Shooting starts next month

Stand-up Ricky Grover is to star in a movie based on his psychotic gangster character Bulla.

Shooting is due to begin in May, with a cast that also includes Omid Djalili, Ray Winstone, Danny Dyer, Jools Holland, Johnny Vaughan and Dexter Fletcher.

The film will be a mockumentary. following Bulla in the first few days after his release from prison. However, it turns out that he is far from a reformed character, and he ends up kidnapping the film crew.

Producers say: 'Bulla will be an uproarious comedy, poking gentle fun at the culture of the "celebrity gangster", as the unlettered philosopher/thug is let loose on an unsuspecting world.'

The movie will be made by Regency, a new production company behind the upcoming film-industry mockumentary Just For The Record, starring Rik Mayall and Danny Dyer, and the gangster/vampire horror Dead Cert, with Craig Fairbrass, Dexter Fletcher and Steven Berkoff.

Both of these films are directed by Steve Lawson, who is also helming the Bulla project.

Bulla began life on Channel 4's 11 O'Clock Show in 2000, an adaptation of former boxer Grover's stand-up persona, drawn from his experiences growing up in London's East End, the son of an armed robber.

Published: 4 Jan 2010