British Film Takes a Shot at the Art World

Published: June 16, 2009

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EDINBURGH— The art market may be down these days, but that's no reason not to poke fun at it. On June 26, a new British film, Boogie Woogie, will premiere at the Edinburgh film festival doing just that (although admittedly the movie was shot a year ago, when the market was still soaring).

Boogie Woogie is based on the book of the same name by Danny Moynihan and follows a fight over a Mondrian painting (which supplies the title) between a collector couple and a younger collector and his art adviser (whose character is said to be a cross between megadealers Jay Jopling and Larry Gagosian). The cast includes Joanna Lumley, of British comedy series Absolutely Fabulous fame; ex-X-Filer Gillian Anderson; and Heather Graham. Damien Hirst and Mollie Dent-Brocklehurst, art consultant to Roman Abramovich and Dasha Zhukova, apparently advised on the movie, ensuring at least some authenticity. As if to prove it, one of the producers, Chris Simon, admits, "There are not a lot of likable characters in this film."