Tribute to Steve Coogan: The Trip to Greece

Description

A writer as well as an actor and brilliant comic, Steve Coogan has been making audiences on both sides of the Atlantic laugh for three decades now. After first establishing himself in a series of UK sketch shows – out of which arose one of his most famous creations, the obnoxious and politically incorrect television personality Alan Partridge – Coogan made his name in films. He was Mole in Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride (1996); a ridiculous drama teacher in Hamlet 2 (2008); an angry constituent in In the Loop (2009); a journalist in Philomena (2013), for which he garnered a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar nomination; and Stan Laurel in Stan & Ollie (2018). In 24 Hour Party People (2002), Coogan took on the role of real-life TV presenter and Factory Records founder Tony Wilson, beginning a fruitful collaboration with director Michael Winterbottom that has produced seven feature films and a TV series to date. Among them is The Trip (Festival 2011) with Coogan and Rob Brydon performing fictional versions of themselves off on a culinary road trip and in intense competition – to top each other’s movie star impressions, among other things. Join us for a conversation with Steve Coogan and a screening of the latest film in the series, The Trip to Greece.

Read more about Steve Coogan in Pam Grady’s essay Steve Coogan: Artist and Self-Lampooning Genius.

The Trip to Greece
Michael Winterbottom, UK/Greece, 2020, 110 min
The celebrity impersonations, constant attempts at one-upmanship, and hunger-inducing restaurant visits return in the fourth feature incarnation of the spirited collaboration between director Michael Winterbottom (The Claim, Festival 2000) and performers Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan. After forays through England’s Lake Country, Italy, and Spain, Coogan and Brydon are ready for a hero’s voyage; specifically, they will be following in the footsteps of Odysseus on his trek from Troy to Ithaca. Travelling from such classic locations as the Temple of Apollo at Delphi to the island of Hydra, the two continue their wide-ranging conversation, incorporating bits of literature, philosophy, and history, and prove once again to be most entertaining travel companions.

Director Michael Winterbottom

After directing the documentary Ingmar Bergman: The Magic Lantern (1988), Michael Winterbottom directed series and movies for television, including Family (Festival 1995), before making his feature debut with Butterfly Kiss (1995). A prolific filmmaker, his works include Jude (1996), Welcome to Sarajevo (1997), The Claim (Festival 2000), 24 Hour Party People (2002), In This World (2002), Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story (2005), A Mighty Heart (2007), and Greed (2019). The Trip (Festival 2011) was the beginning of a TV show as well as an ongoing series of films, of which The Trip to Greece is the fourth.

Film Details