Enfield to get chummy with movies in 'Kevin and Perry'

Icon Entertainment to fund the $5 mil project

By ERICH BOEHM

LONDON -- Harry Enfield, one of the U.K.'s most popular TV comedians, is making the leap into movies with "Kevin and Perry," a spinoff from his hit BBC sketch show "Harry Enfield and Chums."

The film is being produced by Tiger Aspect, which previously took "Bean" from TV to the bigscreen with huge box office success.

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Mel Gibson and Bruce Davey's Icon Entertainment Intl. is fully financing the $5 million project, which will start shooting in July.

The pic is based on one of the most popular segs in Enfield's show, with Enfield and actress Kathy Burke reprising their TV roles as two teen-age boys who epitomize the acne-ridden, sex-obsessed awfulness of adolescence.

In the movie, they will be seen desperately attempting to lose their virginity on a holiday to Ibiza, the Spanish island that in the summer becomes the clubbing capital of Europe.

One of the 'chums'

Burke won the best actress prize at Cannes last year for "Nil by Mouth," and has been featured in such movies as "Elizabeth" and "This Year's Love." But she is best known in the U.K. as a TV performer, largely through her work as one of Enfield's "chums."

"Kevin and Perry" will be directed by rookie Ed Bye and produced by Jolyon Symonds ("The Last Yellow") and Barnaby Thompson ("Spice World"). Enfield has written the screenplay with Dave Cummings. Tiger Aspect's Peter Bennett Jones and Amanda Davies are likely to co-exec produce alongside Icon's Ralph Kamp.