The Wagner/Cuban Company’s Magnolia Pictures announced today that they have acquired North American rights to Alan Partridge, a new comedy starring Steve Coogan as the titular Alan Patrtridge, a beloved cult character he created over twenty years ago. The film is a hit in the UK, where it was released on August 7th (as Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa), and it will have its North American premiere at the 2013 New York Film Festival next month.
A Baby Cow/Studiocanal production, Alan Partridge was directed by Declan Lowney, and written by Rob Gibbons, Neil Gibbons, Steve Coogan, Armando Iannucci and Peter Baynham. Producers are Kevin Loader and Henry Normal, with Rob Gibbons, Neil Gibbons, Armando Iannucci, Danny Perkins, Joe Oppenheimer and Christine Langan as Executive Producers.
Alan Partridge finds Alan at the center of a siege, when a disgruntled fellow DJ (Colm Meaney) decides to hold their station hostage after learning that he’s getting sacked by the new management. While the film is a cinematic gift to longtime fans of Coogan’s seminal character, its accessible humor will equally resonate with American audiences who instead know Coogan through his singular comedic voice in such films as The Trip and 24 Hour Party People.
The character Alan Partridge first appeared over twenty years ago as a BBC sports reporter on the radio show, “On The Hour.” Since then, this wonderfully conceited, petty, anal, idiosyncratic comic creation has flourished across virtually every medium you can think of. He’s been a sports reporter (again) on the seminal TV news spoof, “The Day Today,” host of his own TV chat show, Knowing Me, Knowing You, star of the fly-on-the-wall sitcom “I’m Alan Partridge,” and most recently “Mid Morning Matters.”
“As big fans of Steve Coogan and the talented crew at Baby Cow, we are very excited to be working on this incredibly funny film,” said Magnolia President Eamonn Bowles. “I only had a passing knowledge of the Alan Partridge character, but even as a neophyte, I found it to be an instant comedy classic. We’re confident that longtime Alan fans and newcomers alike will love this film.”
Said Producer Kevin Loader, “Steve Coogan and all of us are thrilled to be working with the excellent team at Magnolia to introduce North American cinema-goers to the complex character that is Alan Partridge. That they find the film hilarious is a great start.”
Magnolia is planning a release in early 2014.
