First poster for Look Of Love

Steve Coogan’s film about London porn baron Paul Raymond has been renamed The Look Of Love.

Producers have also released the first poster for the movie – previously known as King Of Soho – and revealed that the UK release date will be March 8.

The Look Of Love reunites Coogan with director Michael Winterbottom, who was behind the camera on 24 Hour Party People, A Cock and Bull Story and The Trip.

The script, by Matt Greenhalgh, is about how Raymond amassed a £1.5billion fortune from adult entertainment, nightclubs, and investing in the central London property market. Raymond’s Revuebar was also a significant venue in the early days of alternative comedy, as it was home to The Comic Strip troupe that included Rik Mayall, Adrian Edmondson, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders.

After starting his showbusiness career as a mind-reader in a cabaret act, Paul Raymond went on to become Britain's richest man, with a personal life was as colourful as his revue shows. His marriage to Jean, a nude dancer and choreographer, ended in a difficult divorce when he met Fiona - a glamour model who became the famous pin-up star of his magazines and shows. His daughter Debbie was the true love of his life, his business partner and heir to his empire - until her tragic and untimely death aged 36.

Coogan said: ‘Like 24 Hour Party People, it's a very British story about an eccentric character at the centre of pivotal events in British culture.

‘I love the film. It has that strange combination of comedy and tragedy that Michael Winterbottom manages to pull off with a real deftness of touch. Like very few films these days it's actually about something without being portentous. Oh and there's lots of naked ladies in it too.’

The film also stars Anna Friel, Tamsin Egerton and Imogen Poots. It is being made by Winterbottom’s Revolution Films and Coogan’s company Baby Cow, and financed by Film4 and Studio Canal.

Published: 13 Nov 2012