Whatever It Takes (2009 film)
Encyclopedia
Whatever it Takes is a 2009 British television
drama film
directed by Andy Hay
and starring Shane Ritchie, Amy Beth Hayes
, Eva Alexander
, Gary Lucy and Ron Cook
. Ritchie plays a publicist
observing and interacting on the story of Daisy Cockram, a police officer catapulted to fame after she is arrested for public indecency with a footballer in the back of a car and who becomes a national celebrity
, which is soon shown to have many pitfalls. The moral of the story being "be careful what you wish for". It was first aired on ITV
(ITV1
/UTV
) on Sunday 26 July 2009.
of fame" after winning tickets to attend a première
when she meets a leading professional footballer who seduces her. Shortly afterwards they are discovered having sexual intercourse
in the back of a car by a police patrol officer and taken in. This is particularly embarrassing for Daisy as she is herself a police officer - and she is fast suspended from duty for bringing the force into disrepute. The tabloid newspapers speedily track Daisy down using various underhand methods and she is soon splashed across the front pages of the media, with many lurid and exaggerated details about her life.
It is at this point that she approached by JJ Merrick, who offers to represent her and help her out. She is hoping he will be able to hold the press off, so that she can appeal against her dismissal from the police, but he insists that is impossible once the media has scented blood. Instead he impresses on her the need to get her side of the story across. He sets up a major deal with a Sunday Newspaper, and arranges a photo-shoot where a number of glamour shots are taken with Daisy taking provocative poses. At first she is withdrawn and uncomfortable, but soon relaxes and proves to be a natural in front of the camera.
As Merrick had predicted, the kiss-and-tell article proves a major success, launching Daisy into the spotlight. However it leads to an angry row with her father, a senior police officer, who considers her "a slut" and is hurt at how her behaviour has undermined people's respect for him. Her sister is not as angry as father, but she is also made unhappy by the new public persona of Daisy. Daisy is distressed by her family's reaction, but it does not change her interest in pursuing a new career as a celebrity. Her management by JJ Merrick helps her to scale new heights in the celebrity world, where her freshness help propel her upwards.
JJ has become increasingly cynical about his profession, yet he manages to successfully bury his misgivings and has moved to the top of his game. He revels in his own invisibility, he is unknown to the public at large which gives him enormous power. He visits her a year later remarking "if a week is a long time in politics, a year is a lifetime in showbuisness". He is paying a visit to Daisy who has now changed completely beyond recognition. She has moved from her dingy tower-block flat to a large country mansion, has had numerous plastic surgery
operations and is now dating a leading soap actor.
Daisy now has a seemingly “perfect life”, in which she has become a sexual icon - an idol for many teenage girls, lots of money and a large personal staff. She has ambitions to launch a singing career as well. She is able to pick up large fees just for turning up for public appearances. However the first cracks begin to appear in her life - pictures of her having sex are being sold to the newspapers, she has not had an invite to her sister’s wedding and she is finally pictured snorting cocaine
. This provokes a howl of condemnation of her from the media, led by a hatchet-job article written by a leading left-wing journalist from of the leading broadsheets.
On the advice of Merrick, she stages an overdose and then goes to a private hospital to recover. As Merrick had intended this stokes public interest and gains her a deal of sympathy. However shortly afterwards a rival appears on the scene who steals the show from Daisy. Kaitlin now has a fresh face, and natural breasts, and she is fast elbowing Daisy aside. Merrick knowing that celebrity is merely a carousel promptly signs up Kaitlin and makes her his new protégé - effectively abandoning Daisy. He tells her she has had a good run, made several million pounds with no discernable talent - and should get out of showbuisness while she still could with some sort of humanity left inside.
Instead of Daisy taking his advice, she instead stages an orgy with the soap actor and releases it to the press, in a last attempt to claw back some public interest, showing as Merrick had observed that she has become totally addicted to celebrity.
. The critical reception was generally poor, The Mirror described it as "shaneful" and attacked it for miscasting and being out of date.
