Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were the most famous comedy double act of the silent and early talkie era. Steve Coogan and John C Reily are no slouches when it comes to comedy and they have been chosen to play the comedy icons in Stan And Ollie, a new bio-pic that focuses on the team’s later years. Currently filming in England in Birmingham, some paparazzo managed to get pictures of Reily as Hardy and Coogan as Laurel on set.
Stan & Ollie examines the comic pair late in their career. It is the 1950s and the duo’s fortunes have fallen hard from their heyday. Hoping to give their careers a much needed boost, the pair head off to England for a tour of music halls. But the trip would ultimately test both their personal and professional relationship.
The screenplay is by Jeff Pope, who was nominated for an Academy Award for co-writing 2013’s Philomena with Coogan, who would star in the film as well. Director Jon S. Baird is making this his long awaited feature film follow up to 2013’s crime comedy Filth after a detour into British television.
Reilly appears to be using some prosthetics to fill himself out to Hardy’s girth, while it appears that Coogan has slimmed himself down a bit to play Laurel. He may not look quite like the comic, but I suspect a mimic as good as Coogan is will be able to capture Laurel convincingly.
Stan And Ollie is set for a 2018 release.
