THE TRIP - Production Notes FINAL - Goalpost Film

REVOLUTION FILMS
9A DALLINGTON STREET
LONDON EC1V 0BQ
THE TRIP
Directed by MICHAEL WINTERBOTTOM
Produced by ANDREW EATON and MELISSA PARMENTER
Starring
STEVE COOGAN
&
ROB BRYDON
A REVOLUTION FILMS / BABY COW / ARBIE
PRODUCTION FOR BBC

SYNOPSIS
THE TRIP is an improvised tour of the North of England reuniting comedy favorites
Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon. In the style of Curb your Enthusiasm, the story is
fictional but based around their real personas.
When Steve is commissioned by the food supplement of a Sunday newspaper to
review half a dozen restaurants, he decides to mix work with pleasure and plans a
trip around the North of England with his food loving American girlfriend. But when
his girlfriend decides to leave him and return to the States, Steve is faced with a
week of meals for one, not quite the trip he had in mind. Reluctantly, he calls Rob,
the only person he can think of who will be available. Rob, never one to turn down a
free lunch (let alone six) agrees, and together they set off for a culinary adventure.
Over the course of six meals at six different restaurants in and around the Lake
District, Lancashire and The Yorkshire Dales, this ultimate odd couple find
themselves debating the big questions of life such as how did I get to here, where do
I go next, over a series of culinary delights.

ABOUT THE CAST
STEVE COOGAN / STEVE
Steve was born and raised in Manchester where he trained as an actor at the
Manchester Polytechnic School of Theatre. Whilst studying he saw stand up as a
way of obtaining an equity card. He was spotted by a television scout and offered a
spot on ‘FIRST EXPOSURE’, this led to many television appearances including ‘THE
PRINCE’S GALA TRUST’ for the Prince and Princess of Wales, ‘STAND-UP’, ‘UP-
FRONT’, ‘PARAMOUNT CITY’, ‘LONDON UNDERGROUND’ and ‘WORD IN YOUR
EAR’. He was also a regular voice on ‘SPITTING IMAGE’ for several years.
In 1992 he won the Perrier Award for his show ‘STEVE COOGAN IN CHARACTER
WITH JOHN THOMPSON’, at which he launched his character Paul Calf. Paul Calf
became a regular on ‘SATURDAY ZOO’ on this show he introduced a new character
Paul’s sister Pauline Calf. He went on to write and perform in THE PAUL CALF
VIDEO DIARIES’ for which he won a BAFTA for his performance in Pauline Calf’s
video diary ‘THREE FIGHTS, TWO WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL’.
Whilst working on radio his character Alan Partridge was created in ‘ON THE HOUR’
which transferred to television and became ‘THE DAY TODAY’, and from which
came the show ‘KNOWING ME, KNOWING YOU’, this was also transferred to
television and received huge critical acclaim along with numerous awards.
In 1994 at the British Comedy Awards he won Top Male Comedy Performer, Top
Comedy Personality and ‘KNOWING ME, KNOWING YOU’ won Best New Television
Comedy.
Steve went on to do a film ‘RESURRECTED’, several episodes of ‘HARRY’ and
‘INDIAN IN THE CUPBOARD’ for Paramount in which he played a first world war
soldier. He then did a series for BBC 2 ‘COOGAN’S RUN’ playing lots of his different
characters. From there he went on to play Mole in ‘WIND IN THE WILLOWS’,
directed by Terry Jones.
He wrote and starred in a Christmas Special for BBC 2 ‘TONY FERRINO’S
PHENOMENON’ for which he received the Silver Rose of Montreux Award.
Steve appeared in a lead role in the film ‘REVENGERS COMEDIES’ and in a screen
1 film entitled ‘THE FIX’.

