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 Daily Record Article WILLIAM SHATNER's autographraised £740 in auction
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 Olliealong with Rob Lewis editor of the Laurel and Hardy Magazineandnotable 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.”
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 Traileris 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.
