First Look At Eddie The Eagle

If you listened to our Pod-chat with Kingsman: The Secret Service director Matthew Vaughn (which you can find lurking at the bottom of the page) talking up his duties as producer on the long-gestating Eddie The Eagle film. The biopic is kicking off filming with Taron Egerton in the lead role and with Hugh Jackman also in the cast, the **X-Men **star has posted the first look at the pair.

Edwards, in case the name doesn’t instantly generate a memory, was the first person ever to represent the UK in the ski jump at the Olympics in Calgary in 1988. Ranked 55th in the world, Edwards was completely self-funded, working as a plasterer to make ends meet, and was the sole applicant to represent Blighty. Once there, his weight (nine pounds more than the next contestant), lack of financial support, long-sightedness (which required him to wear glasses that frequently fogged during the competition) and fear of heights adversely impacted his medal chances, and he finished last in both his events. Still, his good spirits and can-do attitude won him fans around the world, leading to a brief pop career and, now, this biopic.

Jackman is playing Chuck Berghorn, a ski expert who helped Eddie train. With Dexter Fletcher is directing this one, with the script by Simon Kelton and Sean Macaulay. There’s no release date yet, but we’d expect this one either later this year or sometime in 2016.