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Andy Hay
Andy Hay
Andy Hay is a former rugby league player And Current Super League Assistant Coach.Andy Hay was an England international and played at the 2000 Rugby League World Cup Scoring 2 tries in consecutive games against Russia & Fiji respectively....
and starring Shane Ritchie, Amy Beth Hayes
Amy Beth Hayes
-Career:Amy Beth Hayes was born in Abergavenny, Wales, but grew up in England.She made her screen debut in the 2008 Doctor Who episode "The Stolen Earth" and the same year she was cast in a lead role in the ITV drama Whatever It Takes....
, Eva Alexander
Eva Alexander
Eva Alexander is a British actress and a children's TV presenter. Eva is pronounced "Ava".Until October 2006, she was a continuity presenter on the BBC preschool television channel CBeebies, joining as a replacement for Nicole Davis, who left in February 2006...
, Gary Lucy and Ron Cook
Ron Cook
Ron Cook is an English actor who has been active in the theatre, film and television since the 1970s. He is from South Shields, Co Durham, England and is a graduate of Rose Bruford College.- Stage appearances :...
. Ritchie plays a publicist
Publicist
A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a public figure, especially a celebrity, a business, or for a work such as a book, film or album...
observing and interacting on the story of Daisy Cockram, a police officer catapulted to fame after she is arrested for public indecency with a footballer in the back of a car and who becomes a national celebrity
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
, which is soon shown to have many pitfalls. The moral of the story being "be careful what you wish for". It was first aired on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
(ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
/UTV
UTV
UTV is a television channel based in the UK region of Northern Ireland. The channel is the Channel 3 or Independent Television licensee for Northern Ireland and is operated by UTV Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of UTV Media.- Terrestrial :* Analogue: Normally tuned to 3 * Freeview : 3...
) on Sunday 26 July 2009.
Plot
JJ Merrick (Ritchie) is narrating the story of Daisy Cockram who is about to be "devoured by the venus flytrapVenus Flytrap
The Venus Flytrap , Dionaea muscipula, is a carnivorous plant that catches and digests animal prey—mostly insects and arachnids. Its trapping structure is formed by the terminal portion of each of the plant's leaves and is triggered by tiny hairs on their inner surfaces...
of fame" after winning tickets to attend a première
Premiere
A premiere is generally "a first performance". This can refer to plays, films, television programs, operas, symphonies, ballets and so on. Premieres for theatrical, musical and other cultural presentations can become extravagant affairs, attracting large numbers of socialites and much media...
when she meets a leading professional footballer who seduces her. Shortly afterwards they are discovered having sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
in the back of a car by a police patrol officer and taken in. This is particularly embarrassing for Daisy as she is herself a police officer - and she is fast suspended from duty for bringing the force into disrepute. The tabloid newspapers speedily track Daisy down using various underhand methods and she is soon splashed across the front pages of the media, with many lurid and exaggerated details about her life.
It is at this point that she approached by JJ Merrick, who offers to represent her and help her out. She is hoping he will be able to hold the press off, so that she can appeal against her dismissal from the police, but he insists that is impossible once the media has scented blood. Instead he impresses on her the need to get her side of the story across. He sets up a major deal with a Sunday Newspaper, and arranges a photo-shoot where a number of glamour shots are taken with Daisy taking provocative poses. At first she is withdrawn and uncomfortable, but soon relaxes and proves to be a natural in front of the camera.
As Merrick had predicted, the kiss-and-tell article proves a major success, launching Daisy into the spotlight. However it leads to an angry row with her father, a senior police officer, who considers her "a slut" and is hurt at how her behaviour has undermined people's respect for him. Her sister is not as angry as father, but she is also made unhappy by the new public persona of Daisy. Daisy is distressed by her family's reaction, but it does not change her interest in pursuing a new career as a celebrity. Her management by JJ Merrick helps her to scale new heights in the celebrity world, where her freshness help propel her upwards.