Steve won two BAFTA’S for Best Comedy Series and Best Comedy Performance for
his series ‘I’M ALAN PARTRIDGE’.
He completed a successful sell out tour of the UK with his live show ‘THE MAN WHO
THINK’S HE’S IT’, which won a South Bank Show Award and broke all box office
records for a comedy show in London’s West End.
Steve then took a couple of years out to write a film with his business partner Henry
Normal. ‘THE PAROLE OFFICER’ was produced by Duncan Kenworthy and Andrew
Macdonald and directed by John Duigan, it was also one of the top grossing British
films of the year.
Steve and Henry set up their own production company, Baby Cow Production six
years ago and have produced a number of award winning programmes, ‘Marion and
Geoff’, ‘Human Remains’, ‘The Mighty Boosh’, ‘Gavin and Stacey’, ‘Sensitive Skin’,
‘Dr Terrible’s House of Horrible’, ‘A Small Summer Party’, ‘Up in Town’ with Joanna
Lumley. ‘Cruise of the Gods’ a TV film made for BBC 2.
April 2002 saw the release of ’24 Hour Party People’ a Revolution Film directed by
Michael Winterbottom about Factory Records and the rise and fall of Tony Wilson
played by Steve.
In Autumn 2002 he released a new series of ‘I’M ALAN PARTRIDGE’, which again
received rave reviews. In 2003 Steve played Samuel Pepys in the BBC2 historical
drama charting the famous diarist.
Steve then co-starred in Frank Coraci’s ‘AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS’,
as Phileas Fogg, with Jackie Chan as Passepartout. He was also was featured in a
segment of Jim Jarmusch’s film ‘COFFEE & CIGARETTES’ which debuted at the
2004 Venice film festival.
Steve then completed his work in Michael Winterbottom’s ‘A COCK AND BULL
STORY’ (previously titled Tristram Shandy), which was released January 2006. This
year he also completed filming Sofia Coppola’s MARIE ANTOINETTE and played the
British Ambassador to the Queen.
In April 2006 Steve played Octavius in NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM alongside Ben
Stiller, Robin Williams and Ricky Gervais. After this Steve went on to feature in the
final episode of the latest CURB YOUR ENTHUSIAM series playing Larry David’s

psychologist who ends up in Jail. He then went on to film the second series of his
comedy show SAXONDALE which later aired on BBC2 in September 2007.
In Summer 2007 Steve played the role of film director Damian Cockburn in TROPIC
THUNDER alongside Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Junior, Jack Black & Tom Cruise.
In September he played the starring role in HAMLET II, a film written and directed by
Andy Fleming. Following on from this he shot SAFETY GLASS, which was directed
by Jonathan Glatzer.
In 2008 Steve starred in SUNSHINE for BBC1, co-written and directed by Craig
Cash. He then resumed his role in NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: BATTLE OF THE
SMITHSONIAN. Steve also appeared in the cameo role of Paul Michaelson in IN
THE LOOP directed by Armando Iannucci. Following the success of his last tour,
Steve then completed another UK tour showcasing ALAN PARTRIDGE AND OTHER
LESS SUCCESSFUL CHARACTERS.
In 2009 Steve toured in Australia and played the part of Hades in Chris Columbus’
PERCY JACKSON followed by the role of Ershon in THE OTHER GUYS directed by
Adam McKay alongside Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell. He also provided the voice
of RAISIN in Fox’s animated feature MARMADUKE.
In March 2010, Steve shot THE TRIP with Rob Brydon, directed by Michael
Winterbottom.
ROB BRYDON / ROB
Comedic actor and impersonator, Rob Brydon, was born in Swansea, Wales in 1965
and was raised in Baglan near Port Talbot, before moving to Porthcawl. It was at the
Porthcawl Comprehensive School that Rob’s interest in acting was sparked under the
direction of drama teacher Roger Burnel. Rob briefly studied at the Welsh College of
Music and Drama, but left midway through to become a DJ on BBC Radio Wales.
Rob spent the next six years doing local radio and television work with the BBC.
Early success came while hosting a show with Alan Thompson on which Rob created
and performed various comedic pieces. One of the collaborations led to the
beginnings of the character Keith Barret of Marion and Geoff and The Keith Barret
Show.
Rob left Cardiff and headed for London where he worked as a voice artist for various
animations and numerous television advertising campaigns, including those for

