Working Title Films, Universal Pictures and Studio Canal present

a WT2 production
an Alex De Rakoff Film
starring

ORLANDO BLOOM
as
THE CALCIUM KID

Also starring
Omid Djalili
Rafe Spall
Tamer Hassan
David Kelly
Michael Pena
Michael Lerner
Ronni Ancona
Billie Piper
Produced by Natascha Wharton
Executive Produced by Eric Fellner, Tim Bevan
Written by Alex De Rakoff from an original screenplay by Raymond Friel and Derek Boyle
Directed by Alex De Rakoff

THE CALCIUM KID will be released on April 30, 2004

SHORT SYNOPSIS

Jimmy Connelly loves his job as a milkman and his one ambition in life is to become the regional manager for his employers Express Milk Dairies. However, his life takes an unexpected turn when he accidentally puts Pete Wright, Britain's contender for the boxing World title, out of action during a sparring match in the local gym. With no time to find a replacement Jimmy is propelled onto the world stage as Britain's boxing hope and is set to fight the current World Champion in a match that promises to be of David and Goliath proportions.

INTRODUCTION

THE CALCIUM KID, a WT2 production, is written and directed by first time feature director Alex De Rakoff from an original screenplay by Raymond Friel and Derek Boyle. The film is produced by Natascha Wharton with Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan serving as Executive Producers.

Orlando Bloom stars as the wholesome milkman Jimmy ‘The Calcium Kid' Connelly, an amateur boxer who, in a bizarre twist of events, ends up fighting the world champion in his home town. Also appearing in the film are Rafe Spall as Jimmy's best friend Stan, comedian Omid Djalili as boxing promoter Herbie Bush, with boxer turned actor Tamer Hassan playing Herbie's initial protege and aggrieved middleweight fighter, Pete Wright. Arriving from stateside are Michael Pena as World Championship boxer Jose Mendez and his promoter Artie Cohen, played by Michael Lerner. Former pop starlet Billie Piper makes her screen debut, taking the role of Angel.

GETTING STARTED…

"The idea for the film actually came to us from two Scottish writers [Raymond Friel and Derek Boyle] who had never previously written a screenplay," says executive producer Natascha Wharton when asked about the origination of THE CALCIUM KID. "We were impressed by a short they had written and commissioned them as part of our [Working Title's] New Writer's Scheme to develop it into a feature length screenplay." Wharton continues, "We started looking for a director and knew Alex De Rakoff through his writing. When he came on board he was very keen to inject some of his personality into the script." One of the first things writer/director De Rakoff did with the script was to take the action out of its original Glaswegian setting and move it to his home turf of South East London as he explains, "I was born and bred in South London and was influenced stylistically by the fashion, music and locations of my time growing up there as a kid." He continues, "I thought I would need to personalise it and felt that to set it in South London and re-characterise it in that way, would work for the taste that I have. I have always wanted to make a movie set in South London so I managed to get my first film off the ground and base it somewhere which I was absolutely delighted about, it was great."

THE HEART OF THE STORY…

"Everyone says, ‘You've made a boxing movie', and I say, ‘It's set in the boxing world, it's not necessarily a boxing movie'," says De Rakoff when talking about the film's narrative setting. "I am a big boxing fan and I've seen a lot of boxing movies, but I always felt that THE CALCIUM KID was not one of these. I wanted to make a heartfelt, quirky comedy, but set it against a boxing backdrop." He continues, "There is some boxing in it, and it follows a kid in the lead up to a championship fight, but I changed the whole third act of the script, which I won't reveal as it would ruin the film, to make it stand out from your usual boxing film climax."

"I have no particular interest in boxing, I've never been to a match and find the notion of boxing actually quite terrifying," adds Wharton, "but what is so fantastic about this script and what Alex has brought to it, is that it has heart as well." She goes on, "Alex has balanced the array of eccentric, wild characters and the boxing world so at the heart of it is this kid whom you really feel for." De Rakoff picks up, "You know when I first wrote this film and started to cast it, I felt it was an out and out comedy, but as filming progressed I started to realise there was a lot more heart in it, so I played often for the drama and emotion as much as the comedy." He continues, "At times, it's very funny and at times you have real sympathy for the characters. Jimmy's journey is like a coming of age and it's about him taking control of his life. It starts a certain way, he's very naive, very sweet, very lovable and easily controlled, but by the end of it he's slightly more of a man. It's a simple journey with an extravagant story around it."

