perhaps his most famous example of this is in 24 Hour Party People where the character of Anthony Wilson states that “Scott Fitzgerald said there are no second acts in American lives. He has spoken against the 'three-act structure' and the 'hero's journey' formulas, which are often regarded as axiomatic truths in the business. Other film directors Cottrell-Boyce has worked with include Danny Boyle ( Millions), Alex Cox ( Revengers Tragedy), Richard Laxton ( Grow Your Own) and Anand Tucker ( Hilary and Jackie).Ĭottrell-Boyce has been praised by Roger Ebert as one of the few truly inventive modern-day screenwriters. what better way to walk away than by giving Winterbottom a good script for free?'

He told Variety, 'I just had to move on . Their 2005 collaboration, A Cock and Bull Story, is their last according to Cottrell-Boyce, who asked that his contribution be credited to 'Martin Hardy', a pseudonym. Winterbottom made five further films based on screenplays written by Cottrell-Boyce, Butterfly Kiss, Welcome to Sarajevo, The Claim, 24 Hour Party People and Code 46. He was a leading light in the Liverpool band 'Dead Trout' in 1979.Īfter he met Michael Winterbottom, the two collaborated on Forget About Me. Īidan Cottrell-Boyce, one of the couple's sons, is also a writer. He is also a patron of the Insight Film Festival, a biennial, interfaith festival held in Manchester, UK, to make positive contributions to understanding, respect and community cohesion. He met Denise Cottrell, a fellow Keble undergraduate, and they married in Keble College chapel. As a result, there was supposedly always a copy of the magazine on sale in the newsagent set of long-running British soap Coronation Street, while Cottrell-Boyce was on the writing staff of that programme. He wrote criticism for the magazine Living Marxism. He read English at Keble College, Oxford, where he went on to earn a doctorate. He was greatly influenced by reading Moomins growing up. He attended St Bartholomew's Primary School in Rainhill and West Park Grammar School. He moved to Rainhill, while still at primary school. Personal life Ĭottrell-Boyce was born in 1959 in Bootle near Liverpool to a Catholic family. Ĭottrell-Boyce has won two major British awards for children's books, the 2004 Carnegie Medal for Millions, which originated as a film script, and the 2012 Guardian Prize for The Unforgotten Coat, which was commissioned by a charity. He has achieved fame as the writer for the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony and for sequels to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car, a children's classic by Ian Fleming. Cottrell-Boyce at the 2015 Berlin International Literature Festivalįrank Cottrell-Boyce (born 23 September 1959) is an English screenwriter, novelist and occasional actor, known for his children's fiction and for his collaborations with film director Michael Winterbottom.

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