Stan & Ollie will tell the story of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, showcasing the fractious friendship that held together Hollywood’s first truly great comedy duo. It will brandish the promising new comedic duo of Steve Coogan (The Trip) as Laurel and John C. Reilly (Kong: Skull Island) as Hardy.
The premiere has just been announced as the closing night gala of the 62nd BFI London Film Festival, on October 21, and a smart new poster has been released to celebrate – which shows Coogan and Reilly in costume, completely hidden by a newspaper…
The film will be directed by Jon S. Baird, who adapted Irvine Welsh’s novel Filth in 2013, and the screenplay will be written by Jeff Pope (Philomena).
As Baird expresses in the premiere announcement:
“I’m really proud to be able to give the film its world premiere in London; a city that’s so dear to myself and I know was to Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Stan & Ollie, at its heart, is a love story between old friends, who just happen to be two of the most iconic comedic characters in Hollywood’s history.”
Joining stars John C. Reilly and Steve Coogan in the Stan & Ollie cast are Danny Huston, Nina Arianda, Shirley Henderson.
Stan Laurel came over from England with Charlie Chaplin and Ollie played a variety of comic and heavy roles in silent movies, including a version of The Wizard of Oz. They were thrown together by Hal Roach (played by Danny Huston in the movie,) and became lifelong friends.
“Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are my heroes,” Pope said in the 2016 statement that announced the project. “When I watch their movies, in my head it is forever a Saturday morning and I am six years old watching the TV at home utterly spellbound. I am aware of the huge responsibility of bringing their characters to life, but I have not treated the boys with kid gloves or looked at them through rose-colored specs. They are living and breathing characters, with flaws and shortcomings. The research into this story threw up so many details and facts that I had no idea about. But everything I have done has come from a place of love and more than anything else I hope this shines through.”