CASTING…

"All directors say that their film was really dependent on cast," says De Rakoff, "but this film is so dependent on cast. We spent a long time casting, seeing a lot of different people for all the parts. Casting is everything, essential." He continues, "There had to be real continuity. You might have found someone you thought was fantastic for the part and then you put him in amidst everyone else and it didn't work. It's not just about casting individuals, it's about looking at the casting of the complete whole and how everybody works and interweaves and that was challenging, definitely, but also good fun."

"A few people asked the question ‘did you cast Orlando because he was Orlando Bloom?'" says Wharton. "In fact when we first met him, there was a buzz post Lord Of The Rings, but I wasn't sure he was a name as such." She continues, "Truthfully, the minute we met him he just smiled, and it sounds stupid and a bit corny, but I just thought, he is The Calcium Kid!" She goes on, "Orlando just had this sweet innocence about him. It was always going to be a hard thing to balance, someone who was a boxer but had this real sweetness in the character, and I think Orlando embodies Jimmy, I'm just delighted by him."

Bloom was equally as delighted to get the part, "I knew when I read the script that it was a project I wanted to be involved in. Alex wrote the script too and it's just so quirky and funny and off the wall and the characters are fantastic. I had complete confidence in his ability to direct and knew he would do a stupendously good job and I just really wanted to work with him. Alex has got some great work out of the cast, myself included." He continues, "I also wanted to work in England. I'd been out of drama school for about four years and I hadn't done anything in my own hometown so being in South London was great. It was good to be home and have my mates around me." On the character of Jimmy he comments, "One thing that really appealed to me was his innocence and openness. Until it gets complicated, his life is so simple and he is so content and happy, enjoying his milk round and being around his mates. There are points of real beauty, how you see his journey progress, the! naivety, vulnerability, I really liked to show that."

On the casting of comedian Djalili, Wharton reflects, "Herbie was a really hard part to cast because he is so significant and we all felt that if you didn't get Herbie right, certainly in terms of the comedy, it just wouldn't work. We considered lots of people, but Omid came and read I don't think there was any doubt in anyone's mind to be honest." De Rakoff expands, "Omid is of Middle Eastern descent and I wanted to cast away from the usual ‘Arthur Daly London hustler' type character. On the page, Herbie was so larger than life, with lots of funny, ridiculous situations and dialogue and Omid is a very funny man. He has great comic timing and has a great physicality that when he came to read for the part he did something very different from what I was expecting and I was completely blown away by it." He continues, "He's also a really good actor and can play for drama as well as comedy which absolutely worked for Herbie." Wharton agrees, "Omid worked brilliantly and even thou! gh he's playing it heightened, it's credible; despite the Altar Boys and dolly birds, you really believe the character. We were really excited to have found him."

THE BOXING…

THE CALCIUM KID is set amidst the backdrop of the boxing world and De Rakoff put his lead actor, Orlando Bloom, through a rigorous training schedule to get him into shape to play The Calcium Kid. Says De Rakoff. "Because of the nature of the film and his character, I didn't want him to appear to be a fantastic boxer, so we had to build him to just the right physique." Bloom was happy to get in shape, "I've been training quite a bit for myself anyway, but I've also been doing a lot of boxing stuff like skipping, which is actually a really hard skill to master."

De Rakoff brought in established stunt/boxing co-ordinator Vince Keane to oversee all the action. "My role is to choreograph all the fights, go through and rehearse the routines with the actors and importantly, to look after them and make sure no-one gets hurt during the fight," says Keane. He continues, "We obviously don't actually hit, so we have to get the actor comfortable with throwing a punch. Anyone can throw a punch, but to throw it with force and to stop and not hit, and to make it look real. That's actually very hard." He goes on, "You have to think of it like a dance routine; every move has to be choreographed, so you know exactly what each actor is doing at any given time."

