Project Detail

Wild About Harry

Synopsis

Set in Ireland, Wild About Harry tells the story of chat show host Harry McKee (Brendan Gleeson), once a loving husband but now a drunken and unfaithful slob. His wife (Amanda Donohoe) is washing her hands of him, but on the eve of their divorce he is beaten up and falls into a week-long coma. When he wakes up he has forgotten 25 years of his life. Although he doesn't know it, Harry has been given the chance to get back his life, his family and his self-respect - if only he could remember how it all went wrong.



Wild About Harry re-unites writer Colin Bateman with producer Robert Cooper, following 1998's Divorcing Jack. Bateman came up with the idea for the film from a newspaper clipping about a man who had been involved in an accident and couldn't remember anything after the age of 18.



However, it took four years to hone the script. First-time feature director Declan Lowney was brought on board early in the project. "Declan's talent shone out, particularly in the area of humour, but also in its romantic sensibility," says Cooper.



Two years later and the film was finally financed and cast. Lowney had Brendan Gleeson in mind from the beginning for the role of Harry, although the part of Ruth proved harder to fill. "Once we met Amanda [Donohoe], we felt she had the qualities we were looking for," says producer Laurie Borg.



James Nesbitt plays the role of a crazed politician who is stalking Harry, while George Wendt of Cheers fame plays the part of Harry's TV producer.



Wild About Harry was filmed in Ireland over an eight-week shoot in autumn 1999. Its first screening was at Cannes in 2000.

Details

Year
2000
Type of film
Features
Director
Declan Lowney
Music
Murray Gold.
Dir
Declan Lowney. 1999. 35mm. 100mins. Exec prods: Nik Powell, Rainer Mockert, David Thompson. Co-exec prods: Kevin Jackson, Gary Smith, Chris Craib. Prods: Robert Cooper, Laurie Borg. Scr: Colin Bateman. DoP: Ron Fortunato. Prod des: Claire Kenny. Ed: Tim Waddell. Main cast: Brendan Gleeson, Amanda Donohoe, James Nesbitt, Adrian Dunbar, Bronagh Gallagher, Ruth McCabe, Doon MacKichan. Budget: £2.5m. Funding: MBP, BBC Films, Arts Council of Northern Ireland.

Categories

Production Status

Production Company

SCALA PRODUCTIONS 15 Frith Street London W1V 5TS Tel: (44) 20 7734 7060 Fax: (44) 20 74373248

Sales Company

Winchester Films (44) 20 7851 6500 Territories sold: Australia, Canada, Eastern Europe, Germany, Iceland, Israel, Scandinavia

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