It wasn't just actors standing on the red carpet, but witnesses to an entire era of Manchester music. On the night of October 6th, the cast of *24 Hour Party People* reunited in Manchester for a special screening of the 2002 biopic chronicling Factory Records founder Tony Wilson and the Madchester scene.
The screening served as the opening event for Beyond The City, Manchester's music and media industry conference, followed by a Q&A with Steve Coogan, director Michael Winterbottom, and producer Andrew Eaton. Also appearing on the red carpet were Christopher Eccleston, Paul Popplewell, Kieran O'Brien, John Thomson, and Happy Mondays member Rowetta, who played herself in the film.
Coogan plays Tony Wilson in the film, the Factory Records founder who signed Happy Mondays and Joy Division. The story follows his perspective through Manchester's explosive music era from the late '70s to the early '90s. The event itself was organized by none other than Wilson's son, Oli Wilson.
"He's one of the few truly authentic voices left in Manchester," Coogan said of Oli. "What he's inherited from his father is the ability to challenge and stir things up in the healthiest, best possible way. Oli isn't just Tony Wilson's son, he's his own person, and he's here to shake the tree."
Winterbottom recalled to NME how many actors joined the film simply because they loved the music. "They could imagine themselves being in the band," he said. "As a filmmaker, I always felt music was so much freer and more fun than film. A lot of those band members had known each other since they were teenagers, growing up together."
He went on to point out the structural gap between the two industries: "With film, you have to go find some big company or institution and convince some executive to give you a huge sum of money. So film happens top-down, not bottom-up. I think at the time we just thought, alright, let's just have fun with this ourselves."
The newly restored 4K version of *24 Hour Party People* will hit UK and Irish cinemas this Friday, October 9th, preceded this week by 100 free screenings at independent theatres. The digital and 4K UHD disc release is set for October 26th.