Renault, Tango, Tesco, McDonald's, Toilet Duck and The Observer. Rob continued
to do voice-over work until he landed a role as the traffic warden in Lock, Stock and
Two Smoking Barrels. This movie role drove Rob to make a short film called Rob
Brydon- An Extremely Unlucky Traffic Warden in which Rob featured a few of his
comic characters, including Keith Barret. Shortly thereafter, Rob was introduced to
comic writer and performer, Steve Coogan, who encouraged Rob to develop the
Keith character through his production company.
In 2000, Rob, with the help of writer Hugo Blick, developed six, ten-minute episodes
of Marion and Geoff through Coogan’s company, Baby Cow Productions. The show
featured taxi driver Keith Barret who records the story of his failed marriage on a
dashboard camera after his wife leaves him for her co-worker, Geoff. The show
earned critical acclaim and garnered many awards, including a Best Television
Comedy Newcomer award for Rob at both the British Comedy Awards and the Royal
Television Society Awards. The show ran 16 episodes between 2000 and 2003.
Shortly after the beginnings of Marion and Geoff, Rob began work on the award
winning Human Remains, a short comedy in which he starred alongside Julia Davis
whom he met while at the BBC when Rob joined the Bath based improvisational
comedy group ‘More Fool Us’. The two played the roles of various couples that are
caught in dysfunctional and strange relationships. The show won a Best
International Comedy award at the 2001 Banff TV Festival and Rob landed a Best
Actor award at the 2001 British Comedy Awards for his performance.
In 2003, Rob went on a tour doing a one-man show called Making Divorce Work, in
which he took Keith Barret out of his taxi cab and onto the stage. The sell-out
nationwide tour spun into a self help book of the same name, and in February 2004,
Keith Barret got his own chat show titled The Keith Barret Show. Rob played Keith
and he interviewed celebrity couples to find the secrets of a successful marriage. In
May 2005, Rob took The Keith Barret Show on a 60-date national tour. The Sunday
Express said that Rob “…inhabits the character so fully he could be a cult-in-the-
making,” and the Big Issue called it a “brutally honest and painfully funny full-length
show.”
Rob began work on Director’s Commentary in 2004, a spoof comedy show in which
he plays the role of Peter De Lane, a director of TV shows who shares behind-the-
scenes stories on the actors he works with and his personal life.

Rob and Coogan have collaborated on many occasions. They co-starred in the BBC
TV film Cruise of the Gods, and they appeared together in 24 Hour Party People, and
more recently, A Cock and Bull Story; two films from director Michael Winterbottom.
A Cock and Bull Story is a comedic account of what it's like trying to make a film
when the two lead actors both want attention, and the movie received four stars from
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times.
Rob has appeared on five episodes of Little Britain as Roman de Vere, and starred
as Dr. Paul Hamilton in Supernova, a TV series about a British astronomer who
leaves London when he is offered a new job and a chance to start a new life while
working at the Royal Australian Observatory; however, there is a lot of adjustments to
be made for Dr. Hamilton, including learning how to deal with his new co-workers.
Rob also stars as the host of Annually Retentive, a history panel game show that
illustrates what happens when the cameras aren’t filming. The first series was a
critical success when it debuted in the Autumn of 2006 and was followed up by
another highly acclaimed series in the summer of 2007.
In November 2007 Rob starred in the BBC1 flagship drama series Heroes and
Villains: Napoleon, as the people's representative Stanislav Freron. The show also
co-starred Tom Burke, Kenneth Cranham and Gina Bellman.
In 2008 Rob put together a one-off documentary for BBC 4 entitled Rob Brydon’s
Identity Crisis. This saw Rob re-tracing his roots and exploring the nature of
being Welsh; through a series of three secret comedy performances Rob attempted
to tap into the Welsh psyche.
Rob has also gained a loyal following through his role in series 1, 2 and 3 of BBC 1’s
smash hit Gavin and Stacey as Uncle Bryn.
In 2008/2009 Rob completed a sell out, nation-wide tour, Rob Brydon Live! as well as
presenting three series of Would I Lie To You For BBC 1.
In 2010, Rob will be starring in The Trip, a BBC 2 ‘mockumentary’ which sees him
touring The Lake District and reviewing restaurants with Steve Coogan. He will also
be hosting his brand new series The Rob Brydon Show for BBC 2, featuring a mix of
stand-up from Rob, a guest comedian each week and a host of top musical guests.

ABOUT THE CREW
MICHAEL WINTERBOTTOM / DIRECTOR
Born in Blackburn, Lancashire, Michael Winterbottom earned a degree in English at
Oxford before studying film at Bristol and London. His work for television includes
The Magic Lantern a documentary based on Ingmar Bergman’s autobiography which
won the Best Documentary Prize at Valladolid Film Festival; Forget About Me; and
Under the Sun – shown at the Turin and London Film Festivals,; Cracker; and
Family, a four-part BBC serial, written by Roddy Doyle which was shown at Telluride
and Toronto Film Festivals. His first feature was Butterfly Kiss, starring Amanda
Plummer and Saskia Reeves, which was selected for Competition at Berlin Film
Festival in 1995.
In 1994, Winterbottom, formed Revolution Films with producer Andrew Eaton. Their
first production was Go Now, a BAFTA winning television drama which was also
selected for Toronto Film Festival.. Winterbottom’s next film was Jude (1996), an
adaptation of Thomas Hardy's novel ‘Jude the Obscure’ starring Christopher
Eccleston and Kate Winslet, which was selected for Director’s Fortnight at Cannes
and which won the Michael Powell award at Edinburgh Film Festival. His next film
was Welcome to Sarajevo. Set in the former Yugoslavia it focused on the
experiences of ITN journalist Michael Nicholson in war-torn Sarajevo. The film was
shown in Competition at Cannes (1997) along with Wonderland (1999), which also
won Best Film at the British Independent Film Awards. In between he directed I Want
You, starring Rachel Weisz, which won a special prize for Cinematography at the
Berlin Film Festival. This was followed by the gold rush love story The Claim (2000),
shown in competition at Berlin. Next came 24 Hour Party People, another
collaboration with Frank Cottrell Boyce and his third film to be selected for
Competition at Cannes (2002). The film charts the Manchester music scene while
focusing on the rise and fall of Factory records impresario Tony Wilson.
Soon after, Winterbottom made the BAFTA winning In This World, which follows two
young Afghan refugees as they make the perilous journey to London from a refugee
camp in Pakistan. It won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 2003. This
was followed by the science fiction love story Code 46, which was selected for
competition at Venice in 2003. Next came the ground-breaking 9 Songs, which charts
a sexual relationship over the course of twelve months and was awarded the
cinematography prize at San Sebastian (2004). A Cock and Bull Story (2005),