Actors require a lot of training, not just physically but mentally too, as Keane explains, "Actors are not naturally aggressive, and so they need training to not just perform like a boxer but to think like one also. They can sometimes find the moves hard so you have to spend a little time with them, building their confidence, once they feel confident they can take care of themselves. Many actors are just afraid to let the punches go for fear of hurting a fellow actor." And for someone who'd not boxed before, "Orlando has done brilliantly," says Keane, "he's had to learn to skip, spar and shadow box and all these things have their own little difficulties. He's a good learner, he picks things up really quickly and he really looks the part."

Tamer Hassan, who plays the psychotic Pete Wright, was no stranger to the ring. "I was an amateur boxer before I was an actor," says Hassan, who still in fact owns his own boxing gym. "I grew up in Southeast London and there is a big boxing community down there, I started boxing when I was nine." Keane adds, "Because Tamer has boxed before he is naturally more aggressive and knows how to move."

Keane concludes, "It's great when you get people like Orlando and Tamer and you do a fight sequence and it comes together. You look at the finished product and if I believe it, you know the audience is going to believe it to."

SOUTHEAST LONDON…

THE CALCIUM KID was shot almost entirely on location in Vauxhall, South East London. The production took over the old disused school, The Beaufoy Institute on Black Prince Road as their production office. The Institute also doubled up as a studio, with Production Designer Joel Collins and his team building many of the interior sets within the old school halls and classrooms. The grounds of the Beaufoy were also used as a permanent unit base for the wealth of local Lambeth locations used by the production in the surrounding area, including the butcher's, the pubs and the tower block flats.

Being from Southeast London himself, De Rakoff felt the area had a personality of its own, which lent wonderfully to the production. "People from South London are proud of being from South London and there is a certain kind of dialogue and a certain way of dressing, certain kind of music, certain cars you drove as teenagers that are different from East London, it's just a territorial thing." He continues, "People think you're insane and that there's nothing different about South London, but us south Londoner's think there is."

"I know Alex was keen to use a lot of local extras because their personalities just reflect the overall character of the place," says Wharton. "Throughout the pre-production and shoot, we've worked extremely closely with Lambeth Council and the local people of Vauxhall." She continues, "This is the curious mix, when we visited Vauxhall and started looking at the locations, what I found amazing was how much character there was inherent in the place. We just walked into certain locations and they had so much character to them, it was like time had stood still."

CREW BIOGRAPHIES

ALEX DE RAKOFF
DIRECTOR

THE CALCIUM KID is the debut feature from writer/director Alex De Rakoff whose previous work includes music promos for Ice T, Space, Bucketheads and N-Trance as well as the shorts James Draminski, a mockumentary about the last living vampire starring Mia Kirshner (Not Another Teen Movie) and Grand Theft Auto, based on the hugely popular computer game.

NATASCHA WHARTON, WT2
PRODUCER

WT2 was launched in May 1999 as a subsidiary to Working Title Films, Europe's pre-eminent production house, with the purpose of providing an energetic and creatively fertile home for key emerging UK film talent and lower budget productions. WT2's first film, Billy Elliot, grossed over $100 worldwide. Winner of three BAFTA Awards including Most Outstanding British Film Of The Year and The British Independent Film Award for Best Film, Billy Elliot was also nominated for three Academy Awards® and two Golden Globe Awards. WT2's other releases include Marcus Adams' contemporary urban supernatural horror, Long Time Dead, the critically acclaimed low budget internet based horror movie, My Little Eye directed by Marc Evans and the hit comedy Ali G Indahouse, starring Sacha Baron Cohen. Currently in post production are three films for release in 2004; Shaun Of The Dead directed by Edgar Wright and starring Simon Pegg; Inside I'm Dancing, directed by Damien O'Donnell starring Romola Garai and Jonjo Mickybo directed by Terry Loane.

WT2
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS

WT2 was launched at the Cannes Film Festival in April 1999 as a subsidiary to Working Title Films, Europe's pre-eminent production house, with the purpose of providing an energetic and creatively fertile home for key emerging UK film talent and lower budget productions. Run by Natascha Wharton, WT2 aims to make 2-3 feature films per year.

