Michael Winterbottom wraps Greed
- The English filmmaker collaborates once again with Steve Coogan in a satire set under the Aegean sun
The British duo, helmer Michael Winterbottom and actor Steve Coogan, have extended their long-term collaboration with their latest comedy production Greed [+see also:
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The story follows a fictional “self-absorbed retail billionaire” (Coogan) – although there are some reports that the character was loosely inspired by the owner of Topshop and tycoon Sir Philip Green – who lives a life of luxury and is constantly surrounded by fashionable and glamorous celebrities. On the occasion of his 60th birthday he decides to hold an extravagant party in the most exclusive hotel on the Greek resort island of Mykonos, to which the crème de la crème of the international jet set is invited. The only person who really understands him and his larger-than-life character is his wife, portrayed by Isla Fisher, while David Mitchell plays a journalist hired by the billionaire to chronicle his life story.
The film also stars Sophie Cookson, Shirley Henderson, Asa Butterfield, Sarah Solemani, Shanina Shaik, Dinita Gohil, Asim Chaudhry, Pearl Mackie, Jonny Sweet, Ollie Locke, and Stephen Fry. It’s also worth noting that Sacha Baron Cohen was initially due to play the lead role.
The satirical script was co-penned by Winterbottom and the successful writer Sean Gray, known for his collaboration with Armando Iannucci (The Death of Stalin [+see also:
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Greed was produced by Laine Kline and Luke Scrase for Sony Pictures International Productions and by Daniel Battsek and Ollie Madden for Film4, along with Melissa Parmenter for Revolution Films and Damian Jones for DJ Films. The film also profited from a Greek cash rebate scheme introduced by EKOME SA. This is the sixth collaboration between Winterbottom and Film4, with Greed due to be released in late 2019 by Sony Pictures International Productions.
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