High Society (novel)

Last updated

High Society
Highsociety.jpg
First edition
Author Ben Elton
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Genre Novel
Publisher Bantam Press
Publication date
7 November 2002
Media typePrint (Hardback)
ISBN 0-552-99995-4 (hardback edition)
OCLC 52057873
Preceded by Dead Famous (2001)  
Followed by Past Mortem (2004)  

High Society (2002) is a darkly comic novel by English author Ben Elton. The story focuses on Peter Paget, a Labour Party MP, and his mission to legalise all recreational drugs in the United Kingdom. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Plot summary

It also follows several other characters:

Influence

Udta Punjab is a 2016 Bollywood film, based on drug abuse. Directed and written by Abhishek Chaubey, the film has been alleged to be inspired from the novel. Similarities between the film and the novel such as names and professions of the drug abusing protagonists of High Society and Udta Punjab (both are musical artist named Tommy), the circumstances of the meeting between Tommy and the female characters Jessie/Bauria (played by Alia Bhatt in the film), Jessie/Bauria's back story (both run away from home after their dreams of becoming sports stars are quashed) and several other specific instances, such as the tattoo Tommy (in both stories) has inked. The makers of the film however have denied any inspiration from the novel. [5] [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irvine Welsh</span> Scottish novelist

Irvine Welsh is a Scottish novelist, playwright and short story writer. His 1993 novel Trainspotting was made into a film of the same name. He has also written plays and screenplays, and directed several short films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Farley</span> American comedian and actor (1964–1997)

Christopher Crosby Farley was an American comedian and actor. Farley was known for his loud, energetic comedic style, and was a member of Chicago's Second City Theatre and later a cast member of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live for five seasons from 1990 to 1995. He later went on to pursue a film career, appearing in films such as Airheads, Tommy Boy, Black Sheep, Beverly Hills Ninja, and Almost Heroes.

<i>Trainspotting</i> (novel) 1993 novel by Irvine Welsh

Trainspotting is the first novel by Scottish writer Irvine Welsh, first published in 1993. It takes the form of a collection of short stories, written in either Scots, Scottish English or British English, revolving around various residents of Leith, Edinburgh who either use heroin, are friends of the core group of heroin users, or engage in destructive activities that are effectively addictions. The novel is set in the late 1980s and has been described by The Sunday Times as "the voice of punk, grown up, grown wiser and grown eloquent".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kareena Kapoor</span> Indian actress (born 1980)

Kareena Kapoor Khan is an Indian actress who appears in Hindi films. She is the daughter of actors Randhir Kapoor and Babita, and the younger sister of actress Karisma Kapoor. Noted for playing a variety of characters in a range of film genres—from romantic comedies to crime dramas—Kapoor is the recipient of several awards, including six Filmfare Awards, and is one of Bollywood's highest-paid actresses.

<i>Boogie Nights</i> 1997 period comedy drama film by Paul Thomas Anderson

Boogie Nights is a 1997 American period comedy-drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. It is set in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley and focuses on a young nightclub dishwasher who becomes a popular star of pornographic films, chronicling his rise in the Golden Age of Porn of the 1970s through his fall during the excesses of the 1980s. The film is an expansion of Anderson's mockumentary short film The Dirk Diggler Story (1988), and stars Mark Wahlberg, Julianne Moore, Burt Reynolds, Don Cheadle, John C. Reilly, William H. Macy, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Heather Graham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edie Sedgwick</span> American fashion model and actress (1943–1971)

Edith Minturn Sedgwick Post was an American actress and fashion model, known for being one of Andy Warhol's superstars. Sedgwick became known as "The Girl of the Year" in 1965 after starring in several of Warhol's short films in the 1960s. She was dubbed an "It Girl", while Vogue magazine also named her a "Youthquaker".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shahid Kapoor</span> Indian actor

Shahid Kapoor is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi films. Initially recognised for portraying romantic roles, he has since taken on parts in action films and thrillers, and is the recipient of several awards, including three Filmfare Awards.

<i>Woman Thou Art Loosed</i> 2004 film directed by Michael Schultz

Woman Thou Art Loosed is a 2004 American drama film directed by Michael Schultz and written by Stan Foster. It was produced by Stan Foster and Reuben Cannon. It is the 44th film or series directed by Schultz and is adapted from the self-help novel by T. D. Jakes. The film tells the story of a young woman who must come to terms with a long history of sexual abuse, drug addiction, and poverty. It has been reported that the story was loosely based on the screenwriter's past relationship with a college girlfriend. A gospel stage play, written, directed, and produced by Tyler Perry, preceded the film.

<i>Viva Knievel!</i> 1977 American action film

Viva Knievel! is a 1977 American action film directed by Gordon Douglas and starring Evel Knievel, Gene Kelly and Lauren Hutton, with an ensemble supporting cast including Red Buttons, Leslie Nielsen, Cameron Mitchell, Frank Gifford, Dabney Coleman and Marjoe Gortner.

<i>Candy: A Novel of Love and Addiction</i> Book by Luke Davies

Candy: A Novel of Love and Addiction (1997) is a novel by Luke Davies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ellen Hopkins</span> American writer

Ellen Louise Hopkins is a novelist who has published several New York Times bestselling novels that are popular among the teenage and young adult audience.