WT2's first film, BILLY ELLIOT, directed by Stephen Daldry, was released to critical and commercial acclaim, grossing over $100 worldwide. The division has since made ALI G INDAHOUSE, directed by Mark Mylod and starring Sacha Baron Cohen, web thriller MY LITTLE EYE, directed by Marc Evans, and LONG TIME DEAD directed by Marcus Adams.

This year, in addition to THE CALCIUM KID, the division will release SHAUN OF THE DEAD, a zombie comedy directed by Edgar Wright and starring Simon Pegg, JONJO MICKYBO by first time director Terry Loane starring Julie Walters, Ciaran Hinds, Adrian Dunbar and Gina Mckee and INSIDE I'M DANCING directed by Damien O'Donnell starring Romola Garai, James McAvoy and Steven Robertson.

TIM BEVAN AND ERIC FELLNER
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS

Working Title Films, co-chaired by Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner since 1992, is Europe's leading film production company. Together, they have made more than 70 films grossing over two and a half billion dollars worldwide. Their films have won 4 Academy Awards, for Elizabeth, Fargo and Dead Man Walking, 18 British Academy Awards, including Billy Elliot and Four Weddings and a Funeral, and won prestigious prizes at the Cannes and Berlin Film Festivals.

Bevan and Fellner have a long-term relationship with writer Richard Curtis and actor Hugh Grant, with whom they have collaborated on their three most successful films – all romantic comedies – Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill and Bridget Jones's Diary, with Notting Hill holding the record for the highest grossing British film worldwide. Curtis also wrote the screenplay for the hit comedy, Bean, starring Rowan Atkinson and has just completed directing his first film (from his own original screenplay) Love Actually with an ensemble cast including Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Laura Linney, Liam Neeson, Rowan Atkinson, Alan Rickman, Colin Firth and Martine McCutcheon. Hugh Grant recently starred in About a Boy, based on the celebrated book by Nick Hornby and directed by Chris and Paul Weitz.

The Coen brothers also have a long association with Working Title, having made five films with the company including the Academy-award winning Fargo, The Hudsucker Proxy, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, The Big Lebowski and The Man Who Wasn't There, which won Joel Coen the Best Director prize at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival.

In 1999, WT2 was formed to produce Working Title's lower budget films. Its first film, Billy Elliot, directed by Stephen Daldry, became an international commercial and critical hit. The division, headed by Natascha Wharton, has since made Ali G Indahouse, starring Sacha Baron Cohen, which was a huge success in the UK, as well as Long Time Dead and My Little Eye.

Adapting successful and original books is high on Working Title's manifesto. The film of Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones's Diary endeared audiences worldwide to Renee Zellweger in the title role. Stephen Frears transferred Nick Hornby's High Fidelity to the screen, and Chris and Paul Weitz directed About A Boy based on Hornby's best selling novel. Other notable adaptations include John Madden's Captain Corelli's Mandolin starring Nicolas Cage and Penelope Cruz, Tim Robbins' Dead Man Walking, starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn, and the children's classic The Borrowers.

Three years ago, Working Title opened an office in Australia (WTa) headed by Tim White. Their first film Ned Kelly, featured Heath Ledger as the legendary outlaw, supported by a cast including Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush, Naomi Watts and Rachel Griffiths. The second, Gettin' Square, is a comedy starring Timothy Spall.

Recent releases include Michael Lehmann's 40 Days & 40 Nights starring Josh Hartnett, and Daisy von Scherler Mayer's romantic comedy The Guru, starring Jimi Mistry, Heather Graham and Marisa Tomei, Johnny English starring Rowan Atkinson and Natalie Imbruglia and Love Actually starring Alan Rickman, Andrew Lincoln, Bill Nighy, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, Gregor Fisher, Heike Makatsch, Hugh Grant, Joanna Page, Keira Knightley, Kris Marshall, Laura Linney, Liam Neeson, Martin Freeman, Martine McCutcheon, Rowan Atkinson and Thomas Sangster..

