Eddie to release documentary - about himself

Eddie Izzard is making a documentary film about his own life.

He’s been recording footage for Diva 51 for the last three years and yesterday announced that it will be ready for release in 2005.

The film follows Izzards’s efforts to crack America as a stand-up and an actor, combining concert footage, personal archives, backstage scenes and interviews.

The news was announced at the Cannes Film Festival, where Izzard screened five minutes of footage to try to drum up more financing and a distribution deal.

Izzard told Hollywood trade journal Variety: "There's an element of my wild and large, rollicking ego about doing it, but I wanted her to dig deep.

The film features interviews with his father, Robin Williams and Eric Idle and culminates with his Broadway triumph in A Day in the Death of Joe Egg. It also promises an insight into his transvestism.

Published: 15 May 2004