Blackball (2003)

Director:

Mel Smith

Writer:

Tim Firth (written by)

Release Date:

5 September 2003 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Sport

Tagline:

At last, a sportsman the British can be proud of...

Plot:

A rebellious young British bowls player teams with another older and more traditional player to take on the Australian bowls team.

Plot Keywords:

Painter | Sports Agent | Class Conflict | Fall From Ladder | Sports Car

Cast

Paul Kaye	...	Cliff Starkey
James Cromwell	...	Ray Speight
Alice Evans	...	Kerry Speight
Bernard Cribbins	...	Mutley
Johnny Vegas	...	Trevor
Vince Vaughn	...	Rick Schwartz
Imelda Staunton	...	Bridget
James Fleet	...	Alan the Pipe
David Ryall	...	Giles Wilton
Ian McNeice	...	Hugh The Sideburns
Kenneth Cranham	...	Chairman Collins
Terry Alderton	...	Bouncer Jonno
Emma Amos	...	Local News Reporter
Paul Bentall	...	Gate Guard (as Paul Bental)
Neil Conrich	...	Reporter Dave
Pamela Cundell	...	OAP #1
Josie D'Arby	...	Herself
Mark Dymond	...	Kyle Doohan
Rosie Ede	...	The Cleaner
Neil Finnighan	...	MTV Awards Stunt Guy
Christopher Godwin	...	Bowls Official
Howard Goorney	...	Reg Boyt
Beau Holmes	...	The Kangaroo Mascot
Ian Lindsay	...	Dull Referee
Mark Little	...	Mark Doohan
Angus Loughran	...	Himself
Nigel Lindsay	...	Targitex Chairman (as Nigel Lyndsay)
Meredith MacNeill	...	Suzi
Geoffrey McGivern	...	Brian Cronk (as Geoff McGivern)
Felicity Montagu	...	Astronomer (as Felicity Montague)
Stephen Noonan	...	The Advert Director (as Steve Noonan)
Ian O'Hara	...	The Lion Mascot
Vicki Pepperdine	...	Henna Haired PA (as Vicky Pepperdine)
Jeff Rawle	...	Dennis
Julian Rivett	...	Journalist #1
David Schneider	...	Young Buck Reporter
Marlene Sidaway	...	Fifty-year Old Lady
Tony Slattery	...	Flash Referee
Jon Snow	...	Himself
Barry Woolgar	...	Journalist #2
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert Duncan	...	(uncredited)
Jess-Luisa Flynn	...	Secretary (uncredited)
Vic Reeves	...	TV Director (uncredited)

Directed by
Mel Smith

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Tim Firth		written by

Produced by
Mairi Bett	....	line producer
Steve Christian	....	executive producer
Bruce Davey	....	executive producer
Liam Foley	....	associate producer
James Gay-Rees	....	producer
Duncan Reid	....	executive producer
Mel Smith	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Stephen Warbeck

Cinematography by
Vernon Layton

Film Editing by
Chris Blunden

Casting by
Carrie Hilton

Production Design by
Grenville Horner

Art Direction by
Sarah Kane
David Walley

Set Decoration by
Gemma Ryan

Costume Design by
Nigel Egerton
Anja Mai

Makeup Department
Kevin Alexander	....	hair stylist
Kevin Alexander	....	makeup artist
Kirstin Chalmers	....	hair designer
Kirstin Chalmers	....	makeup designer
Nicola Matthews	....	additional makeup artist
Laura McIntosh	....	additional makeup artist
Caroline Mulligan	....	additional makeup artist
Sara Riesel	....	hair stylist
Sara Riesel	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Neil Grimshaw	....	post-production supervisor
Mark Grimwade	....	unit manager
Marshall Leviten	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Matthew Baker	....	second assistant director
Dez Gray	....	third assistant director
John Greaves	....	second unit director
Max Keene	....	first assistant director
Danny McGrath	....	third assistant director
Andrea Slater	....	third assistant director: crowd

Art Department
Steven Adamson	....	painter
Laurence Archer	....	dressing props
Trevor Daniels	....	property master
Gary Gleeson	....	head of department painter
Gary Gleeson	....	painter
Craig Gray	....	construction manager
Barry Howard-Clark	....	stand-by props
Mansel Jones	....	carpenter
Barry Kirkham	....	dressing props
Mike Malik	....	stand-by props
Nathan Middleton	....	painter
Garry Moore	....	stand-by carpenter
Nina Ross	....	assistant art director
Andrea Simpson	....	art department assistant
Wayne Thompson	....	carpenter
John Tinney	....	carpenter
Ruth Winn	....	stand-by art director

Sound Department
Hugo Adams	....	foley editor
Sandy Buchanan	....	foley mixer
Peter Burgis	....	foley artist
Michael A. Carter	....	adr recordist (as Mike Carter)
Tony Cook	....	boom operator
Andie Derrick	....	foley artist (as Andi Derrick)
Gillian Dodders	....	adr editor
Gillian Dodders	....	dialogue editor
Mark Heslop	....	supervising sound editor
Tony Jackson	....	sound recordist: second unit
Brendan Nicholson	....	sound re-recording mixer
Colin Nicolson	....	sound recordist
Richard Pryke	....	dubbing mixer
Andrew Wilkinson	....	assistant sound editor (as Andy Wilkinson)
Andrew Caller	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Steve Lucas	....	special effects supervisor
Sam Hue Vashon	....	special effects technician

