Withnail and I stars Richard E Grant and Paul McGann will reunite for the first time in 20 years in a new short film at the London Film Festival.
The short, called Always Crashing In The Same Car (named after the David Bowie song) and produced by former TV presenter Zoe Ball, sees the pair who last graced the big screen together in Bruce Robinson's epochal 1987 comedy play two powerful political men involved in a bitter dispute.
"We began shooting almost 20 years to the day since they'd shot Withnail and we all knew there was a tricky history behind that film," Ball told The Observer. "But it was obvious as soon as Paul and Richard walked into the room that they'd remained friends and there was still a spark between them."
Ball sent the finished script to McGann, who, to her surprise, thought Grant would be perfect for the film. "We hadn't even dreamed of that. Paul
must have seen something in the script that made his eyes glint and he felt it was the right time to risk reviving the legendary screen coupling. Bizarrely, they only have one actual scene together, as much of the action happens while they're on the phone to each other but they both insisted in coming in to read the lines off-camera. It was like watching magic."
Written and directed by Duncan Wellaway, Always Crashing In The Same Car will be screened at the TCM awards finals at the BFI on London's South Bank on 31 October.