If Hollywood Did Still Game

Stan & Ollie Scheduled Release Dates

Scheduled release dates for Stan & Ollie starring Steve Coogan and John C Reilly as Laurel and Hardy are as follows (more release dates coming soon):



click here for a list of USA screenings

click here for a list of UK screenings

click here for a list of USA screenings

28th December 2018
Limited release in
NEW YORK
LOS ANGELES
ASPEN

9th January 2019
BELGIUM

10th January 2019

NETHERLANDS

11th January 2019
UK & IRELAND

17th January 2019
MIDDLE EAST

18th January 2019
CANADA
NEW JERSEY

21st January 2019
GREECE
CYPRUS

25th January 2019

ICELAND

2nd February 2019
FINLAND

7th February 2019
PORTUGAL

8th February 2019
LITHUANIA
ESTONIA
LATVIA

21st February 2019
AUSTRALIA

NEW ZEALAND

6th March 2019
FRANCE

8th March 2019
SPAIN

15th March 2019

NORWAY

22nd March 2019
SWEDEN
TAIWAN

24th April 2019
DENMARK

26th April 2019

JAPAN

20th June 2019

ITALY

May/June 2019

ISRAEL

More release dates will be posted here soon.

Watch Steve Coogan perfecting his Stan Laurel mannerisms on the set of Stan & Ollie

'A' list celebrities support Airdrie Trust

To help raise funds for Airdrie Trust's worthy causes, I've called in the help of some celebrity friends and have asked them to sign and pose with Airdrie FC shirts for us so we can auction them.

Airdrie FC are the first football club in Scotland to install a sensory room at their stadium (Penny Cars Stadium in Airdrie) for home games, which will allow children with sensory process disorders - such as autism - to attend matches in comfort. Monies raised from these signed shirts have already helped furnish the Sensory room.

Top names who've already signed Airdrie jerseys in aid of Airdrie Trust include Ricky Gervais, Mark Hamill, Eric Idle, Vinnie Jones, William Shatner, Jamie Lee Curtis, Christopher Guest, Olly Murs, Kevin Pollak, Tom Hanks and Ben Stiller. 

Sir Elton John also signed a shirt for the Trust after his recent concert at the stadium.

TOTAL RAISED FROM OUR SIGNED 
AIRDRIEONIANS FC JERSEYS CAMPAIGN SO FAR... £14,641

RICKY GERVAIS' autograph raised £620 in auction
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WILLIAM SHATNER's autograph raised £740 in auction

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MARK HAMILL's autograph raised £1000 in auction

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TOM HANKS' autograph raised £1280 in auction

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JAMIE LEE CURTIS and CHRISTOPHER GUEST's signatures raised £1230 in auction
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Hollywood actor KEVIN POLLAK's signature raised £175 in auction

Monty Python star ERIC IDLE's signature raised £445 in auction
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VINNIE JONES' signature raised £1000 in auction

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OLLY MURS' signature raised £300 in auction

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BEN STILLER's signature raised £2100 in auction

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GREG HEMPHILL and FORD KIERNAN's signatures raised £920 in auction

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THE HAPPY MONDAYS signatures raised £410 in auction

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Airdrie shirt signed by Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul star BOB ODENKIRK raised £700

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Airdrie shirt signed by modfather PAUL WELLER raised £900

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Airdrie shirt signed by UB40 raised £205

Airdrie shirt signed by ROBERT DUVALL raised £250

Airdrie shirt signed by STILL GAME CAST raised £540

Airdrie shirt signed by EASTENDERS CAST raised £225

Airdrie shirt signed by One Direction's LOUIS TOMLINSON raised £1300

Airdrie shirt signed by Steve Coogan and John C Reilly raised £300

Stan & Ollie Movie: The Opinion Of A Lifelong Laurel & Hardy fan: by Ross Owen

I've been a fan of Laurel and Hardy for as long as I can remember. I celebrated my 50th birthday this year and still love them as much now as I did when I first discovered them. Throughout the 70's and 80's, Laurel and Hardy's classic short films were regularly shown on television in the UK. I have great memories of growing up watching them with my parents and my sisters. That's one of the things that appeals to me about Laurel and Hardy films. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US in the family loved them and we would all laugh out loud together when they were on. When I think of my late father, I can still see him laughing hysterically at Laurel and Hardy on TV. Watching him laugh so hard made us laugh harder too. It was the same all over the world. Families everywhere loved Laurel and Hardy. As soon as that famous theme tune (the cuckoo song) started, you would immediately stop what you were doing and go watch Laurel and Hardy. It pleases me greatly that my own kids and my nieces and nephews are all fans of Laurel and Hardy too. This is what makes them great. Very few comedy stars get passed through the generations like Laurel and Hardy do.

