Millions

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Millions is a 2004 British comedy-drama film directed by Danny Boyle, and starring Alex Etel, Lewis Owen McGibbon, and James Nesbitt. The film's screenwriter Frank Cottrell-Boyce adapted his novel while the film was in the process of being made. The novel was subsequently awarded the Carnegie Medal. When the novel begins, Damian, Anthony, and their father have moved into a brand new house in a new neighborhood following the death of their mother. Both brothers handle their mother’s death differently. Damian turns to faith, specifically to an interest in the host of saints that populate Heaven, and Anthony turns inward, pretending to outwardly be dealing with the death of his mother well. Inside, he is heartbroken. a b c "A life in writing: Frank Cottrell Boyce". Susanna Rustin. The Guardian 26 October 2012. Retrieved 2012-10-28. Frank Cottrell-Boyce is an accomplished, successful and award-winning author and screenwriter. His books have been shortlisted for a multitude of prizes, including the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, the Whitbread Children's Fiction Award (now the Costa Book Award) and the Roald Dahl Funny Prize and Millions, his debut children's novel, won the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2004. Authorgraph No.170 – Frank Cottrell Boyce". Books for Keeps. Archived from the original on 21 March 2009.

Frank Cottrell Boyce started writing as a scriptwriter, working on Coronation Street and Brookside and writing screenplays for a number of successful films. Millions began as a screenplay for a film to be directed by Danny Boyle. Boyle encouraged Cottrell Boyce to turn it into a novel which was published before the film came out. He caught the plague and hid in the woods so he wouldn’t infect anyone, and a dog came and fed him every day. Then he started to do miraculous cures and people came to see him – hundreds of people – in his hut in the woods. He was so worried about saying the wrong thing to someone that he didn’t say a word for the last ten years of his life.’ ‘ In addition to original scripts, Cottrell-Boyce has also adapted novels for the screen and written children's fiction. His first novel Millions was based on his own screenplay for the film of the same name; it was published by Macmillan in 2004. Cottrell-Boyce won the annual Carnegie Medal from the British librarians, recognising it as the year's best children's book published in the U.K. [16] [17] His next novel Framed, he made the shortlist for both the Carnegie [18] and the Whitbread Children's Book Award. He adapted it as a screenplay for a 2009 BBC television film. He made the Carnegie shortlist again for Cosmic (2008). [18] In 2011, he was commissioned to write a sequel to the Ian Fleming children's book Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, [19] which was published in October 2011 as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again. [20] In addition to Coronation Street, he wrote many episodes of the soap opera Brookside, as well as its spin-offs Damon and Debbie and South. Cottrell-Boyce has been praised by Roger Ebert as one of the few truly inventive modern-day screenwriters. He has spoken against the "three-act structure" and the "hero's journey" formulas, which are often regarded as axiomatic truths in the business [14] [ clarification needed]. perhaps his most famous example of this is in 24 Hour Party People where the character of Anthony Wilson states that “Scott Fitzgerald said there are no second acts in American lives. This is Manchester. We do things differently. This is the second act” which Cottrell-Boyce has stated was due to criticism of the script not following the three act structure. [15] Cottrell-Boyce was the writer [5] [22] [23] of the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, whose storyline he based on Shakespeare's The Tempest. [21] He collaborated with director Danny Boyle and other members of the creative team, including designer Mark Tildesley, [22] in the development of the story and themes, and wrote "short documents that told the story of each segment" [24] to provide context for choreographers, builders and other participants. He also wrote the brochure, [22] [24] the stadium announcements [22] and the media guide for presenter Huw Edwards. [5] [24]

Frank Cottrell-Boyce Press Reviews

Johnathan Wooten of Christian Spotlight on Entertainment downplayed the significance, saying, "Those concerned about objectionable content will not find much to offend here though. There is very little violence (a short robbery scene, a very brief moment of a child in peril). Sexual content includes a glimpse of an unmarried couple in bed together as well as pre-pubescent boy viewing an Internet lingerie ad. When played out the latter scene actually has a strange wholesomeness to it considering his other viewing options. The only profanity is some mild British slang." [12] Accolades [ edit ] Damian and his brother, Anthony, have recently lost their mother, and their father is doing all that he can to raise them well. Damian’s coping mechanism for his mother’s death is to read everything he can about the lives of various saints. Anthony, however, becomes a bit of a financial guru. When a huge bag stuffed with more than 200,000 quid comes flying out of the sky and into Damian’s cardboard “hermitage” (i.e., hideout), the story begins.

The song playing in the scene after they descend from the sky and provide water in Africa is "Nirvana", by Elbosco on the Angelis album. Frank's first book, Millions, won the CILIP Carnegie Medal in 2004 and has been shortlisted for a number of awards, including the Guardian Children's Fiction Award 2004. Millions has also been made into a movie directed by Danny Boyle. Frank's second novel, Framed, was published in September 2005 and shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal, the Whitbread Award and the Guardian Prize. It was made into a BBC feature-length film in 2009. Frank's third novel, Cosmic, was published in June 2008. It was shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2008 and the inaugural Roald Dahl Funny Prize. Smyth, Chris (2018). "Universally challenged: Reading alumni team gets zero". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460 . Retrieved 11 January 2018. Sister Rose Pacatte, F.S.P. (AmericanCatholic.org) commented, " Millions engages, inspires and is just quirky enough to be charming." She added, "Damien's familiarity with the saints and his recitation of their biographies is accurate and very funny." [11]

LoveReading4Kids Says

Golden Trailer Awards – 2005". Archived from the original on 4 July 2009 . Retrieved 19 October 2007. Catholic News Service 's Harry Forbes wrote, "Boyle's offbeat tale — with a clever script by Frank-Cottrell Boyce — features good performances all around, especially by the remarkable Etel, who displays just the right innocence and religious fervor in delightful vignettes with the saints. The script dramatizes the themes of money and its complexities and the need for societal philanthropy without being heavy-handed, making this ideal entertainment for older adolescents and up." [10] a b Martin Wainwright (18 June 2012). "Cosmic professor". The Guardian. London . Retrieved 29 July 2012. They wanted her to marry a king, but she said she was married to Christ. So, they tried to crush her on a big wooden wheel, but it shattered into a thousand splinters – huge sharp splinters – which flew into the crowd, killing and blinding many bystanders.’ ‘ Frank was asked by the Fleming Estate to write the official sequel to Ian Fleming's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again was shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize in 2012.