Bula Quo!

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Bula Quo!
Directed byStuart St Paul
Written byJean Heard
Stuart St. Paul
Produced byTim Major
Simon Porter
Stuart St Paul
Starring Jon Lovitz
Craig Fairbrass
Laura Aikman
Francis Rossi
Rick Parfitt
CinematographyChas Bain
Edited byLewis Albrow
Music by Status Quo as
Andy Bown
Rick Parfitt
John 'Rhino' Edwards
Francis Rossi
Matt Letley
Production
companies
INDY UK Films Limited
Status Quo Films
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date
  • 5 July 2013 (2013-07-05)
Running time
91 minutes
CountriesUnited Kingdom
Fiji
LanguagesEnglish
Fijian

Bula Quo! is a 2013 British adventure comedy film cowritten and directed by Stuart St Paul and starring Jon Lovitz, Craig Fairbrass, Laura Aikman and Status Quo musicians Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt. The film was made as a tax deductible write-off for the band Status Quo, and the budget of the film was part of what was owed to the UK taxman; at the time production started there was a scheme, set up by the previous Labour Government of Gordon Brown, to allow taxpayers to invest a certain amount of money in low-to-medium budget United Kingdom films as an incentive to expand it and keep people in the industry in work. [1]

Contents

Although this film was made primarily in Fiji it was classed as a UK production because it utilized a primarily British cast and crew. [2] Several other (technically) British films were made using this same tax incentives, including Hitchcock (2012) and Cleanskin (2012). Bula Quo! was a box-office disaster at the time of its release, and received mostly negative reviews from critics.

Synopsis

The film is set in the Pacific island country of Fiji and tells the story of rock band Status Quo becoming entangled in a local mafia operation. [3]

Cast

Rick Parfitt and Francis Rossi, Bula Quo, London, 2013 (crop).jpg
Laura Aikman, Bula Quo, London, 2013 (straighten).jpg
Rick Parfitt and Francis Rossi of Status Quo and Laura Aikman at the 2013 UK film premiere of Bula Quo!

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes gave the film an aggregated score of 27%. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Status Quo (band)</span> British rock band

Status Quo are a British rock band. The group originated in London and was founded in 1962 by Francis Rossi and Alan Lancaster while they were still schoolboys. After a number of name and lineup changes, which included the introduction of John Coghlan in 1963 and Rick Parfitt in 1967, the band became The Status Quo in 1967 and Status Quo in 1969. As of 2022, the group have been active for 60 consecutive years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis Rossi</span> British rock musician

Francis Dominic Nicholas Michael Rossi, is an English musician. He is the co-founder, lead singer, lead guitarist and the sole continuous member of the rock band Status Quo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rick Parfitt</span> British rock musician (1948–2016)

Richard John Parfitt, was an English musician, best known as a rhythm guitarist, singer and songwriter with rock band Status Quo.

<i>Famous in the Last Century</i> 2000 studio album by Status Quo

Famous in the Last Century is the twenty-fourth studio album by British rock band Status Quo, released in 2000. According to the band's autobiography, the idea to record it came from manager David Walker, who said they should celebrate the millennium with an album containing twenty of their favourite hits from the past century. "Another bloody covers album!" grumbled Francis Rossi. "We went along with it, as usual, but inside I felt like a fraud... for me it was the worst Quo album there had ever been - or ever will be!"

<i>Quo</i> (Status Quo album) 1974 studio album by Status Quo

Quo is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Status Quo. Issued in May 1974, it features Francis Rossi, Rick Parfitt, Alan Lancaster and John Coghlan, and reached #2 in the UK. Like its predecessor Hello!, it consisted entirely of songs written or cowritten by the group. The only guest musicians were Bob Young and Tom Parker, who played harmonica and piano respectively on "Break the Rules".

<i>Rockin All Over the World</i> (album) 1977 album by Status Quo

Rockin' All Over the World is the tenth studio album by British band Status Quo. It is their first to be produced by Pip Williams and the first to feature Andy Bown as a regular contributor to the band; he would later join the band officially in 1982. Released in November 1977, it reached #5 in the UK.

<i>Live!</i> (Status Quo album) 1977 live album by Status Quo

Live! is the first live album by British rock band Status Quo. The double album is an amalgam of performances at Glasgow's Apollo Theatre between 27 and 29 October 1976, recorded using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio.

<i>Aint Complaining</i> 1988 studio album by Status Quo

Ain't Complaining is the eighteenth studio album by British rock band Status Quo. Initially released on the Vertigo label on 6 June 1988, it was the group's first album on that label to fall short of the UK Top 10, breaking a streak of 12 studio albums in the process. It reached no higher than its entry position of No. 12. The band, however, reentered the Top 10 just three years later with Rock 'Til You Drop in 1991.

