How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008)

A British writer struggles to fit in at a high-profile magazine in New York City.

Director:

Robert B. Weide

Writers:

Peter Straughan (screenplay), Toby Young (book)

Stars:

Simon Pegg, Kirsten Dunst, Megan Fox

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kelan Pannell	...	Young Sidney
Janette Scott	...	Sidney's Mother (archive footage)
Danny Huston	...	Lawrence Maddox
Simon Pegg	...	Sidney Young
Megan Fox	...	Sophie Maes
Gillian Anderson	...	Eleanor Johnson
Kelly Jo Charge	...	Apollo Awards Presenter
Christian Maier Smith	...	Apollo Awards Guest
Katherine Parkinson	...	PR Woman
Felicity Montagu	...	Clipboard Nazi
Thandie Newton	...	Thandie Newton
John Lightbody	...	Assistant Hotel Manager
Ian Bonar	...	Post Modern Review Staff
James Corden	...	Post Modern Review Staff
Fenella Woolgar	...	Post Modern Review Staff

Storyline

Sidney Young is a disillusioned intellectual who both adores and despises the world of celebrity, fame and glamor. His alternative magazine, "Post Modern Review", pokes fun at the media obsessed stars and bucks trends, and so when Young is offered a job at the diametrically opposed conservative New York based "Sharps" magazine it's something of a shock! It seems "Sharps" editor Clayton Harding is amused by Young's disruption of a post-BAFTA party with a pig posing as Babe. Thus begins Sidney's descent into success - his gradual move from derided outsider to confidante of starlet Sophie Maes. Initially helping him out at Sharps is colleague Alison Olsen, who has her own secret. Wither their friendship?

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Plot Keywords:

celebrity | magazine | new york city | starlet | pig | 

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Taglines:

The most hilarious comedy of the year.

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Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, some graphic nudity and brief drug material

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [UK] Official site [United States]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 October 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Kako izgubiti prijatelje i otuđiti se od ljudi

Filming Locations:

Café de Paris, Coventry Street, Soho, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$27,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,154,607 (UK) (3 October 2008)

Gross:

$2,775,593 (USA) (5 December 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Number 9 Films, Film4, Intandem Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the montage of Sidney's name appearing on guest lists to parties and exclusive events one of the names about Sidney's on a list is Oscar Wright - younger brother of writer/director Edgar Wright, who is a frequent collaborator of Simon Pegg.

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Goofs

When "La Dolce Vita" is playing in the park, there are no subtitles. Since the film is in Italian, it would be very odd to show the film to an English-speaking language without translation.

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Quotes

Sidney Young: [At a party attended by swanky people] Look at that. All night long, people have been treating us like royalty. In London, the journalist's motto is, "Everybody hates us, and we don't care."

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Connections

References The Love Boat (1977)

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Soundtracks

Enough Love
Written by Richard Parfitt (uncredited) and Owen Powell (uncredited)
Performed by Duffy
Courtesy of Polydor Records Ltd
Under licence from Universal Music Operations
Publishing Copyright Control

User Reviews

Boys Own bull - badly written, and with an embarrassed cast.

A puerile and predictable, self indulgent meander through a faux glamorous media world that doesn't exist. Presumably Toby Young wrote this as he was about to get sacked - he is now a complacent Brit TV food critic and that is just about his speed. Impossible to identify with the main lead - even though Simon Pegg is great with his own material, you wonder if his overacting was just to show his disdain for the tosh he was forced to deliver.

Kirsten Dunst is dull and disapproving, and clearly uninspired - not surprisingly. What is Jeff Bridges doing here?? He seems to be wondering this himself. When you have to rely on pigs, dogs, goldfish, farting chairs and being sick on stylish women - you know you're in trouble, so no wonder it staggers along under the weight of its own embarrassment.

Having said that, anything about the inside world of magazines interests me, even if you're left with The Devil Wears Prada and this film - ie people at the bottom of the pile with nothing to lose, rubbishing those at the top in the hope of a book and film deal - and amazingly, sometimes people fall for it.

And believe me, I'm an expert in this field, so listen to me! I know (imagine smiley emoticon here).

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