JJ has become increasingly cynical about his profession, yet he manages to successfully bury his misgivings and has moved to the top of his game. He revels in his own invisibility, he is unknown to the public at large which gives him enormous power. He visits her a year later remarking "if a week is a long time in politics, a year is a lifetime in showbuisness". He is paying a visit to Daisy who has now changed completely beyond recognition. She has moved from her dingy tower-block flat to a large country mansion, has had numerous plastic surgery
Plastic surgery
Plastic surgery is a medical specialty concerned with the correction or restoration of form and function. Though cosmetic or aesthetic surgery is the best-known kind of plastic surgery, most plastic surgery is not cosmetic: plastic surgery includes many types of reconstructive surgery, hand...
operations and is now dating a leading soap actor.
Daisy now has a seemingly “perfect life”, in which she has become a sexual icon - an idol for many teenage girls, lots of money and a large personal staff. She has ambitions to launch a singing career as well. She is able to pick up large fees just for turning up for public appearances. However the first cracks begin to appear in her life - pictures of her having sex are being sold to the newspapers, she has not had an invite to her sister’s wedding and she is finally pictured snorting cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
. This provokes a howl of condemnation of her from the media, led by a hatchet-job article written by a leading left-wing journalist from of the leading broadsheets.
On the advice of Merrick, she stages an overdose and then goes to a private hospital to recover. As Merrick had intended this stokes public interest and gains her a deal of sympathy. However shortly afterwards a rival appears on the scene who steals the show from Daisy. Kaitlin now has a fresh face, and natural breasts, and she is fast elbowing Daisy aside. Merrick knowing that celebrity is merely a carousel promptly signs up Kaitlin and makes her his new protégé - effectively abandoning Daisy. He tells her she has had a good run, made several million pounds with no discernable talent - and should get out of showbuisness while she still could with some sort of humanity left inside.
Instead of Daisy taking his advice, she instead stages an orgy with the soap actor and releases it to the press, in a last attempt to claw back some public interest, showing as Merrick had observed that she has become totally addicted to celebrity.
Cast
- Shane Ritchie - JJ Merrick
- Amy Beth HayesAmy Beth Hayes-Career:Amy Beth Hayes was born in Abergavenny, Wales, but grew up in England.She made her screen debut in the 2008 Doctor Who episode "The Stolen Earth" and the same year she was cast in a lead role in the ITV drama Whatever It Takes....
- Daisy Cockram - Ron CookRon CookRon Cook is an English actor who has been active in the theatre, film and television since the 1970s. He is from South Shields, Co Durham, England and is a graduate of Rose Bruford College.- Stage appearances :...
- David Cockram - Eva AlexanderEva AlexanderEva Alexander is a British actress and a children's TV presenter. Eva is pronounced "Ava".Until October 2006, she was a continuity presenter on the BBC preschool television channel CBeebies, joining as a replacement for Nicole Davis, who left in February 2006...
- Ella Cockram - Gary Lucy - Matthew Cassaday
- Jill BakerJill BakerJill Baker is a British actor. She was born Gillian Mary Baker in the UK.Baker made a brief appearance in Only Fools and Horses, in the episode "The Second Time Around", as Del Boy 's ex-fiance, Pauline Harris-Personal life:...
- Estelle - Lucy GaskellLucy GaskellLucy Gaskell is an English actress. She studied at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in 1998.Gaskell is known for the roles of Ruby Ferris in the BBC1 drama series Cutting It and Kirsty Clements in Casualty...
- Fiona - Sadie Pickering - Caitlin
- Chantelle HoughtonChantelle HoughtonChantelle Vivien Houghton is an English glamour model and television personality. She was the first 'non-celebrity' to feature in the Channel 4 reality TV show Celebrity Big Brother in 2006....
- herself
Reception
Whatever It Takes attracted 2.7 million viewers when it was aired, losing out in its time slot to the BBC documentary Rivers presented by Griff Rhys JonesGriff Rhys Jones
Griffith "Griff" Rhys Jones is a Welsh comedian, writer, actor, television presenter and personality. Jones came to national attention in the early 1980s for his work in the BBC television comedy sketch shows Not the Nine O'Clock News and Alas Smith and Jones along with his comedy partner Mel Smith...
. The critical reception was generally poor, The Mirror described it as "shaneful" and attacked it for miscasting and being out of date.