The Invention of Lying

The Invention of Lying
Official Poster
Directed by	Ricky Gervais Matthew Robinson
Produced by	Lynda Obst Oly Obst
Written by	Ricky Gervais Matthew Robinson
Starring	Ricky Gervais Jennifer Garner
Music by	Tim Atack
Cinematography	Tim Suhrstedt
Edited by	Chris Gill
Distributed by	Universal Pictures [International] Warner Brothers Pictures [Domestic]
Release Dates	02 October 2009 02 October 2009
Running Time	96 minutes
Country	USA
Language	English
Budget	$4,000,000 (estimated)
	IMDB Profile

For the blog created by Ricky Gervais see This Side of the Truth (blog)

The Invention of Lying (formerly This Side of the Truth) is a forthcoming feature film comedy co-written by Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson. The pair also co-directed the film, which stars Gervais and Jennifer Garner in the lead roles. Principal photography began in April 2008 and was completed the following month in May, with the very final cut of the film finished in April 2009. The film is due to premiere in the United States on the 25th September 2009 and in the rest of the world at later dates.

Early drafts of the script were leaked to several internet sites. The initial responses were very favourable, one website even lauding its potential as an instant classic.<ref>http://chud.com/articles/articles/13613/1/THE-CROP-REPORT---21208-THIS-SIDE-OF-THE-TRUTH/Page1.html</ref>

Plot

The Invention of Lying is set in a contemporary world where the human race has not evolved the capacity to tell lies. The lead character, Mark Bellison, played by Ricky Gervais, is a screenwriter working for Lecture Films, a film studio that creates movies that simply recount historical events. Stuck in a drab life with a boring job, below-average looks and slob friends, Bellison is going nowhere fast, until he discovers he has the ability to lie in a world that only knows truth. Presenting his lies as fact and with people believing his every word, he becomes all powerful and incredibly popular as the greatest storyteller his world has known and uses this new status to gain the wealth, fame and love that were once unattainable. <ref>http://www.rickygervais.com/thissideofthetruth</ref><ref>http://www.lecturefilms.com</ref>

Cast

Ricky Gervais as Mark
Jennifer Garner as Jennifer
Louis CK as Greg
Tina Fey as Shelley
Rob Lowe as Rob
Jonah Hill as Frank
Patrick Stewart as Narrator
Christopher Guest as Nathan Goldfrappe
Jeffrey Tambor as Anthony
Jason Bateman as Doctor

In addition there will be a cameo by Stephen Merchant and Shaun "Barry off Eastenders" Williamson, with Barry playing Ricky's dad in a flashback scene. IMDb also lists Karl Pilkington as an actor, and in fact he did have a brief cameo as a caveman in the opening sequence of the film (as discussed on The Culture Show and on the NME Radio Show). However in a video on rickygervais.com, Karl revealed that his appearance was cut out of the film.

Name

The original working title for the script was The Invention of Lying, during the production process, inspired by the title of a Dylan Thomas poem, the film was renamed This Side Of The Truth. This remained the name until just before promotion of the film began, at which point Gervais and co-writer Matt Robinson, with encouragement from the distributor, reverted to the original title, which they felt would allow for more freedom in marketing the movie; other names considered include The Truth About Lying and The Other Side of the Truth.

In a Pilkipedia poll the most popular name among fans was the joke entry Truthy Truthy Truth Truth, a reference to a prank played by Ricky years earlier, the most popular genuine title was This Side of the Truth.

Trivia

This will be Ricky Gervais' second lead role in a Hollywood movie. The first was Ghost Town.
According to Aintitcool.com, "Matthew Robinson wrote the script (and has since worked with Gervais on it)." <ref>http://www.aintitcool.com/node/34835</ref>
Producers Lynda Obst and Oly Obst are mother and son.
A blog featuring updates from Ricky can be found on his website.