Steve Coogan Updates The Trip Sequel and Teases Alan Partridge Movie
Posted 02.14.12 by Ryan
Before Steve Coogan was discovered by U.S. audiences for his work in comedies like Tropic Thunder and The Other Guys, he was a fixture on British TV and radio comedy programs playing the erstwhile sports reporter and eventual radio and talk show host Alan Partridge on shows such as The Day Today, Knowing Me, Knowing You and, I'm Alan Partridge. Coogan most recently found success with last year's road trip comedy The Trip, which paired him with his Tristram Shandy co-star Rob Brydon as they played fictionalized versions of themselves touring restaurants in the English countryside. A sequel was revealed to be in the works last July.
Coogan was profiled in a recent edition of Vanity Fair magazine (via The Playlist), wherein he revealed that The Trip sequel, which will be set in Italy, will see him and Brydon "retracing the steps of Shelley and Byron, with all the attendant pompousness and portent." Director Michael Winterbottom is set to return, but there's no production start set just yet.
Coogan also said that an Alan Partridge movie, which he has teased since at least 2005, will finally see the light of day and start shooting this summer. The movie will center around "a large event in a small town." And Coogan adds: "Alan is not the protagonist. He's...an unwilling participant." Coogan has been writing the movie with longtime friends and collaborators Pete Baynham (Borat) and Armando Ianucci (Into The Loop) since last year.
"It's been great when Armando and Steve and I have been together," Coogan said of the project. "Everyone's laughing, everyone's doing Alan. Three Alans in a room — torture, really."
For those unfamiliar with the boorish and ignorant Partridge, here's a sample of the character from Coogan's recent web-series Mid Morning Matters.
For those who have yet to see The Trip, here's Coogan and Brydon competing to see who does the best Michael Caine impression.