starring Steve Coogan, was based on Laurence Sterne’s 18 th Century novel ‘Tristram
Shandy’. A year later Winterbottom made The Road to Guantanamo (2006). Co-
directed with Mat Whitecross, the film traces the story of the incarceration of the
‘Tipton Three’ in Guantanamo. It won the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival
(2006) for Best Directing. A Mighty Heart, staring Angelina Jolie, was based on the
memoirs of Marianne Pearl, whose husband Daniel was kidnapped and murdered in
Pakistan while reporting for there for the Wall Street Journal. It was premiered out of
competition at Cannes 2007.
Genova (2008), starring Colin Firth, tells the story of a father and his two daughters
trying to come to terms with the tragic loss of their mother. The film played at the
Toronto, London and San Sebastian Film Festivals, where it won Winterbottom the
Silver Shell for Directing. Along side this, Winterbottom has co-directed The Shock
Doctrine with Mat Whitecross, a documentary based on the best-selling book of the
same name by Naomi Klein (Berlin and San Sebastian 2009), and most recently
completed The Killer Inside Me, a thriller based on the novel by Jim Thompson about
a West Texas deputy sheriff, which premiered at Sundance 2010 and screened in
Official Competition at the Berlin Film Festival.
Winterbottom is also currently working on Seven Days, which will be filmed in parts
over five years. Based around the lives of an imprisoned man and his family, the film
will star John Simm and Shirley Henderson.
ANDREW EATON / PRODUCER
Andrew Eaton co-founded Revolution Films in 1994 with film director Michael
Winterbottom.
As a producer his credits include WONDERLAND (1999 – Official Selection Cannes
Film Festival; BIFA for Best British Film ); 24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE (2002 – Official
Selection, Cannes); GENOVA (2007 – Winner of the Silver Conch: San Sebastian
Film Festival), starring Colin Firth, Catherine Keener and Hope Davis; A MIGHTY
HEART (2006), starring Angelina Jolie, Daniel Futterman & Irrfan Khan; ROAD TO
GUANTANAMO (2005 - Winner of Best Documentary: Independent Spirit Awards
2007, Winner of Silver Bear: Berlin Film Festival 2006, Best British Documentary:
British Independent Film Awards 2006); A COCK AND BULL STORY (2004) and IN
THIS WORLD (2003 - Winner of BAFTA for Film Not In The English Language and

Winner of Golden Bear: Berlin Film Festival).
Andrew and Michael have also been Executive Producers on other Revolution
productions, including HEARTLANDS (2002), directed by Damien O’Donnell and
writer/director Stephen Fry’s debut feature BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS (2003).
In 2009, Andrew produced the critically acclaimed BAFTA-winning RED RIDING
TRILOGY for Channel 4. Directed by James Marsh, Anand Tucker and Julian
Jarrold, the three feature-length films were based on novels by David Peace and
adapted for the screen by Tony Grisoni. Revolution Films production and Samantha
Morton’s directorial debut THE UNLOVED, also written by Tony Grisoni, was
screened on Channel 4 that same year and won the BAFTA for Best Single Drama at
the TV awards 2010.
Andrew’s most recent credits include THE SHOCK DOCTRINE (2009), based on the
best-selling book of the same name by Naomi Klein and directed by Michael
Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross, and THE KILLER INSIDE ME, a thriller based on
the novel by Jim Thompson about a West Texas deputy sheriff that received it’s
premiere at Sundance 2010 and screened in Official Competition at Berlin. Together
with Michael Winterbottom he is also working on 7 DAYS, a drama about an
imprisoned man and his family, shot in real time over a number of years, starring
John Simm and Shirley Henderson.
Andrew was Deputy Chair of the UK Film Council and Chair of the Leadership on
Diversity Forum in 2007 / 2008, and in 2000, was awarded Producer of the Year at
the British Independent Film Awards.
MELISSA PARMENTER / PRODUCER
During the past 8 years Melissa has been working as Producer and Line Producer for
Andrew Eaton and Michael Winterbottom’s Production Company Revolution Films.
Together with Andrew Eaton, Melissa has recently Produced Michael Winterbottom’s
TV comedy series called THE TRIP (starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon) for
BBC 2. Before this, Melissa Co-Produced THE SHOCK DOCTRINE which premiered
at the Berlin Film Festival in 2009 and was directed by Michael Winterbottom and
Mat Whitecross.

