The public got its first glimpse of promotional footage of Killing Bono at The Music Show 2010 at Dublin’s RDS yesterday. The film is based on former Hot Press writer and long-time U2 friend Neil McCormick’s autobiographical account of what it was like to stand in the shadows of Bono and the boys.
Killing Bono Panel Discussion at The Music Show 2010
Journalist Olaf Tyaransen, a name many U2 fans will recognize as a long-time writer of U2 articles, led the Killing Bono panel discussion at The Music Show 2010 on October 3rd. The panel was headed by Nick Hamm, the award-winning director of Killing Bono; Joe Echo, the lead composer of the Killing Bono soundtrack; and Neil McCormick, author of I Was Bono’s Doppelganger, the book that inspired the film.
First Glimpse of Killing Bono
The Killing Bono clip that was shown to the audience at The Music Show 2010 was a montage set to a song Joe Echo composed for Shook Up, Neil’s band that is portrayed in the movie. The high-energy clip was an authentic look at London and Dublin in the early 1980s complete with U2’s second album October released in 1981 advertised on a bus side whizzing by in the background.
The movie starts in the late 1970s when Neil and the members of U2 were students at Mount Temple Comprehensive School in Dublin and even includes a scene depicting the first U2 audition in Larry Mullen’s childhood home in Dublin, something many U2 fan have visualized in their heads at least once. From U2’s inception in 1976 to the Joshua Tree era in the late 1980s, the movie tracks Neil’s life from the shadows of one of the world’s most successful bands.
Not a U2 Movie, a Movie for the Underdog
Director Nick Hamm was attracted to Neil’s story because it taps into the universal feeling of “not making it.” Nick pointed out that Killing Bono “is not a U2 project,” as the band simply plays a counterpoint to someone else’s failure. U2 were consulted, however, during the filming of Killing Bono and Nick said they were "incredibly supportive." He had met with The Edge as well as band manager Paul McGuinness on more than one occasion.
Killing Bono is really a movie about the journey of not making it, a notion Nick believes many people can relate to. Neil McCormick joked that thanks to the movie, he will "be immortalized now as a loser," but at least he will now be famous. The writers of The Commitments wrote the original Killing Bono screenplay so viewers can expect the journey to be quite humorous.
Killing Bono Release Date
Killing Bono is an independent movie being released through Paramount Pictures in Ireland and the UK on April 1st, 2011. The European release of the movie will be scheduled thereafter. Fans can follow movie updates on the Official Killing Bono Blog.
The soundtrack for Killing Bono will be released by Sony to coincide with its first release date and will feature six songs composed by Joe Echo and two that were co-written with Neil McCormick.
Michele O'Brien - Michele O'Brien holds a BA in Journalism & Mass Communication from NYU. Her work has been published in print and online. Michele ...
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