Killing Bono (2011)

Two brothers attempt to become global rock stars but can only look on as old school friends U2 become the biggest band in the world.

Director:

Nick Hamm

Writers:

Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais

Stars:

Ben Barnes, Robert Sheehan, Krysten Ritter

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ben Barnes	...	Neil McCormick
Ralph Brown	...	Leo
Jason Byrne	...	Hotel Receptionist
Sam Corry	...	Paul McGuinness
Seán Doyle	...	Larry Mullen Jr.
Sean Duggan	...	Liam
David Fennelly	...	Frankie
Mark Griffin	...	The Edge
Aoife Holton	...	Stella McCormick
Joni Kamen	...	Joss
Thomas Kelly	...	Hopeless Eric
Packy Lee	...	U2 Security Guard
James Lonergan	...	Keith
Lisa McAllister	...	Erika
Aidan McArdle	...	Bill McCormick

Storyline

Two brothers attempt to become global rock stars but can only look on as old school friends U2 become the biggest band in the world.

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Plot Keywords:

female nudity | topless female nudity | sex scene | bedroom | band | 

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Taglines:

Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n Roll Rivalry

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Genres:

Comedy | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive language, some sexuality/nudity and drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official Blog

Country:

UK Ireland

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 April 2011 (UK)

Also Known As:

I Was Bono's Doppelgänger

Filming Locations:

Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£112,206 (United Kingdom), 3 April 2011, Limited Release

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinema Three, Generator Entertainment, Greenroom Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Hammond mentions getting "the other one" from the duo Wham!, but doesn't know his name. He is referring to Andrew Ridgeley.

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Goofs

When Neil is about to leave the garage about discussing the bands future his collar is down. There is a cut in the shot and his collar is up. There is yet another shot from outside of the garage and his collar is down again.

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Quotes

Neil McCormick: Hello? Hi, where is Hammond?
Rick: Are you the new runners?
Neil McCormick: No, no no, of course we are not the new runners. We're the McCormicks! We're Hammond's new act, we're just here to sign the old contracts.
Rick: Hammond is history. Axed. Kept spunking cash into Kajagoogoo. I'm the new Hammond.
Neil McCormick: No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. What was the last thing he said before he left?
Rick: Let me think uh... "I'm gonna sue you bastards right through the arsehole". Then he sort of... broke down. It was all very uncool.
Ivan McCormick: Yeah but he ...
[...]

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Connections

Spoofs Star Trek (1966)

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Soundtracks

Sleepwalking
Written by Ivan McCormick, Neil McCormick & Ciaran Gribbin
Performed by Ben Barnes and Yeah! Yeah!

User Reviews

Plays like an episode of Grange Hill

I think the story this movie tells actually had some legs on it. It was interesting, there was depth and insight in it, but the director chose exactly the wrong tone for telling it and the result is an addition to the list of failures associated with the central figure. The tone is a mediocre wanting-to-please-everyone Grange Hill TV vibe with none of the serious themes coming through well because everything is played for light, obvious, almost slapstick laughs; it's delivery so rooted in dated TV stylings that you wonder what the production team were thinking. Sure the story is from the 80's but cinema has grown leaps and bounds since then. Look to the documentary Anvil for how something like this could better be handled. Some of the cast were well chosen but their delivery was well off, in keeping with the bad choice of feel. I wish this film was better, and another production team may well milk it for the good it has in its story, if it gets another shot at its 15 mins of fame. On a side note original videos of the real band shook up show them to be something quite terrible, so that kind of ruins everything.