Once again showing how Thailand can inspire creativity and performance in those that frequent her shores, it’s been revealed that the idea for the upcoming movie on Olympic legend Eddie The Eagle began in a Thai bar.
The movie follows the story of Eddie Edwards, the British ski jumper who defeated all odds to compete in the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada.
Known as Eddie “the Eagle”, he came last in both the 70 and 90-metre ski jumping events, but is celebrated for truly embracing the Olympic spirit and encapsulating the underdog spirit so fiercely guarded by the British.
And check out that cracking soundtrack…
The movie is produced by Matthew Vaughan with Welsh actor Taron Egerton as Eddie in the lead, with Hugh Jackman and Christopher Walken in supporting roles. It will be released on 26 February in the US.
Sean Macauley, a co-writer on the film, spoke with reporters about the films inception, stating that
“It all starts in a bar in Thailand in 1999.”
“Someone said to a film producer ‘Oh, whatever happened to Eddie the Eagle? If they made a movie about Cool Runnings, they should make a movie about him,’ and so this producer tracked down Eddie [and] he’s got rights to make a movie about his life,” he said.
The Cool Runnings movie Macauley refers to is the 1993 Disney production about the first Jamaican bobsled team who competed at the very same 1988 Olympics as Eddie The Eagle.
Although the idea for the Eddie the Eagle film was first mooted back in 1999, it has taken all the way until now to actually get it made.
British comedian Steve Coogan – best known for his Alan Partridge character – was the original choice for the role of Eddie but the filmmakers decided to pursue a less obviously comic route for the story, particularly as Eddie himself was eager not to be portrayed as a buffoon.
Macauley describes the eventual script development as a return “back to this valentine, really, to this madcap guy’s courage.”
We have to wonder how things would turn out if all ideas that started in a Bangkok bar were made into a movie…
Featured image is a still from the trailer (Lionsgate)