<i>Perfect Remedy</i> 1989 studio album by Status Quo

Perfect Remedy is the nineteenth studio album by English rock band Status Quo. In terms of British chart success, it marked a new low for the band, reaching a high of only No. 49 during a two-week run. The two singles from it, 'Not at All' and 'Little Dreamer', peaked at No. 50 and No. 76 respectively. In the memoir, 'XS All Areas: Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt', Rossi said that it sold well in Europe and Australia, but they were back to square one in Britain. 'I don't know why it did so poorly. You could argue that the scene had moved on.'

<i>Rock til You Drop</i> 1991 studio album by Status Quo

Rock 'til You Drop is the twentieth studio album by English rock band Status Quo and their last on the Vertigo label after nearly 20 years. Singer and guitarist Francis Rossi produced the album.

<i>Under the Influence</i> (Status Quo album) 1999 studio album by Status Quo

Under the Influence is the twenty-third studio album by English rock band Status Quo, released in 1999. A remastered version contained two bonus tracks.

<i>Never Too Late</i> (Status Quo album) 1981 studio album by Status Quo

Never Too Late is the fourteenth studio album by English rock band Status Quo, coproduced by the group and John Eden. Released on 13 March 1981, it had been recorded at the same sessions – at Windmill Lane Studios, Dublin – as its predecessor Just Supposin'. It reached number 2 in the UK Albums Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craig Fairbrass</span> English actor (born 1964)

Craig John Fairbrass is an English actor, producer, and screenwriter. He has made appearances in Muscle (2019), London's Burning (1990), Cliffhanger (1993), Killing Time (1998), EastEnders (1999–2001), The Great Dome Robbery (2002), The Long Weekend (2005), Rise of the Footsoldier film series (2007–present), The Bank Job (2008), House of the Rising Sun (2011), St George's Day (2012), Breakdown (2014), The Hooligan Factory (2014), Villain (2020),

<i>Riffs</i> (Status Quo album) 2003 studio album by Status Quo

Riffs is the twenty-sixth studio album by the English rock band Status Quo, released in November 2003. Ten tracks were cover versions of pop and rock standards, the other five were re-recordings of songs they had previously issued during the 1970s. The initial release also included a bonus 9-track DVD, featuring footage recorded for television programs and also the video for the 2002 Top 20 hit 'Jam Side Down', recorded on HMS Ark Royal. This was originally planned to be released one week after the album "Heavy Traffic", but was pushed back in time by the record company.

<i>In Search of the Fourth Chord</i> 2007 studio album by Status Quo

In Search of the Fourth Chord is the twenty-eighth studio album by English rock band Status Quo, released on 17 September 2007. The title is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the rumour that the group always plays the same three chords, and a reference to the album In Search of the Lost Chord by British rock band the Moody Blues. The album's artwork is a parody of the Indiana Jones films.

<i>Quid Pro Quo</i> (album) 2011 studio album by Status Quo

Quid Pro Quo is the twenty-ninth studio album by English rock band Status Quo, released in May 2011. The album debuted at number 10 in the UK charts and features 14 new songs, as well as the 2010 version of their 1986 hit "In the Army Now" which was re-recorded in support of the Help for Heroes and British Forces Foundation charities. The accompanying Official Live Bootleg album features 12 older songs recorded by the band in concert in Amsterdam and Melbourne in 2010. In the UK the album was only available at branches of Tesco stores for its first week before being released conventionally on the band's Fourth Chord label on 6 June 2011.

<i>Bula Quo!</i> (album) 2013 soundtrack album by Status Quo

Bula Quo is the thirtieth studio album and the first soundtrack album by English rock band Status Quo, it was released on Monday 10 June 2013. It is the last Status Quo album recorded with drummer Matt Letley, who announced his departure from the band before the album had been released.

"Forty Five Hundred Times" is a song by British rock band Status Quo. It is the final track on their 1973 album Hello!, almost ten minutes long and regularly performed live. The group's frontmen, Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt, have said it is one of their favourite songs by the band, with Parfitt using a special dropped tuning. While never released as a single, the song was #1 as voted by fans.

References

  1. Status Quo's latest project starts with guitars, ends with guns 9-4-2013, Goldmine Magazine
  2. Status Quo: rocking all over Berlin. BY MICHAEL ROSSER - FEBRUARY 2013 Screen Daily
  3. Richards, Olly (2013). "Bula Quo!". Empire (film magazine) . Bauer Media Group . Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  4. "Bula Quo!". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 5 February 2023.