Forthcoming releases this year are the Thirteen, a coming of age drama starring Holly Hunter; The Shape Of Things, Neil Labute's screen adaptation of his own play starring Rachel Weisz; Thunderbirds, a live action feature film of the hit British TV series of the ‘60s directed by Jonathan Frakes and starring Sir Ben Kingsley, Anthony Edwards, Bill Paxton and Sophia Myles; and Wimbledon, a romantic comedy directed by Richard Loncraine to star Kirsten Dunst and Paul Bettany.

Working Title has a five year deal with Universal Pictures and StudioCanal providing the resources and distribution structure to allow them to retain creative autonomy producing predominantly European films while enjoying full studio backing and worldwide distribution.

RICHARD JOHNS
CO-PRODUCER

Richard Johns produced Bharat Nalluri's feature film Downtime starring Paul McGann, before going onto to produce Nalluri's next feature Killing Time. Johns then produced the multi-award winning, and Academy® nominated, Shadow Of A Vampire starring John Malkovich and Willem Dafoe. Following on from THE CALCIUM KID, Johns is now producing The Other Half for director Peter Howitt, due to start shooting in April.

DAVID DUNLAP
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

As a Camera Operator and Director Of Photography, David Dunlap has a broad and varied list of films to his name. His credits as Operator include Raising Arizona, Working Girl, The Fabulous Baker Boys, Postcards From The Edge, The Client, Hannibal, Royal Tenenbaums and K-PAX as well as The Last Temptation Of Christ, Goodfellas and The Age Of Innocence through his ongoing collaboration with director Martin Scorsese.

As 2nd Unit DoP, Dunlap worked on the multi-Academy® Award winning, Forrest Gump and A Beautiful Mind as well as Ransom, Men In Black, Wild Wild West, Random Heart, Shaft, and Changing Lanes. His most recent work includes Analyze That and How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days.

MAGS ARNOLD
EDITOR

Mags Arnold previously edited the internet-based horror My Little Eye. As First Assistant Editor, Arnold's credits include High Fidelity, Captain Corelli's Mandolin and The Trench as well as The Avengers for which she was Digital Assistant Editor. As Assistant Editor, her television credits include Kidnapped, Breaking The Code, Samson & Delilah and The Odyssey.

JOEL COLLINS
PRODUCTION DESIGNER

With a background in commercials and music promos THE CALCIUM KID marks Joel Collins' debut feature film as Production Designer. His music credits include videos for Badly Drawn Boy, Fat Boy Slim, Pulp, Embrace, Paul McCartney, Starsailor and Muse to name but a few. Collins' commercials work has seen him designing for directors Shane Meadows and Spike Jonze among others.

SAMMY SHELDON
COSTUME DESIGNER

Sammy Sheldon recently designed the costumes for Ridley Scott's war picture Black Hawk Down. Her other feature film credits include Assistant Designer on Gladiator, Plunkett And Macleane and the forthcoming picture Four Feathers. She recently completed Ancient Egyptians in Morocco, a four part series to be broadcast next year on C4. With numerous commercials and over 100 pop promos under her belt, she also worked on Pulp's six-minute film/promo for This Is Hardcore.

CAST BIOGRAPHIES

ORLANDO BLOOM
JIMMY CONNELLY

A graduate of London's Guildhall, Orlando Bloom first made an impact as Legolas in the fantasy epic Lord Of The Rings Trilogy: Fellowship Of The Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002) and Return Of The King (2003). Bloom took a starring role as Will Turner in the 2003 blockbuster, Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl, opposite Johnny Depp and Kiera Knightly, which was followed by Working Title Films' Ned Kelly, the story of the 19th Century Australian outlaw in which he played Joe Byrne alongside Heath Ledger. Bloom has recently completed filming his role as Paris, Prince of Troy in Wolfgang Petersen's Troy opposite Brad Pitt and his LOTR co-star, Sean Bean, as well as a role in Haven opposite Gabriel Byrne and Bill Paxton. The New Year sees Bloom commence shooting the epic adventure Kingdom Of Heaven alongside Liam Neeson, which is directed by Ridley Scott with whom Bloom first worked on Black Hawk Down.