Samuel Goldwyn Films Acquires British Comedy ‘Bank Of Dave’ Starring Rory Kinnear, Phoebe Dynevor & Others, With Music And Performances By Def Leppard

EXCLUSIVE: Samuel Goldwyn Films has locked down North American rights to the British feel-good comedy Bank of Dave, starring Joel Fry (Our Flag Means Death), Rory Kinnear (Men), Jo Hartley (After Life) and Phoebe Dynevor (Bridgerton). The film featuring music and performances by English rock band Def Leppard is slated for release in theaters and on digital platforms later this year.

Telling the true story of how a working-class man and self-made millionaire fought to set up a community bank, Bank of Dave follows Dave Fishwick (Kinnear), who sells vans in Burnley, Lancashire. Once the world’s most productive and profitable mill town, Burnley is now one of the most deprived and neglected towns in the UK. Dave, however, through a combination of hustle and hard work, has done well for himself — so well that in the wake of the last financial crisis, he started lending money at reduced rates to his customers and local businesses.

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When some of those businesses start making money, they ask Dave to reinvest it for them. And this gives Dave an idea. Why not set up a tiny, local bank that uses local money to fund local enterprise? He will call it the Bank of Dave. The elite London-based financial authorities, however, haven’t granted a new bank license for more than 150 years, and they’re not keen to grant one to a van salesman from Burnley. Dave therefore must enlist the help of London lawyer Hugh (Fry), junior doctor Alexandra (Dynevor) and some local rock legends (Def Leppard) to help fight for the good cause.

Chris Foggin directed the pic from a script by Piers Ashworth, with Piers Tempest’s and Jo Bamford’s Tempo Productions producing along with Future Artists Entertainment. Ingenious Media funded the film, in association with Automatik and Spitfire Audio. Tempest, Matt Williams and Karl Hall produced, with Peter Touche, Christelle Conan, Hannah Perks, Jo Bamford, David Fishwick, Ashworth, Katie Lander and Michael Reuter as EPs.

Miles Fineburg negotiated Bank of Dave‘s deal on behalf of Samuel Goldwyn Films, with WME Independent on behalf of the filmmakers.

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