If you're a fan of musical comedy, of a certain age and, possibly, from a certain area of the UK, then the name Frank Sidebottom will be a one familiar to you. Sidebottom was a legend in the north west of England, a comedy figure who used to wear a paper mache head and led his band in an array of amusing ditties. He was a great bloke, basically.
Well, the internet erupted this morning when reports came that none other than Hollywood A-lister Michael Fassbender would be playing the comedian, who sadly passed away in 2010 after a battle with cancer, in a new film drawn heavily from his life. Sidebottom's former collaborator Jon Ronson was slated to have co-written it with Peter Straughan with the film being produced by Film 4. Some of that is true, but The Guardian is now reporting that the movie won't be a straight up portrayal of Sidebottom's life. Ronson reportedly took to Twitter to play down the reports, writing "Hey! The film isn't a film about Frank Sidebottom. It's totally made up and - whilst inspired by Frank - is inspired by other people too. Daniel Johnston and Captain Beefheart are other inspirations. Bowled over that Michael Fassbender and Domhnall Gleeson are in our film."
However, as mentioned there in the tweet, Domhnall Gleeson will be joining Fassbender for the film, which will focus around an off-the-wall musician joining an eccentric band led by the Fassbender character. Lenny Abrahamson will be directing.