Based on the book of the same name, the film stars "Clash of
the Titans" actor Luke Treadaway as James Bowen, a recovering
drug addict who upon returning from busking one evening in 2007
found an injured ginger cat at his sheltered accommodation.
Bowen nursed the animal, which he named Bob, back to health and
soon realized the cat was inseparable from him, following him as
he went busking in London's central Covent Garden area.
The sight of Bob on Bowen’s shoulders or sitting by his feet as
he performed on the streets caught the attention of increasing
numbers of passersby and led to a life turnaround and
bestselling book for the busker.
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“He gave me a reason to get up in the morning ... and now I’m
standing here," Bowen told Reuters on the red carpet with Bob
perched on his shoulders. “A movie about a part of our lives is
just mind blowing."
While producers had several cats on hand for the shoot, Bob also
starred as himself, with co-stars Treadaway and "Downton Abbey"
actress Joanne Froggatt describing him as "a professional" on
set.
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"It was kind of an unusual experience filming in Covent Garden with
real Bob on your shoulders but it was amazing," Treadaway said. “He
would just know what he had to do."
Bob lay on Bowen's shoulders throughout media interviews on the red
carpet ahead of the film’s screening, for which the two were joined
by Prince William's wife Kate, who attended as patron of the Action
on Addiction charity.
Fans cheered as they saw Bowen and Bob, with some saying they had
traveled from as far as the United States for the premiere.
(Reporting by Francis Maguire and Marie-Louise Gumuchian; editing by
Mark Heinrich)
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