Visual Effects by
Henry Badgett	....	digital compositor
Steve Boag	....	optical coordinator
Martin Bullard	....	optical coordinator
Mark Curtis	....	digital compositor
Stefan Drury	....	visual effects producer
Chris Elson	....	digital compositor
Michael Elson	....	head of production: MPC
Dave Gurney	....	optical camera: Cineimage
Rudi Holzapfel	....	visual effects supervisor
Stuart Lashley	....	digital compositor
Phillip Leonhardt	....	digital compositor
Jessica Norman	....	digital compositor
Sarah Soulsby	....	digital compositor
Sally Spencer	....	visual effects coordinator
John Van Hoey Smith	....	rotoscope artist
Niki Wakefield	....	digital compositor
Daniel Walton	....	digital compositor

Stunts
Gareth Milne	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Eugene Adabari	....	still photographer
Marc Atherfold	....	second assistant camera
Ray Brown	....	electrician
Richard Carroll	....	clapper loader
David Cozens	....	focus puller
Chris Craig	....	moving lights consultant
Jamie Fowlds	....	Steadicam operator
Jamie Fowlds	....	camera operator
David Fox	....	stand-by rigger
Colin Gallagher	....	electrician
John Golding	....	director of photography: additional photography
John Golding	....	second camera operator
Dave Gray	....	stand-by rigger
Adrienne Hayward	....	camera trainee
Tony Jackson	....	Steadicam operator
Tony Jackson	....	camera operator
James Layton	....	assistant camera loader
Andy Long	....	gaffer
Zac Nicholson	....	focus puller: second unit
John Rake	....	grip
David C. Romano	....	grip
Steven Schofield	....	electrician
Matt Shaw	....	clapper loader: second unit
David Summerfield	....	assistant grip
William Tracey	....	rigging gaffer
Karl Watkins	....	director of photography: second unit

Casting Department
Millie Chadbon	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Charlotte Child	....	costume assistant
Anne Lavender-Jones	....	additional costumes
Sophie Norinder	....	crowd dresser
Vanessa Woolgar	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Steve Harrow	....	post-production consultant
Steve Maguire	....	assistant editor
David Rees	....	film grader

Music Department
James Bellamy	....	music editor
Chris Dibble	....	scoring mixer
Ian Neil	....	music consultant
Dan Rose	....	music supervisor

Transportation Department
Charlie Simpson	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Joanne Batten	....	production assistant
James Biddle	....	production coordinator
Eddie Booth	....	assistant location manager
Daniel Budd	....	assistant accountant
Jeremy Burnage	....	assistant production coordinator
Mike Clark-Hall	....	production assistant
Amanda Clarkson	....	stand-in
Cuong Dang	....	production assistant
Nicky Earnshaw	....	production assistant
Giles Edleston	....	location manager
Julia Finn	....	unit publicist
Sarah Gardiner	....	production assistant
Nicole Gregory	....	unit publicist
Azzam Ibellini	....	stand-in
Paula Jalfon	....	physical production executive
Jason Jalloul	....	floor runner
Luke Maker	....	stand-in
John Miles	....	production accountant
Richard Morrison	....	title designer
Calum Morrissey	....	stand-in
Sara Sawyer	....	stand-in
Tina Shadick	....	accounting assistant
Elizabeth Tremblay	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Midfield Films
• Icon Entertainment International

Distributors

• Icon Film Distribution (2003) (UK) (theatrical)
• First Look International
• Palisades Pictures (2004) (USA) (all media)

Special Effects

• Cine Image Film Opticals (digital end titles)
• Moving Picture Company (MPC)

Other Companies

• Shepperton Studios  movie studio
• AFM Lighting  lighting
• ARRI Media  camera and grip equipment
• Arion Facilities  telecine transfers
• Axis Films  camera equipment provided by
• Compuhire  computer and video playback
• Cutting Edge  negative cutting
• Fig Productions  main titles design
• Kodak  motion picture film supplied by
• Production Copier Company  production equipment and services
• Reel Sound  sound post-production
• Sapex Scripts  post-production script
• Sargent Disc  production services
• Special Treats  epk camera

Also Known As:

National Lampoon's Blackball (USA) (video title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | UK:15 | USA:R | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Midfield Films

Trivia:

Mel Smith confessed that five minutes before they started filming they realized everyone was absolutely useless at playing lawn bowls.

Goofs:

Continuity: There is paper confetti all over the floor of the indoor bowling green for the England Vs Australia match, in the next shot there is none.

Movie Connections:

References Rocky (1976)

A Damn Good Watch!!!!

When first being sent this film for Christmas by a few family friends it didn't really strike me as the type of film that i should devote my time to watching, (never judge a book by its cover) , as i always do when doing History work for my upcoming GCSE's i decide to watch a film. Normally this is Shawshank or Pulp fiction or a classic of that nature. Yesterday i decided to crack open Blackball, and i wasn't disappointed. Paul Kay provides in my view his personally career topping performance with a great portrayal as Cliff Starky, with most surprisingly Johnny Vegas pulling of a decent film role. This portrayal of bowls brings a witty, humorous and overall shining side to the sport of bowls and shows that some sports need to escape from their stereotypical, pod so to speak. Vince Vaughn provides a great supporting feature to the film with witty comments and great dialect to bring to live the humour of the film. The film also adds a bit of spice with Alice Evans giving a solid at times attractive performance as Kerry speight and helps the film run smoothly. I feel the real star of the show was James Cromwell who really put this film up from a 2-3 to a 7 showing his experience as and actor and portraying Ray speight perfectly. All together i feel this is a great watch lacking a fantastic plot with witty good humoured fun and at times a very good laugh. I highly recommend you at least give this British film (my proud country :) a try :).