The cast of influential, riotous Madchester biopic 24 Hour Party People have reunited for a special anniversary screening in Manchester.
Released in 2002, comedy drama 24 Hour Party People tells the story of Manchester’s incredible music scene from the late ‘70s to early ‘90s through the eyes of Factory Records’ founder Tony Wilson (Steve Coogan) who signed Happy Mondays and Joy Division among others.
Last night (Tuesday October 6) a special screening of 24 Hour Party People kicked off Manchester’s music and media industry conference Beyond The City followed by a Q&A featuring Coogan, director Michael Winterbottom and producer Andrew Eaton. They were joined on the red carpet by co-stars Christopher Eccleston, Paul Popplewell, Kieran O’Brien, John Thomson and Happy Monday’s Rowetta, who played herself in the movie.
Tony Wilson’s son Oli is the mastermind behind the Beyond The City event. “He is one of the authentic voices of Manchester,” said Coogan. “What he has inherited from his father is that he is genuinely disruptive and challenging in the best and most healthy way. Oli is actually his own person, not just Tony Wilson’s son. He is here to shake the tree.”
Speaking to NME at Beyond The Music, director Michael Winterbottom said that a lot of actors got involved in 24 Hour Party People because they loved the music. “They could imagine they were in the band. As someone who’s making films, it felt like music was much freer, much more enjoyable than cinema. A lot of bands know each other as teenagers [and] they sort of grow up together.
“That sort of grassroots up thing doesn’t really exist in cinema,” he continued. “When you want to make a film, you have to go to a big corporation or organisation and persuade someone at the top to give you a lot of money. So it’s very top down in cinema rather than bottom up. I think all of us just thought, ‘Well, let’s enjoy ourselves’.”
A fully remastered 4K 24 Hour Party People hits UK and Ireland cinemas this Friday (October 9) following 100 free independent cinema screenings this week. It’ll then be available digitally and on 4K UHD disc on October 26.