Alan Partridge Movie Confirmed -- Back of the Net!

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEl5RvbGdik

AHA!

Yes, I've been waiting for an excuse to make an Alan Partridge thread for a while now, and this news is as good enough for me.

According to a recent interview with The Playlist, the Alan Partridge movie that they've been talking about for years now is in the final stages of pre-production and will likely start filming next year.

“All right all right. We’re writing it right now, going to shoot it next year. Don’t know who will direct it, but Pete Baynham(”Borat”) and Armando Ianucci are writing it with me. We’ve already started it.” Sounds like a done deal. Plot details are nearly non-existent, aside from the tidbit that it will find the TV/talk show host in his hometown of Norwich.

They've also said that the movie will not be Alan Goes To America or anything like that. He'll probably stay in Norwich.

Now, I know the first reaction you're likely to have is that the movie will suck, that it's been too long since the last series of I'm Alan Partridge. But that means you haven't watched the Mid-Morning Matters webisodes Coogan's been doing lately. They are funny as hell, and classic Partridge, and as far as I'm concerned they show that Coogan and Iannuci still have what it takes to do Partridge justice.

You can watch the webisodes here if you're in the UK. If you live elsewhere you'll have to search a bit through youtube and the net to see them, but the first one is here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTnLs8phVSo

Who is Alan Partridge

For those not in the know, Alan Partridge is a character created by Steve Coogan. Originally he was a hapless sports commentator on Chris Morris's satirical and absurdist BBC radio comedy On The Hour back in 1991. When On The Hour made the transition to television in 1994, as the wonderful The Day Today, Alan Partridge came along. After The Day Today finished Alan Partridge got his own radio chat show, Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge, which was successful enough to also transfer to television, with the same name.

While in the real world Knowing Me, Knowing You was a success (and really, really funny), during the fictional run of the show Alan encountered disaster after disaster, and on the final episode, a Christmas Special, Alan admitted that his wife and kids had left him, and ending up physically assaulting a BBC executive on live television, getting himself fired. That was in 1995.

Two years later, Alan returned with I'm Alan Partridge, a new format for the character. The show picks up with Alan's life a couple of years after Knowing You, Knowing Me. He's divorced from his wife and living in a cheap motel. He spends most of his free time trying desperately to get a new show on the BBC, and spends his evenings as a DJ for a small Norwich radio station.

The first series end with Alan almost getting a new BBC show, but ultimately failing. The second series, broadcast a full 5 years later, picks up Alan's life again. He's still unable to get onto the BBC, but he's gotten himself a slightly better time slot at his radio station. He's moved out of the motel, written a terrible autobiography, and somehow got himself a clueless girlfriend. The bulk of this series deals with Alan's book, his new house, and his lonely existence. It ends with Alan pulping the bulk of his unsold books.

Since 2005 there have been constant rumours and hints about an Alan Partridge movie, but Coogan spent a lot of the decade trying to break into Hollywood, which he never managed. Partridge always haunted him, being the most popular and successful thing he's ever done. He eventually played on that idea in the wonderful movie adaptation of Tristram Shandy, and again with his co-star Rob Brydon and director Michael Winterbottom for the fantastic little show The Trip (soon to be recut and released as a movie). It seems that Coogan can never escape Partridge.

Alan himself is an absurd character. He's loud and opinionated, but has intense issues with self-confidence. His furious hatred for criminals and lawbreakers is legendary. He says things without thinking and has a pathological need to have the last word. He's also got a terrible sense of humour, and often displays biases against homosexuals, women, and various cities and cultures, London in particular.

Partridge himself, and the style of his 2 television shows, laid the groundwork for the style of comedy seen in shows like The Office (Especially the UK version; David Brent has many of the same tendencies as Partridge.) and Extras. Not only the awkward and uncomfortable trainwreck comedy, but also the crushing bits of emotion that pop up at regular intervals. Partridge is a failure at most everything he does, and the obvious mask of loud and obnoxious swagger he affects has many cracks. The final episode of Mid-Morning Matter's 2nd series had some great moments of Alan letting his guard down.

Coogan and Partridge are responsible for some of my absolute favourite comedies. The first series of I'm Alan Partridge in particular is about as flawless a sitcom as has been done, up there with Fawlty Towers and the best parts of Blackadder.

Here are some scattered moments of Alan's greatness:

From The Day Today

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gHorOt6KKw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYdbanbEAYk

From Knowing Me, Knowing You (the entire series, minus the Christmas Special, is up on youtube, so watch it)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIMY_niu-oc

I'm Alan Partridge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5APPgmwoIQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2D3-FkoXNU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5jpVbEL0jc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1hcfKAcxC0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yW4yAPpEwT0

So let's talk about how awesome Alan Partridge is.