“The Trip 2 could happen”

At the risk of pushing the word ‘understatement’ to breaking point, it’s fair to say Michael Winterbottom is a bit of a workaholic. The director of 24 Hour Party People and The Trip has shot 17 films in 15 years and is showing no sign of slowing down. With his latest drama Everyday airing this week, we asked him to discuss his current projects.

EVERYDAY

“It was shot over five years and it’s about the strain that being separated puts on a family. We see how a family functions when the father [John Simm] is jailed. Getting access to a prison was difficult, but changing the conventional routine of filmmaking is worthwhile.”

THE TRIP 2

“It’s down to Steve [Coogan] and Rob [Brydon] whether this happens. Lots of people think [their characters in The Trip] are really them, so they’re like, ‘If we look like idiots on TV, people will think we’re idiots.’ But I’d like to do it, the BBC wants it and we’ve got the treatment. It’s set in Italy – they’re following in the footsteps of poets Byron and Shelley. Food is a big part, but it became clear shooting the first film that they don’t know much about food [laughs]. The other difficulty is the impressions. Steve and Rob worry it’s a cheap trick, but they make it look so natural.”

PAUL RAYMOND BIOPIC (FORMERLY THE KING OF SOHO)

“Steve [Coogan] brought this idea [a biopic of the notorious porn baron] to us. He felt there were enough connections between him and Paul Raymond: they’re both from the north, both Catholic grammar school boys, both made their money down south and both acquired a similar… reputation. We spent a certain amount of time in Soho ‘acclimatising’ [laughs]. The film is structured as a King Midas story. Raymond gets everything he wants in terms of money, fame and success – but loses the people closest to him.”

UNTITLED AMANDA KNOX PROJECT

“I went to a day of the Amanda Knox appeal hearing because I’m working on a project based on a book [about Knox] written by American journalist Barbie Latza Nadeau. If we ever make the film, it’ll be about a fictional case in Italy that’s based on the book. It will be about what is and is not legitimate journalism, and the fascination with violent crime.”

Everyday airs on Channel 4 on 15 November at 9pm