UNITED KINGDOM: "BEAN THE ULTIMATE DISASTER MOVIE" IS UNLEASHED ON BRITISH AUDIENCES AFTER A CELEBRITY PREMIERE IN LONDON

Record ID: 336642

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: "BEAN THE ULTIMATE DISASTER MOVIE" IS UNLEASHED ON BRITISH AUDIENCES AFTER A CELEBRITY PREMIERE IN LONDON
  • Date: 5th August 1997
  • Summary: (RTV) EXTERIOR CINEMA WITH CROWDS OF FANS BOYZONE FANS WITH BANNERS ROWAN ATKINSON ARRIVING AT PREMIERE ANDY MILLER FROM DODGY ARRIVING ROWAN ATKINSON POSING FOR PHOTOS DIRECTOR MEL SMITH ARRIVING BOYZONE ARRIVING/FANS SCREAMING ROWAN ATKINSON IN CINEMA FOYER MEL SMITH IN FOYER ROWAN ATKINSON WALKING TO SCREEN REPORTER ASKING RICHARD CURTIS ABOUT PLANS FOR BEAN
  • Embargoed: 20th August 1997 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Reuters ID: LVA8BK17H58SDNMYCTIFJU2WI9L4
  • Story Text: It's swept box offices in Australia, New Zealand and Holland, now "Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie" is about to be unleashed on British audiences after a celebrity premiere in London.

    The film's star, Rowan Atkinson, arrived at the cinema as hundreds of young girls screamed - not for him, but for Boyzone, whose song "Picture Of You" was used in the film's soundtrack whilst also reaching number two in the British charts.

    There was a strong celebrity turnout at the premiere, with Rod Stewart and his wife Rachel Hunter, Helena Bonham- Carter, Alan Rickman, "Bean" writer Richard Curtis and director Mel Smith. When Boyzone arrived, the fans' screams reached a crescendo.

    "Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie" is based on a British television series which ran for only 14 episodes.

    The show became a great success in 94 different countries, helped by the fact that Mr Bean relies on facial expressions and mime rather than language to create humour.

    But Atkinson did have some lines to learn for the 90-minute-long movie, in which Mr Bean is given just over four minutes of dialogue.

    No one is more surprised than Atkinson at the success of the character, which he created in 1979 because he could not think of anything to write for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He simply decided to stand in front of a mirror and make faces. His act went down a storm and now earns him an estimated #1.2 million a year.

    "He seems to be going down very well," Atkinson said, "I think he (Mr Bean) would be very flattered if he knew the worldwide attention which he was now garnering".

    But despite the enthusiastic reception the film has received, a sequel seems to be out of the question.

    Writer Richard Curtis, who was also responsible for the hugely successful "Four Weddings And A Funeral", said plans for another Bean film were "absolutely non-existent". Curtis said the same also applied to "Four Weddings", but he is working on another film which "might have similarities".

    Director Mel Smith also recoiled from the idea of a sequel.

    "The idea of doing another Bean picture is so scary," Smith said, explaining that the film had taken up to four years to reach the screen.

    But there are two different versions of the film. A sequence with Bean with a turkey on his head was cut out for European release but kept in for north American fans. It was the only scene that people could say had come from the original TV series shown in Britain.

    Mr Bean is a big gamble in America because the character is not as well known as in Europe. During filming in California, Atkinson was unnoticed by passers-by. It was a different story when the Los Angeles crew moved to The Tom Bradley International Airport where dozens of Japanese and German tourists mobbed him.

    Atkinson is hoping the film will be a box office hit in the United States when it opens on October 17. But he says that he won't be encouraging offers of work on the other side of the Atlantic because he rarely sees an American film he would like to be in. Instead, he plans to take a break from working for several months.

    "Bean - The Ultimate Disaster Movie" opens across Britain this Friday (August 8)
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