The Boat That Rocked is a 2009 British comedy-drama film written and directed by Richard Curtis about pirate radio in the United Kingdom during the 1960s. The film has an ensemble cast consisting of Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans, Nick Frost and Kenneth Branagh. Set in 1966, it tells the story of the fictional pirate radio station "Radio Rock" and its crew of eclectic disc jockeys, who broadcast rock and pop music to the United Kingdom from a ship anchored in the North Sea while the British government tries to shut them down. It was produced by Working Title Films for Universal Pictures and was filmed on the Isle of Portland and at Shepperton Studios.
Theatrical poster
Principal photography taking place on the steps of the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square
The MV Mi Amigo, c. 1974, which was the home of Radio Caroline South from 1964 to 1968
Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis is a British screenwriter, producer and film director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known primarily for romantic comedy films, among them Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Notting Hill (1999), Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), Love Actually (2003), Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004), About Time (2013), and Yesterday (2019). He is also known for the drama War Horse (2011) and for having co-written the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean, and The Vicar of Dibley. His early career saw him write material for the BBC's Not the Nine O'Clock News and ITV's Spitting Image.
Curtis in 2016
Curtis in London, 1999, the year Notting Hill was released
Curtis (bottom) during filming in Trafalgar Square, London in May 2009