<i>Christiane F.</i> (film) 1981 film by Uli Edel

Christiane F. is a 1981 German biographical drama film directed by Uli Edel that portrays the descent of Christiane Felscherinow, a bored and depressed 13-year-old growing up in mid-1970s West Berlin, to a 14-year-old heroin addict. Based on the 1978 non-fiction book Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo, transcribed and edited from tape recordings by Kai Hermann and Horst Rieck, the film immediately acquired cult status and features David Bowie as both composer and as himself. In 2013, Felscherinow published her autobiography Christiane F. – My Second Life.

<i>Requiem for a Dream</i> 2000 American psychological drama film by Darren Aronofsky

Requiem for a Dream is a 2000 American psychological drama film directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher McDonald, and Marlon Wayans. It is based on the 1978 novel of the same name by Hubert Selby Jr., with whom Aronofsky wrote the screenplay. The film depicts four characters affected by drug addiction and how it alters their physical and emotional states. Their addictions cause them to become imprisoned in a world of delusion and desperation. As the film progresses, each character deteriorates, and their reality is overtaken by delusion, resulting in catastrophe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diljit Dosanjh</span> Indian singer and actor (born 1984)

Daljit Singh Dosanjh known professionally as Diljit Dosanjh is an Indian singer-songwriter, actor, film producer and television personality. He works in Punjabi Music and subsequently in Punjabi and Hindi cinema. Dosanjh entered Social 50 chart by Billboard in 2020. He is featured in various music charts including Canadian Albums Chart, UK Asian chart by Official Charts Company and New Zealand Hot Singles. His movies, including Jatt & Juliet 2, Punjab 1984, Sajjan Singh Rangroot and Honsla Rakh are among the highest grossing Punjabi films in history.

<i>Diffrent Strokes</i> Television series

Diff'rent Strokes is an American television sitcom, which aired on NBC from November 3, 1978, to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985, to March 7, 1986. The series stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and Willis Jackson, respectively who are two black boys from Harlem taken in by a rich white Park Avenue businessman and his daughter. Phillip Drummond is a widower for whom their deceased mother previously worked; his daughter, Kimberly is played by Dana Plato. During the first season and the first half of the second season, Charlotte Rae also starred, as Mrs. Edna Garrett, the Drummonds' first housekeeper, who ultimately spun off into her own sitcom, The Facts of Life, as a housemother at the fictional Eastland School. The second housekeeper, Adelaide Brubaker, was played by Nedra Volz. The third housekeeper, Pearl Gallagher, was played by Mary Jo Catlett, first appearing as a recurring character, later becoming a main cast member.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alia Bhatt</span> British actress (born 1993)

Alia Bhatt is a British actress of Indian descent who predominantly works in Hindi films. Known for her portrayals of women in troubling circumstances, she has received several accolades including five Filmfare Awards. One of India's highest-paid actresses, she has appeared in Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list since 2014 and was awarded the TIME100 Impact Award in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phantom Studios</span> Indian production company

Phantom Studios is an Indian film production and distribution company established by Anurag Kashyap, director Vikramaditya Motwane, producer Madhu Mantena and the former head of UTV Spotboy, Vikas Bahl. It was founded in 2011 by all four of them, and is cited as the "directors' company". In March 2015, Reliance Entertainment picked up 50% stake in the company.

<i>Udta Punjab</i> 2016 Indian film

Udta Punjab is a 2016 Indian crime drama film written and directed by Abhishek Chaubey, co-written by Sudip Sharma, and produced by Shobha Kapoor, Ekta Kapoor, Sameer Nair and Aman Gill under Balaji Motion Pictures in association with Anurag Kashyap, Vikas Bahl and Vikramaditya Motwane under Phantom Films. Loosely based on and revolving around the drug abuse by the youth population in the Indian state of Punjab and the various conspiracies surrounding it, the film stars Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor and Diljit Dosanjh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jatinder Mauhar</span> Indian film director and scriptwriter

Jatinder Mauhar is an Indian Film Director, Script Writer, Columnist and Researcher. In the very beginning, he started his career with music videos and it was after some time that Jatinder Directed his debut film Mitti. Jatinder Mauhar established himself as a style through Mitti (2010), Sarsa appropriated by producer as Sikandar (2013) and Qissa Punjab (2015). He has written extensively about cinema and is one of the best speakers in Punjabi on cinema. He did his professional training in Knitting Technology, and worked in the industry for couple of years before pursuing his interest in cinema. His journey from a keen watcher to filmmaker is punctuated with training in Zee Institute of Media Arts, Mumbai and on job training in making music videos as director. He has written story, screenplay and dialogues of Mitti. In Sarsa he collaborated with Daljit Ami. Jatinder worked on a documentary film on cross-border train Samjhauta Express as a researcher with filmmaker Gerry Troyna For BBC.

<i>Cherry</i> (2021 film) 2021 American crime drama film

Cherry is a 2021 American crime drama film directed by Anthony and Joe Russo from a screenplay by Angela Russo-Otstot and Jessica Goldberg, based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Nico Walker. It stars Tom Holland as the titular character, alongside Ciara Bravo, Jack Reynor, and Jeff Wahlberg. The film follows the life of Cherry, from a college student to a PTSD-afflicted veteran who robs banks to pay for his and his wife's drug addiction.

References

  1. Hutton, Will. "Chasing the dragon". theguardian.com. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
  2. "High Society". amazon.com. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
  3. "High Society". goodreads.com. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
  4. "High Society". waterstones.com. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
  5. Udta Punjab in plagiarism row; was script copied from Ben Elton's novel High Society?
  6. ‘Udta Punjab’ versus ‘High Society’: Inspiration or a striking coincidence?