In 2008 Melissa was the Line Producer on Michael Winterbottom’s film GENOVA
(starring Colin Firth, Catherine Keener, Hope Davis).
Melissa’s first film as Producer was in 2004 when she Produced TOP SPOT,
Directed by the renowned British Artist Tracey Emin. The film was funded by the BBC
and premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in 2005.
This was followed by Michael Winterbottom’s film 9 Songs (starring Margo Stilley,
Kieran O’Brien) on which Melissa was Associate Producer and Music Supervisor. In
2006 Melissa Produced along side Andrew Eaton the documentary THE ROAD TO
GUANTANAMO directed by Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross. The film
went on to win the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 2007.
As well as Producing, Melissa composed the score for Michael Winterbottom’s film
THE KILLER INSIDE ME (starring Casey Affleck, Jessica Alba, Kate Hudson) and
also GENOVA (2008). Melissa’s piano music also featured in A MIGHTY HEART
(Angelina Jolie, Dan Futterman), 9 SONGS, and Tracey Emin’s TOP SPOT.
BEN SMITHARD / DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Ben Smithard has worked in the British Film & TV industry since the early 90’s. In
2002 Ben started a three-year collaboration with Julian Temple as Director of
Photography on the Feature Length Documentary “Glastonbury”. To date Ben has
worked with a number of award winning-directors such as Michael Winterbottom,
Richard Eyre & Dominic Savage.
WILL WHALE / SOUND RECORDIST
Will Whale has worked in the British film and television industry for over ten years.
Working with directors such as Andrea Arnold, Otto Bathurst & Diarmuid Lawrence.
Most recently Will has worked as Sound Recordist with Michael Winterbottom on
THE TRIP and his 5 year project for Channel 4, 7 DAYS.
MAGS ARNOLD / EDITOR
Mags Arnold entered the film industry in 1993 as a trainee sound editor, crossing
over to picture editing as second assistant editor in 1994. She was promoted to first

assistant editor in 1995, working on films such as High Fidelity and Captain Corelli’s
Mandolin, both under celebrated editor Mick Audsley. In 2000, after numerous short
films edited after hours on borrowed feature film equipment, she was offered her first
feature film as editor: My Little Eye. It was shot entirely on Sony DV cam, with 30%
of its material captured on a domestic DV camera, the kind used for home movies. It
was also the first studio picture in the UK to be cut on Final Cut Pro. Critically
acclaimed, My Little Eye has since become a horror classic, described by one critic
as the scariest film since The Exorcist.
Mags has since collaborated with the director of My Little Eye, Marc Evans, on
Trauma, starring Colin Firth and Mena Suvari; Snow Cake, starring Alan Rickman,
Sigourney Weaver and Carrie Anne Moss; and most recently on the feature-length
documentary In Prison My Whole Life.
The Trip is Mags’ second collaboration with Michael Winterbottom, she previously
edited The Killer Inside Me which was released earlier this year.
PAUL MONAGHAN / EDITOR
Paul first worked with Revolution Films in 2001/02 as an Assistant Director &
Production Assistant on 24 Hour Party People and In This World.
He began working as an Assistant Editor on Terry Gilliam’s The Brothers Grimm in
2003 and went on to work on Nick Broomfield’s Ghosts, Richard Attenborough’s
Closing The Ring and A Mighty Heart for Michael Winterbottom
Genova was his first feature film as an editor and he has gone on to work with
Michael Winterbottom again on The Shock Doctrine and The Killer Inside Me. He
also edited Moving to Mars for director, Mat Whitecross in 2008.