Back in 2005 when I first discovered the internet, I searched for Laurel and Hardy websites in an effort to find out more about them. There wasn't a lot online at that time so with the help of a couple of friends I founded The Laurel and Hardy Forum which subsequently went on to become the online meeting place for Laurel and Hardy fans, authors and luminaries from around the world. More recently we have been focusing on our social media presence with our twitter account @Stan_And_Ollie currently attracting over 64,000 followers and our facebook page LaurelAndHardyForum has over a quarter of a million fans worldwide. We share clips from their classic movies, rare audio and video clips of the boys on tour and at special events etc. We also share all the latest news and gossip about Laurel and Hardy from around the world. In 2017 we launched the Laurel and Hardy Podcast.

NEW MOVIE STAN AND OLLIE
One of my most exciting projects of late was working as a consultant on the forthcoming movie Stan and Ollie along with Rob Lewis editor of the Laurel and Hardy Magazine and notable author A.J. Marriot. The movie stars Steve Coogan and John C Reilly as Laurel and Hardy... and I have to say... they've nailed it. In my opinion this is potentially an award winning film.  Beautiful acting, authentic costumes, mind blowing make-up, highly authentic recreations of the sets in flashback scenes and much more. Laurel and Hardy's real life wives are played by Shirley Henderson and Nina Arianda. Both actresses capture the wives accents and personalities perfectly.

Coogan and Reilly bear more than just a resemblance to Laurel and Hardy.

Rob Lewis, Jeff Pope, AJ Marriot and myself on the last day of shooting. 

The crew gave me a little cameo role in the film playing a holidaymaker.

NOT A BIOPIC

Inspired by A.J. Marriots' fantastic book Laurel and Hardy: The British Tours, the movie focuses on Laurel and Hardy's final UK tour in 1953. Jeff Pope who wrote the screenplay insists Stan and Ollie is not a biopic. When I chatted to him this week he stressed,“This is a love story rather than a biopic. The film is based on many years of research and everything you see is either a direct event or has been inspired by something that happened. I accept that I have used some dramatic licence, but always with the intention of celebrating and capturing the essence of the boys and their lives. I wanted to try and discover what made them tick individually and as the greatest comedy double act the world has seen.” 

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO JEFF POPE TALKING ABOUT STAN AND OLLIE IN A RECENT BBC RADIO 2 INTERVIEW

Ross Owen with Steve Coogan (Stan Laurel) and John C Reilly (Oliver Hardy)

Ross Owen with Shirley Henderson (Lucille Hardy) and Nina Arianda (Ida Laurel)

Rufus Jones who plays theatrical impresario Lord Bernard Delfont said on twitter "So many people have been talking about their childhoods, of discovering Laurel and Hardy on the BBC as kids, or being introduced to them by their folks. And how they’re going to take their parents to see this film. And I can’t think of a lovelier thing." 

The Laurel family have previewed the movie and have given it the thumbs up. Stan Laurel's great, granddaughter and family spokesperson Cassidy Cook was a special guest at the world premiere in London in October. Cassidy said "I loved the film! It shows how in love my great granddad was with his work... his passion for life and his gift he shared with the world.. he was a true class act.. Ollie was his best friend and they spent many years being the best of friends ... this movie is a fantastic display of the love , magic and life lessons we all can relate to and go through.. it’s a love story and makes me proud to know The Boys are finally back on the big screen for all the world to see and hopefully will encourage them to go watch and research their original films that my great granddad not only starred in but helped write and direct."

I believe Stan and Ollie will appeal not only to lifelong fans, but also to new fans who are about to discover Laurel and Hardy for the first time thanks to this movie. If you portray an icon and you don't get it right, the fans will come down on you like a ton of bricks, but I truly believe Jeff Pope, producer Faye Ward, director Jon S Baird and all involved in the making of this movie have done a wonderful job in capturing the essence of the relationship between the real Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy and the result is a beautiful tip of the hat to the finest comedy duo the world has ever seen.

Our mission at the Laurel and Hardy Forum is to keep the memory and the works of Laurel and Hardy alive for future generations. If the reaction to the Official Trailer is anything to go by, this movie is set to do just that.

Ross Owen

VERDICT: A must see.

See Stan and Ollie in UK cinemas from January 11th 2019. 

Behind The Scenes Of Stan & Ollie starring Steve Coogan and John C Reilly - Exclusive cast interviews presented by The Ross Owen Show

Exclusive audio interviews with the cast of the forthcoming movie Stan and Ollie. My guests include Steve Coogan (Stan Laurel), John C Reilly (Oliver Hardy), Shirley Henderson (Lucille Hardy), Nina Arianda (Ida Laurel), director Jon S Baird and Stan Laurel's great granddaughter Cassidy Cook.

For more celebrity interviews, visit my official website at http://www.therossowenshow.com.

The Ross Owen Show is sponsored by Airdrie Trust, Holemasters, WW2TV and Indigo Unified Communications.