Nick Hamm’s ‘Killing Bono’, will commence shooting on Monday, January 11th in Belfast. The film stars Ben Barnes (The Chronicles of Narnia), Robert Sheehan (Red Riding, Misfits) and, Krysten Ritter (Confessions of a Shopaholic).The film’s shoot will last for six weeks and will move from Belfast to London before returning to Belfast. Barnes and Sheehan play brothers Neil and Ivan McCormick. The pair formed a band in Dublin in the late 70s - but found themselves constantly compared to their classmates’ band, U2.
Neil McCormick’s autobiographical book ‘Killing Bono: I was Bono’s Doppelgänger’ has been adapted by the Dick Clement and Ian la Frenais (The Commitments, Porridge). Director Nick Hamm previously directed 'The Hole' & 'Godsend'.
Book Synopsis:
Some achieve greatness.
Some have greatness thrust upon them.
And some have the misfortune
to go to school with Bono.
Everyone wants to be famous. But as a young punk in Dublin in the 1970s, Neil McCormick's ambitions went way beyond mere pop stardom. It was his destiny to be a veritable Rock God. He had it all worked out: the albums, the concerts, the quest for world peace. There was only one thing he hadn't counted on. The boy sitting on the other side of the classroom had plans of his own.
Killing Bono is a story of divergent lives. As Bono and his band U2 ascended to global superstardom, his school friend Neil scorched a burning path in quite the opposite direction. Bad drugs, weird sex, bizarre haircuts: Neil experienced it all in his elusive quest for fame. But sometimes it is life's losers who have the most interesting tales to tell.
Featuring guest appearances by the Pope, Bob Dylan, and a galaxy of stars, Killing Bono offers an extremely funny, startlingly candid, and strangely moving account of a life lived in the shadows of superstardom.
"The problem with knowing you is that you've done everything I ever wanted to," Neil once complained to his famous friend. "I'm your doppelganger," Bono replied. "If you want your life back, you'll have to kill me."
Now there was a thought...
