do you get when you put Philip Seymour Hoffman on a boat with lauded rom-com writer Richard Curtis and Ed from Shaun of the Dead? And no, it's not the Mayercraft Carrier... Universal Pictures and Working Title Films just announced that they will be moving forward with production on the historically-grounded comedy 'The Boat that Rocked'. The film is based on the true story of pirate radio stations that broadcasted from boats off the coast of England during the late 1960s when BBC was playing a mere two hours of rock music per day. Radio Rock, as it is called in the film, broadcasted its sonic goodness 24-7 to fill the void left by standard (ahem, legal) British radio. And by the history books, half the population of Britain, or 25 million people, listened. Kind of like an old-school, radio version of the original Napster, but so much cooler because these guys were on boats. Bill Nighy plays a different kind of pirate as Quentin, the ringleader of the radio charlatans taking over the airwaves. Nighy is set against Hoffman, who plays the formidable American DJ the Count, and Rhys Ifans, who portrays the UK's favorite DJ, Gavin, who is trying to reclaim his throne. Nick Frost (the aforementioned Ed) plays Dave, the hilarious co-broadcaster, and Kenneth Branagh plays British Minister Dormandy, who tries to keep their music off the airwaves. Also appearing in the film are Tom Sturridge, Jack Davenport, Ralph Brown, Chris O'Dowd and January Jones. Curtis wrote the script, and this will be his second time at the director's stand; however, it is a first time for him to direct something that is not a romantic comedy. His writing credits include Love Actually, Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill, not to mention that his trophy shelf boasts an Emmy, a Writers Guild of America award and two BAFTAs. Here's a hoping a killer, aquatically themed soundtrack is in the works. Plus, did we mention Philip Seymour Hoffman is in this one?
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