FPS - Looking for Eric - 18 June 09

  • 12 years ago
British director Ken Loach, the multi-award-winning master of social realism, turns his talents to a light-hearted Mancunian comedy-drama in Looking for Eric, which co-stars the legendary French footballer Eric Cantona.

The film follows the plight of Eric Bishop (Steve Evets), a down-and-out postman desperate to reunite with his first ex-wife.

Life is not going the way he had planned. His only emotional consolation, being an avid Manchester United fan, is to talk the poster of his idol, "King Eric."

In steps Cantona, playing himself, as Eric's imaginary friend and guru, ready to kick-start his life down a more positive path.

Amanda Palmer speaks to Loach, along with Loachs long-time collaborator, writer Paul Laverty, plus Evets and, of course, Cantona, the footballer-turned-actor who tells how one real-life fan-turned-friend became the inspiration for the film.